Bear Rehabilitation Centre near Stonewall gets council approval

Stonewall — A couple in the R.M of Rockwood has jumped a major hurdle in their attempt to open a bear rehabilitation centre on their farm property near Stonewall.

Last month, Judy and Roger Stearns applied for the R.M to change the zoning of their property to include bears.

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Council approved that change unanimously on June 14th.

“That is good news.” Sterns said Friday. “It’s still not over yet.”

READ MORE: Manitoba’s Bear Rehabilitation Centre could open this summer

Stearns said they now need to apply for a conditional use permit from the R.M.  That will be heard in July. If that gets approved then they must get a permit from the province.

“We were hoping to open in March or April but we didn’t realize the processes would take this long,” Stearns said. “We haven’t heard of any orphan cubs yet so that’s a good thing.”