Landowners in the Municipality of North Cypress-Langford can now receive financial incentives to protect shallow wetlands on their property. The municipality announced the new Shallow Wetlands Incentive Program on July 23, 2026, giving farmers another tool to manage water on their land while helping to slow the loss of small prairie wetlands.
The program is delivered through the Central Assiniboine Watershed District, which serves the North Cypress-Langford area. It is part of Manitoba’s provincewide Shallow Wetlands Incentive Program, launched in 2018 under the $204 million GROW (Growing Outcomes in Watersheds) trust. Each year, $2.5 million from that trust goes toward wetland conservation. Eligible landowners who sign on receive annual payments in exchange for agreeing not to drain approved wetland areas.
Municipal officials encourage interested landowners in the Carberry area and surrounding communities to contact the Central Assiniboine Watershed District for application details and enrollment information. The program targets shallow, seasonal wetlands that often go unnoticed but play a major role in the local landscape. Manitoba currently loses about 0.37 percent of its small wetlands each year, and the rate jumps to 0.88 percent for wetlands found in cropland.
North Cypress-Langford sits within the Prairie Pothole Region, a globally important breeding ground for ducks and other waterfowl. Some parts of the region have such dense clusters of these small wetlands that they can support up to 50 breeding duck pairs per square kilometre. Preserving these areas not only provides habitat for waterfowl but also helps farms manage runoff and store water on the land.
For more information, residents can visit the Central Assiniboine Watershed District website or visit the municipality office in Carberry at 316 4th Avenue.
