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similar to the mainland from which they are severed by a water depth of only several 
inches. The mud bar is narrow and discontinuous with a maximum height above water 
of eight inches. It lies between the lake proper and the eastern marsh, 
Area Interests 
Although conservation agencies and many of the local residents agree that 
management of the lake to prevent future duck losses is of utmost importance, other 
interests associated with the lake cannot be disregarded. 
Whitewater Lake is a Fur Rehabilitation Block controlled by the Manitoba 
Game and Fisheries Branch and has in previous years produced the finest muskrat 
pelts in-the Province, The lake is a Public Shooting Ground and as such is a concen- 
tration area for hunters in the fall, drawing men from as far away as Winnipeg and 
from many points below the border. 
Grain farms occupy all land surrounding the lake and crop depredation 
problems have arisen in past years. Farmers in the region benefit in years of low 
water from the hay and pasture lands adjoining the lake. Local residents strongly 
believe that good crops in the district are partially attributable to a rain drawing 
power of the lake, and also to the large breeding population of Franklin's gulls that 
feed on the farmland. 
Weather and Water Conditions 
The arrival of spring this year was the latest in the memory of local 
residents. Although the earliest mallard and pintail found open water the beginning 
of April, the lake was not entirely ice free until May 15.. The season continued 
cooler and wetter than normal, except for an occasional hot and dry period, until 
the last part of August when the area experienced its first prolonged period of 
normal summer weather. 
The water level of Whitewater Lake is controlled by spring run-off, mainly 
from the Turtle Mountains, and summer precipitation, and by evaporation and possible 
seepage; there is no outlet nor constant inlet. The level on April 15 of this year was 
within one inch of the August, 1949 level. Heavy spring run-off raised the level 
sixteen inches by May 15 which was a higher level than at any time since the turn of 
the century. Up to September 1 the level had dropped five and one-half inches, a 
summer lowering much less than normal and undoubtedly a result of the cool and wet 
season, 
Duck Sickness 
A die-off developed on the lake coincident with the arrival of the first diving 
duck species about April 20. Before it ceased towards the end of May an estimated 
3,000 birds had perished. Ninty percent of the affected birds were lesser scaup, with 
other diving duck species comprising most of the remainder. 
Three minor outbreaks of duck sickness occurred during the summer; in 
mid-July, mid-August, and in the first week of September. They claimed the lives 
of an estimated 1, 500 waterfowl, of which 95 percent were dabbling ducks. 
Breeding and Produc tion 
A shoreline count of breeding pairs and lone drakes of dabbling ducks was 
made in conjunction with intensive nesting and brood surveys in an attempt to arrive 
at production figures for 1950. 
