Yellowknife (Dec 15/06) - NWT Power Corporation is warning snowmobilers to stay off a pair of nearby lakes after a number of them have been seen driving over poorly formed ice.

"They're here doing it all the time," said Ken Dies, a representative for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation. "It's a sport to them."

Jackfish Lake is used for cooling Power Corp.'s diesel plant, which in turn dumps warm ice into the lake, making it difficult to freeze. It is closed to public travel year-round, however snowmobilers are still trying to traverse the open water there, said Dies.

Also, water levels tend to fluctuate on the Bluefish Lake dam north of Prosperous Lake, making for dangerously thin ice.

Plans are underway to construct barriers on Jackfish Lake and Bluefish Lake, said Dies.