An excavator that had been stranded in Quill Lakes for more than a decade was finally removed from the water this summer. The machine fell through the ice in March 2014 while the driver attempted to cross the frozen lake during a highway project. This incident occurred about 160 kilometers east of Saskatoon.

The excavator became a local landmark over the years, drawing attention from residents and visitors alike. Janice Reynolds, a resident of Nokomis, expressed her sentiments about the excavator's removal. "A lot of landmarks are disappearing, and we live in a flat country with not a lot of things to see," she said.

As the years passed, the excavator remained in the lake, becoming a symbol of the challenges faced by local farmers during particularly wet conditions. Reynolds noted that many machines were getting stuck in the mud at that time. "I think when the excavator went in, that was one of the worst ones," she recalled. "So we all felt a little bit better about the challenges that we were facing on our farms, seeing that disaster."

In late July, a team from Raptor Picker Services and Hotshots Inc. attempted to retrieve the excavator. Lance Lund, the company's owner, expressed confidence in their efforts. He explained that previous attempts by others to pull the excavator out had failed. "We knew we had to get it up before we could get it out," Lund said.

To accomplish the task, Lund designed a custom system using equipment from the oil industry. The team worked for five days, employing two heavy pickers and two flatbed trucks to extract the excavator, which weighed approximately 100,000 pounds, largely due to the mud that had accumulated on it.

Lund acknowledged that some locals might be upset about the loss of the landmark. However, he emphasized the environmental concerns associated with the excavator, which still contained oil that could harm the lake's ecosystem. "There are fish in that lake, as much as people don't believe that there is," he stated.

The Quill Lakes are known for their importance to shorebirds, serving as staging and breeding grounds. The Ministry of Environment confirmed that no environmental impacts had been reported during the excavator's time in the lake and that they were not involved in the recovery operations.

Reflecting on the successful extraction, Lund said, "At the end of the day, it was something that a lot of people have tried and failed. I'm just glad we were able to put a team together and all work as one and got her out."