American doctor fined for altering Saskatchewan shoreline

An American doctor and his Manitoba contractor have been fined for altering a shoreline in Saskatchewan along with damaging park property.

They have also been ordered to remediate the shoreline and plant trees.

Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment officials said it happened during construction of a new cabin for Dr. Stanley Riddell at Madge Lake in Duck Mountain provincial park this past spring.

According to environment officials, a large amount of clay fill from the basement excavation was placed between the leased property line and the bank of the lake, destroying the natural park vegetation.

Riddell and his construction contractor, Jeffrey Dahl, then used the fill to landscape beyond the property with a gradual slope to the lake instead of removing it as instructed by environment staff.

The slope was up to four feet deep in some places and caused sediment to run into Madge Lake.

Riddell, who is from Sammamish, Wash., and Dahl, of Aspen Builders in Swan River, Man., pleaded guilty to altering the configuration of Madge Lake and unlawfully damaging trees and other natural vegetation on park land.

Riddell was fined $12,600 and Dahl was fined $9,800.

An environmental protection order was also issued for the land to be remediated and put back to a natural state.

It requires removing the earth fill from near the lake, placing rock riprap to stabilize the bank, laying geotextile fabric on the damaged areas and re-establishing a natural vegetated bank and boundary.

Five spruce trees, between 10 and 12 feet, must also be planted between the cabin and shoreline.