As the name implies the Southend field Office is located on the South end of Reindeer Lake in the community of Southend approx 222 km north of LaRonge via road. The Southend office is permanently staffed with 2 Conservation Officers, 1 forest Protection Officer, 1 Fire Base supervisor and a customer service rep. During the fire season an additional fire base supervisor a radio operator and 13 initial attack crewmembers work out of the office.

The field area is over 47,000 square km in size and is bordered by Manitoba as well as the neighboring districts of LaRonge, Pinehouse, Pelican Narrows and Stony rapids. The area is characterized by boreal forest dotted with hundreds of lakes and rivers of various sizes dissected by very few roads and trails. The Field area increased dramatically in size in 2004 with the closure of the Wollaston office, which also saw the loss of 2 permanent C.O positions. The communities of Southend, Wollaston, Brabant and Kinoosao are within the field area and contain approx 3000 permanent residents. In addition the community of Brochet Manitoba is on the north end of Reindeer Lake and many of the residents trap, fish and hunt in their traditional areas within Sask. The residents of Southend and Kinoosao are predominantly Cree and belong to the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation while the residents of Brabant are predominantly Cree from the LaRonge Band. The residents of Wollaston are predominantly Dene and belong to the Hatchett lake First Nation. Cree and Dene are still the first language of the majority of people living within the field area. Many of the residents still practice a traditional lifestyle and derive income from commercial fishing, trapping and guiding.

Access to the Field area is via hwy 102 from the south, in addition there is road access to Kinoosao from Lynn lake Manitoba. Access to the community of Wollaston is via barge, boat or aircraft during open water or via ice road in winter. Wollaston lake landing is approx 255 km from Southend via hwy 905 (gravel) with the community another 45 km across the lake. Points North landing is also within the field area and consists of a paved airstrip, floatplane base, accommodations and other services. Points north is a major transportation hub for Outfitters, mineral exploration companies and mine sites and is about 300 km via road from Southend.

The Southend field area presents many challenges with activities such as commercial fishing, outfitting, trapping, subsistence hunting and fishing, sport hunting, mineral exploration, mining and other resource impacting activities ongoing year round. The vastness and remoteness of the region make travel very challenging and time consuming. Fieldwork is done via boat, snowmobile, aircraft and truck and weather conditions can be very harsh. Communication poses many problems with minimal Fleetnet radio coverage and many remote areas with no radio coverage. Satellite phone is the only option in many areas but even this system is not foolproof with no service available on numerous occasions. Back up in cases where required can be many hours away or impossible in some instances. Well-maintained and up to date equipment as well as knowledge about traveling and surviving in remote areas is essential for Officers working within this area.

Commercial fishing is still a large and active industry within the field area with over 200 lakes with commercial quotas. The fishery on Reindeer lake alone consists of over 40 fishers with a total quota of 497,500 kg separated into separate species quotas for Whitefish, Lake Trout, Walleye and Pike. This is a 3-season fishery with the majority of the fish taken during 3 to 4 weeks in July/August. Fish are delivered to a packing plant at Kinoosao (80 miles from Southend via boat) from which they are shipped to Winnipeg. The field office maintains a patrol cabin at Kinoosao, which is used extensively over the summer months. Reindeer lake poses a huge challenge to patrol with a surface area of over 6500 square kilometers, a length of 230 km and thousands of Islands and reefs. The commercial fishery on Wollaston consists of over 30 fishers and a total quota of 365,000 kg of Whitefish, Lake Trout, Pike and Walleye. Wollaston lake is also very large with a surface area of over 2800 square kilometers. Fish are delivered to a packing plant at Wollaston during the summer fishery then are hauled by semi truck across the lake by barge then on to Winnipeg. Many of the commercial fisheries on smaller outlying lakes are done in winter via snowmobile then transported to LaRonge or P.A by truck. Another huge industry within the field area is Uranium mining and exploration. The Uranium deposits in the Wollaston - Points North area in the Athabasca basin are said to be the largest and richest in the world. There are presently 2 active Uranium mines within the area with another coming on line and another in the proposal stage. In addition there are 30 plus active exploration projects ongoing with more happening each year. The mineral exploration happens predominantly in winter and is opening up roads and trails into many remote areas. Inspecting these activities and ensuring compliance with the various regulations proves very time consuming with the distances and geography involved. Ensuring that these activities leave the lowest possible impact is essential with the rapid growth of this industry.

The Outfitting industry is also very active within the area with over 40 active outfitting camps. Reindeer lake has 8 active outfitting lodges, Wollaston Lake has 3 while the remainder are spread over a wide area on smaller lakes with the majority being fly in only. In addition there are dozens of day use lakes and many out camps used by the various outfitters. Fishing for trophy northern pike is the most common outfitting opportunity offered with angling for various other species as well as guided Moose and Bear hunts being very popular.

Subsistence hunting and fishing as well as resident sport hunting and fishing also takes place throughout the year for various species. Barren ground caribou also migrate into the northern portion of the field area during the winter and in a normal year many hundreds are killed by treaty Indian hunters. Monitoring these hunts often means extended snowmobile patrols of several hundred miles into remote areas.

Officers in the field area also deal with many other varied issues such as spill response, garbage dump issues, nuisance wildlife, forestry issues and campgrounds. Lands work includes dealing with issues surrounding the many remote recreational leases, traditional resource use cabins and various fishing and hunting camps.

The varied workload and huge area to cover offers many unique challenges for 2 C.O’s and a limited budget. Sometimes the job can seem overwhelming but there are still times when it is still hard to believe that we get paid to work in such a beautiful and natural environment. Protecting the environment in such an area proves more challenging every day as more and more pressure is placed on our natural resources.