\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
![\"Supplied](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4056828_web1_IMG_0577.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
Supplied<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The field near the black bear rescue where the proposed limestone quarry is less than a kilometre away.<\/p>\n
The rescue and rehabilitation centre has been in the RM of Rockwood, located northwest of Winnipeg, since 2018, but the Stearns family has lived in the municipality for more than 20 years.<\/p>\n
At any given time, the rescue can have up to 30 bear cubs. The rescue works with the provincial government to rehabilitate orphaned black bear cubs and release them back into the wild.<\/p>\n
The RM is reviewing an application for a 370-acre limestone quarry extraction zone in the municipality. The project is located about two kilometres from the northwestern boundary of the town of Stonewall.<\/p>\n
A public hearing on the project is scheduled at the Stony Mountain Community Centre on March 19 at 6 p.m. A petition opposing the project has been making its rounds in Rockwood; it needs 300 signatures before Monday night to be submitted as an official objection.<\/p>\n
Stearns worries about the dust from the rock blasting landing on her property and contaminating her cubs\u2019 food supply. The project also runs the risk of fracturing the area\u2019s aquifer, affecting the municipality\u2019s water supply, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would put our black bear rescue, the province\u2019s only safety net for orphaned cubs in the province, in jeopardy,\u201d Stearns said. \u201cIt\u2019s not like a business, we have enclosures and are all set up. We can\u2019t just pack up and move.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
In the past, when there\u2019s rock blasting at a quarry that\u2019s about five kilometres away from her home, her windows shake and the cubs flee to their enclosures.<\/p>\n
The new project\u2019s planned rock blasting would be permitted to occur Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.<\/p>\n
A study from the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. shows quarry operations can displace wildlife and affect the surrounding environment.<\/p>\n
The project owner, Amrize Canada Inc., said the project will comply with all municipal and provincial regulations, including environmental and setback requirements. The initial extraction area is approximately two kilometres from the nearby black bear rescue centre, and the haul route is \u201cintentionally designed to avoid the facility.\u201d<\/p>\n
A provincial technical review of the proposal shows most government departments have no concerns about the project. The transportation and infrastructure department asked the company to submit a truck haul route for review and approved owing to the increased traffic the project would bring to the area.<\/p>\n
The hydrologic forecasting and water management branch flagged a nearby creek drain that is designated provincial water infrastructure. A permit to do work around it must be approved before the project begins.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Supplied<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n A bear cub named is Valour is currently spending the winter at the rescue. The owners of Manitoba\u2019s only black bear rescue are concerned a proposed quarry near their sanctuary would stress out their orphan cubs, who tend to be anxious anyway.<\/p>\n Curtis McClintock, a councillor for the RM of Rockwood, said he has received several emails and calls from residents and he has encouraged them to register to speak at Thursday\u2019s public hearing.<\/p>\n McClintock wouldn\u2019t say where he stand on the project.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just gonna kind of listen to what our residents\u2019 concerns are,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s what the public hearing is all about. So we\u2019ll just listen to our ratepayers and we\u2019ll make a decision, and ultimately go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n RM staff weren\u2019t able to say how many people have registered to speak about the proposal.<\/p>\n Stearns says she plans to speak against the proposal at the meeting.<\/p>\n From her perspective as a resident, Stearns says the region is no longer a quarry area. She says the development is at odds with a huge residential expansion planned for the bedroom community.<\/p>\n Stonewall annexed about 700 acres of land west of town limits in 2024. In February, the town revealed a it plans to develop about 50 acres of land on the eastern border of the bedroom community, which will include a 44,000-square-foot commercial space and 500 mixed-use housing units.<\/p>\n Stonewall Mayor Sandra Smith did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Nicole Buffie Nicole Buffie is a reporter for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College\u2019s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom as a multimedia producer in 2023. Read more about Nicole<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Nicole produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Multimedia producer
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n