MUSSEL CREW:
Read our full Summer 2025 Beach Clean-up Summary
For more information about getting involved text/call Laura @ 204-791-1746
The survey showed that the top priority of most respondents was the beach clean-up. A few of our HBCA Board Members began researching different approaches to clean the beach with the limited equipment and funding available and such a large beach. We found documents of past efforts and spoke to locals involved. We investigated what was used on large beaches down in the USA such as the Surf Rake and what Grand Beach Provincial Park was doing. During the research it was determined that our focus would be on the main beach to the right of the beach path towards the channel; the Trailer Park Co-op owns the beach to the left of the path all the way to Belfast Rd.
In May, HBCA received a permit from the Government of Manitoba, Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Branch that stated we would haul the shells to the Traverse Bay Disposal Site. This was not our intention and would have been impossible to execute. The beach path is only wide enough for smaller vehicles, heavy equipment sinks into the sand especially with a full load, and the shells are very heavy when first collected due to the sand sticking to them. The shells would have to be dropped at end of beach path by the smaller vehicles such as ATVs and picked up again to transport to the Disposal Site. Through further discussions with AIS and RM Alexander, a better solution was developed. The Permit was changed to allow the shells to be placed into 4 meadows located between the beach and the lagoon which are at sufficient elevations to prevent the shells from re-entering the water. This summer we used Meadows 1 & 3. During the first clean-up, The Mussel Crew, lined the perimeter of the meadows with silt fencing and held it in place with sandbags.
Over 100 volunteers showed up at the first clean-up July 5, which was the largest clean-up due to the huge deposits of shells left behind by the winter snow and ice. With so many volunteers we were able to expand the clean-up area to include the small section of public beach at the end of Belfast Rd. The Mussel Crew completed two more clean-ups on July 19 and August 16 with each time attracting 50 volunteers. Volunteers used their muscle to rake, shovel, and empty trailers full or shells. Others drove skid steers to load the ATVs and trailers. The ATV drivers took trip after trip into the meadows. Volunteers assisted with registration, handed out cold drinks, and gave out the Mussel Crew t-shirts. Others assisted with directing ATVs to avoid collisions. Everyone had fun meeting their fellow community members and assisting on this great initiative.
On the second clean-up, a volunteer made the Mussel Mixer 5000 our of materials he had lying around, and brought it to the beach to give it a test spin. Using old electrical wire wheels, plexiglass, chicken wire, and mesh a sifting wheel was created and held by saw horses of different heights to angle the wheel. Sand with shells were shovelled into one end and as the wheel was spun by volunteers the shells came out the end into a bucket and the fine icing sugar clean sand fell back on the beach. We didn’t bring the Mussel Mixer 5000 to the third clean-up as the sand was too wet to sift.
On the third clean-up we were able to find a Beach Cleaner machine to try towed behind a tractor. This machine was altered slightly by the Mussel Crew mechanics, such as installing a finer screen. It worked great and helped collect more shells in a shorter amount of time. The sand was wet that day, so we had to keep it on the highest setting. We decided it was worth purchasing this machine for us to continue to use for years to come. We look forward to trying it on the dry sand to see how many of the broken scattered shells it picks up.
This winter the Mussel Crew will apply for Grants and research what other equipment will assist in next year’s clean-ups. The hope is that we can possibly grind the shells after they dry out. There is quite a difference to the shells in the meadow from the ones that have been drying there from clean-up 1 or 2 and the new ones just pilled. The sand seems to fall off the shells as they dry and the shells become much more brittle and easily crushed. Best of all once they are dry they don’t smell!
In May, HBCA received a permit from the Government of Manitoba, Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Branch that stated we would haul the shells to the Traverse Bay Disposal Site. This was not our intention and would have been impossible to execute. The beach path is only wide enough for smaller vehicles, heavy equipment sinks into the sand especially with a full load, and the shells are very heavy when first collected due to the sand sticking to them. The shells would have to be dropped at end of beach path by the smaller vehicles such as ATVs and picked up again to transport to the Disposal Site. Through further discussions with AIS and RM Alexander, a better solution was developed. The Permit was changed to allow the shells to be placed into 4 meadows located between the beach and the lagoon which are at sufficient elevations to prevent the shells from re-entering the water. This summer we used Meadows 1 & 3. During the first clean-up, The Mussel Crew, lined the perimeter of the meadows with silt fencing and held it in place with sandbags.
Over 100 volunteers showed up at the first clean-up July 5, which was the largest clean-up due to the huge deposits of shells left behind by the winter snow and ice. With so many volunteers we were able to expand the clean-up area to include the small section of public beach at the end of Belfast Rd. The Mussel Crew completed two more clean-ups on July 19 and August 16 with each time attracting 50 volunteers. Volunteers used their muscle to rake, shovel, and empty trailers full or shells. Others drove skid steers to load the ATVs and trailers. The ATV drivers took trip after trip into the meadows. Volunteers assisted with registration, handed out cold drinks, and gave out the Mussel Crew t-shirts. Others assisted with directing ATVs to avoid collisions. Everyone had fun meeting their fellow community members and assisting on this great initiative.
On the second clean-up, a volunteer made the Mussel Mixer 5000 our of materials he had lying around, and brought it to the beach to give it a test spin. Using old electrical wire wheels, plexiglass, chicken wire, and mesh a sifting wheel was created and held by saw horses of different heights to angle the wheel. Sand with shells were shovelled into one end and as the wheel was spun by volunteers the shells came out the end into a bucket and the fine icing sugar clean sand fell back on the beach. We didn’t bring the Mussel Mixer 5000 to the third clean-up as the sand was too wet to sift.
On the third clean-up we were able to find a Beach Cleaner machine to try towed behind a tractor. This machine was altered slightly by the Mussel Crew mechanics, such as installing a finer screen. It worked great and helped collect more shells in a shorter amount of time. The sand was wet that day, so we had to keep it on the highest setting. We decided it was worth purchasing this machine for us to continue to use for years to come. We look forward to trying it on the dry sand to see how many of the broken scattered shells it picks up.
This winter the Mussel Crew will apply for Grants and research what other equipment will assist in next year’s clean-ups. The hope is that we can possibly grind the shells after they dry out. There is quite a difference to the shells in the meadow from the ones that have been drying there from clean-up 1 or 2 and the new ones just pilled. The sand seems to fall off the shells as they dry and the shells become much more brittle and easily crushed. Best of all once they are dry they don’t smell!
Second Zebra Mussel Beach Clean Up - July 19, 2025
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First Zebra Mussel Beach Clean Up a total success!
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We’re excited to share that a new pilot project is underway to improve and maintain Hillside Beach this summer.
HBCA has been exploring many options with our limited resources and finances to remove the zebra mussel shells from the main Hillside public sandy beach. We have met with the RM Alexander Council and with key members of the Government of Manitoba AIS Department.
What we have learned: A permit is required to handle zebra mussels even if you just move them one foot over. Once you handle them it is your responsibility to make sure they don’t re-enter a water body. It is important wherever they are moved to that no overland flooding, waves, or high-water level, could cause the zebra mussels to re-enter the water body.
Our public beach: The main sandy beach to the right of the main beach path off Lagoon Rd is owned by the RM Alexander with a small mix of Crown Land. To the left of the beach path until the end of Belfast Rd is owned by the Co-op Trailer Park (see Figure 1). There is a small amount of public beach to the left of Belfast stairs but access is only across the Co-op Trailer Park beach.
Exploring the options: We explored how the shells can be collected or removed from the sand, by hand or by machine. We researched size of equipment that can travel down beach path, and whether the weight of the mussels once loaded would allow the equipment to proceed in the sand. We looked at where the shells can be taken, can they be buried, or left insitu. We explored grinding options and repurposing the shells.
Our original permit allowed us to transport the zebra mussel shells to the Traverse Bay disposal site on Highway 11. This was not feasible due to the high cost and time required for transport, the limitations of our beach access path—which only accommodates smaller vehicles and not heavy equipment— not to mention, the environmental impact associated with emissions from the transport process.
At the end of the exploration of these options we determined the best way to proceed for this first year is as follows: With the assistance of a rented skid steer, volunteers with bob cats, skid steers, ATV’s and trailers, and volunteers with rakes and shovels, we will remove the large piles of zebra mussel shells from the heavily used sandy areas of Hillside Beach, where they are regularly deposited by wave action. We will relocate them to the designated, unused meadow areas (Figure 2) between the lake and the lagoon. These meadows, which are overgrown with poison ivy and not frequented by the public, are sufficient distance from the water to prevent the shells from being returned to the lake by wind, water, or weather.
We have just received an AIS Possession Permit AISP 26-2025 which allows us to proceed with this plan during the period of June 16 to November 1, 2025. Our permit is structured to allow us to transport and place material in situ, at four “beach meadow” sites between the lake side and lagoon side at the approximate coordinates: Meadow 1 - 50.67345, -96.55678; Meadow 2 - 50.67461, -96.55488; Meadow 3 - 50.67487, -96.55396; Meadow 4 - 50.67551, -96.55331. These areas of the beach are owned by the RM of Alexander and have been also approved by the RM of Alexander Council.
Our relocation shell efforts this year will be focused on the largest piles verses the scattered single shells.
Silt fencing (Figure 7) will be used at each meadow site to ensure the shells remain in the area they are placed. Signs will mark these designated areas indicating that the shell relocation was conducted under AIS Possession Permit AISP 26-2025 as part of an organized beach clean-up.
The first massive Zebra Mussel Beach Clean-Up is was successfully completed on Saturday, July 5th at 8 AM!
Some volunteers brought their own equipment such as Skid Steers, ATVs and trailers, and some brought muscles. We had volunteers directing ATV traffic at each meadow to avoid collisions in and out of the meadow area.
After the first major clean-up with the large community of volunteers, we will hopefully have some smaller groups of willing volunteers that can do a minor cleaning each week using shovel, rakes, ATV’s and trailers. It is our hope that we have enough active volunteers that each small group will only need to volunteer to do a minor cleaning once each summer. However, after any major storm event, we will again rent the skid steer and call on all our whole community to come together again for a larger clean-up.
This year we are focusing on the sandy Hillside Beach to the right of the path. This is a span of 1.8 km. This area is used by the largest population and does not have cottages adjacent. While many residents would love our organized efforts to include the Trailer Park Co-op beach, or small public reserve areas in front of cottages such as at Rocky Beach in front of Bergey, we are unable to extend our resources to these additional locations this year. We were lucky that a group of volunteers was able to do the public beach at the end of Belfast stairs.
HBCA is looking at this as a 1-year plan but not a solution for long-term. The piles would eventually become too large for these meadows if done for 3 to 5 years in a row. Long-term ideas will be continued to be researched along with other beach communities in Manitoba, the RM Alexander Council, and AIS Federal and Provincial Government parties.
Your HBCA Membership of $25 per property per year helps us complete community projects such as this. HBCA has allocated funds retained from past years and received another $5,000 funding from RM of Alexander for this year. This funding contributes to our ability to rent the skid steer for these clean-ups. If you have not paid for your annual membership yet please do so on this website. We will be reserving some of our zebra mussel funds to hopefully be eligible for future grants so that we can purchase equipment to help with long term zebra mussel management. Long-term plans may one day consist of grinding the shells into sand.
We welcome community feedback, ideas, and questions—let’s work together to make this a great summer at Hillside Beach!
Laura Kemp, HBCA Beach Clean-up Crew Chair 204-791-1746
HBCA has been exploring many options with our limited resources and finances to remove the zebra mussel shells from the main Hillside public sandy beach. We have met with the RM Alexander Council and with key members of the Government of Manitoba AIS Department.
What we have learned: A permit is required to handle zebra mussels even if you just move them one foot over. Once you handle them it is your responsibility to make sure they don’t re-enter a water body. It is important wherever they are moved to that no overland flooding, waves, or high-water level, could cause the zebra mussels to re-enter the water body.
Our public beach: The main sandy beach to the right of the main beach path off Lagoon Rd is owned by the RM Alexander with a small mix of Crown Land. To the left of the beach path until the end of Belfast Rd is owned by the Co-op Trailer Park (see Figure 1). There is a small amount of public beach to the left of Belfast stairs but access is only across the Co-op Trailer Park beach.
Exploring the options: We explored how the shells can be collected or removed from the sand, by hand or by machine. We researched size of equipment that can travel down beach path, and whether the weight of the mussels once loaded would allow the equipment to proceed in the sand. We looked at where the shells can be taken, can they be buried, or left insitu. We explored grinding options and repurposing the shells.
Our original permit allowed us to transport the zebra mussel shells to the Traverse Bay disposal site on Highway 11. This was not feasible due to the high cost and time required for transport, the limitations of our beach access path—which only accommodates smaller vehicles and not heavy equipment— not to mention, the environmental impact associated with emissions from the transport process.
At the end of the exploration of these options we determined the best way to proceed for this first year is as follows: With the assistance of a rented skid steer, volunteers with bob cats, skid steers, ATV’s and trailers, and volunteers with rakes and shovels, we will remove the large piles of zebra mussel shells from the heavily used sandy areas of Hillside Beach, where they are regularly deposited by wave action. We will relocate them to the designated, unused meadow areas (Figure 2) between the lake and the lagoon. These meadows, which are overgrown with poison ivy and not frequented by the public, are sufficient distance from the water to prevent the shells from being returned to the lake by wind, water, or weather.
We have just received an AIS Possession Permit AISP 26-2025 which allows us to proceed with this plan during the period of June 16 to November 1, 2025. Our permit is structured to allow us to transport and place material in situ, at four “beach meadow” sites between the lake side and lagoon side at the approximate coordinates: Meadow 1 - 50.67345, -96.55678; Meadow 2 - 50.67461, -96.55488; Meadow 3 - 50.67487, -96.55396; Meadow 4 - 50.67551, -96.55331. These areas of the beach are owned by the RM of Alexander and have been also approved by the RM of Alexander Council.
Our relocation shell efforts this year will be focused on the largest piles verses the scattered single shells.
Silt fencing (Figure 7) will be used at each meadow site to ensure the shells remain in the area they are placed. Signs will mark these designated areas indicating that the shell relocation was conducted under AIS Possession Permit AISP 26-2025 as part of an organized beach clean-up.
The first massive Zebra Mussel Beach Clean-Up is was successfully completed on Saturday, July 5th at 8 AM!
Some volunteers brought their own equipment such as Skid Steers, ATVs and trailers, and some brought muscles. We had volunteers directing ATV traffic at each meadow to avoid collisions in and out of the meadow area.
After the first major clean-up with the large community of volunteers, we will hopefully have some smaller groups of willing volunteers that can do a minor cleaning each week using shovel, rakes, ATV’s and trailers. It is our hope that we have enough active volunteers that each small group will only need to volunteer to do a minor cleaning once each summer. However, after any major storm event, we will again rent the skid steer and call on all our whole community to come together again for a larger clean-up.
This year we are focusing on the sandy Hillside Beach to the right of the path. This is a span of 1.8 km. This area is used by the largest population and does not have cottages adjacent. While many residents would love our organized efforts to include the Trailer Park Co-op beach, or small public reserve areas in front of cottages such as at Rocky Beach in front of Bergey, we are unable to extend our resources to these additional locations this year. We were lucky that a group of volunteers was able to do the public beach at the end of Belfast stairs.
HBCA is looking at this as a 1-year plan but not a solution for long-term. The piles would eventually become too large for these meadows if done for 3 to 5 years in a row. Long-term ideas will be continued to be researched along with other beach communities in Manitoba, the RM Alexander Council, and AIS Federal and Provincial Government parties.
Your HBCA Membership of $25 per property per year helps us complete community projects such as this. HBCA has allocated funds retained from past years and received another $5,000 funding from RM of Alexander for this year. This funding contributes to our ability to rent the skid steer for these clean-ups. If you have not paid for your annual membership yet please do so on this website. We will be reserving some of our zebra mussel funds to hopefully be eligible for future grants so that we can purchase equipment to help with long term zebra mussel management. Long-term plans may one day consist of grinding the shells into sand.
We welcome community feedback, ideas, and questions—let’s work together to make this a great summer at Hillside Beach!
Laura Kemp, HBCA Beach Clean-up Crew Chair 204-791-1746
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Figure 1 left: The public beach is from the path on Lagoon Rd and to the right until the channel. The section below in yellow is owned by the Trailer Park Co-op.
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