Lake Plan Implementation Report

John and Susan Brenciaglia lead the Lake Plan Implementation Team. It consists of many volunteers who work tirelessly to preserve and enhance the quality of life on Penlake. Here is a list of the active projects and their leaders:

Loon Survey	Barb Hutchison
Working With Partners	Paul Hutchison & Cathy Oakden
Stewardship Awards	Susan Brenciaglia
Shoreline Re-vegetation	Tony Moffat
Communication Plan	Debbie Court
Water Quality	Jim Marshall
Invasive Species	Tony Moffat
Educational Workshops	John Brenciaglia
"Shore Captains"	Wendy Rotenberg

July 2009 Update

This report is to update the status of those projects specified in the Lake Plan that have been initiated. Many more could be started if new members would be willing to lead them.

Update Official Plans
The Town of Huntsville has included our Lake Plan in its Official Plan in a manner similar to that followed by the Lake of Bays Township. The Lake Plan was quoted in the OMB decision rejecting the Quarry Application.

Site Plan Control
The Association has worked with the planners of Lake of Bays and Huntsville to implement Site Plan Control Agreements on redevelopments that were critical to the protection of our lake. We will continue to do so in the future as new applications for redevelopment are submitted.

Communication Plan
Our website is now fully operational. It is an important means of two-way communication between directors and members. Please use it. Pen Notes is issued twice a year - in the fall and spring. This keeps the membership informed on activities and concerns around our lake.

We found that workshops and specific activities (both social and stewardship) have been enjoyed as a way of updating specific sectors of our membership on our knowledge of the Lake and the impact that we have on it. In order to widen the reach of these activities a network of communication stewards was formed to maintain contact with their neighbours. The stewards conducted the survey that will direct the revision of our Lake Plan.

Stewardship Awards
Seven awards have been presented to recognize good stewards in the preservation of our natural heritage, the protection of the lake from damaging development, and the careful management of redevelopment impacts. Much remains to be done to increase the number of nominations and expand them to contractors and real estate agents. To this purpose the awards have been presented at our AGMs and published in articles on local papers. The committee membership has been increased by including all former recipients. Certificates can be issued so that more than one member’s contribution can be acknowledged annually. We have so many good stewards around the lake and we want to acknowledge more every year….until we include everyone!

Stream Inventory
We have held a workshop on this specific topic, led by a researcher who had studied the health of some of our streams and held two benthic monitoring sessions on McCready Creek. Repeated annual events will enable us to judge the impact of the Woodland Heights development on the wetland source of this stream.

Loon Inventory
For a few years we have recorded sightings of loons on our lake. We were quite happy to see that the loon population seems to be self-sustaining, with an adequate number of young chicks reported. Please check the latest report by Barb Hutchison in Pen Notes.

Boating Awareness
Members have been encouraged to participate in safe boating training by holding one session on our lake. Awareness of the environmental impact of motor boats has been promoted by a motor free day advertised on Pen Notes and at AGM’s every summer. An annual regatta for canoes, rowboats and sailboats is a strong tradition on our lake. A newer tradition is a canoe picnic at Flat Rock. See the announcement for PURE day in Pen Notes and participate.

Monitoring
The traditional assessment of water quality by turbidity and nutrient monitoring has been expanded to bacterial level monitoring for several years, and to benthic monitoring in the last few years. We now have enough data to discuss the effectiveness of this monitoring. We Plan to have an annual poster session at the Ecology Workshop on July 2nd, following by discussion between members. See Pen Notes for more on the workshop and plan to attend it.

Invasive Species
Articles on Pen Notes and a presentation at a workshop have been used to increase our members’ awareness of the risks of invasion by both water and land non-native species. Precautions to be used to manage the risk have been identified through the distribution of literature at our meetings, workshops and newsletters. Please continue to be careful in your lakeside activities, particularly now that climate change will enhance opportunities for invasion.

Lake Watch
A past committee developed signage at entry points into the lake and contacts with the agencies responsible for enforcement of safety, environmental and land use regulations. They have also responded to complaints and observations by members concerned but unsure on how to respond to abuses seen. The committee needs new volunteers. Please call John Brenciaglia if you are interested – 788-1211

Working with Partners
We continue to educate our elected municipal leaders and their planning staff through boat tours of the lake, invitations to our meetings and presentations to committees. The reputation we have gained has been helpful in several cases requiring planning or enforcement decisions. We have also shared the results of our reviews of official plans and bylaws with other Lake Associations and supported them in activities where our experience could be of help (lake plan implementation, specific development comments, educational events). We would like to extend this out-reach to institutions wider afield, but we need volunteers with the appropriate experience and interest.

Lake Plan Downloads

You can download the entire lake plan in PDF format by clicking here. [3.1 MB PDF]

The September 2005 Lake Plan Implementation update is available for dowload for here. [32 KB]