LAKE PLAN UPDATE, SPRING 2005

This winter saw some delays in our Lake Plan activities, however we went back into full swing with the arrival of spring and once more have some great results to share with you.

We now have a first draft of our Lake Plan document. The document is substantial and will act as a baseline for all aspects of our current environment and the Quality of Life we enjoy today. In addition, it contains the information upon which our Action Plans and Stewardship Strategies will be developed. The document is a living document that will continue to evolve over time as individual circumstances and issues occur and new information becomes available. It is the intent of the Association to review the document every 5 years to establish new direction to meet current issues.

Following is an outline of the contents of our Lake Plan:

Introduction
Principles & Vision
Lake Description – The intent of this section is to provide a general description of the physical characteristics of our lakes. To the extent possible, this section includes information about our lakes’ history, location, volume, flushing rate, watershed size and location, bathymetry (i.e. lake bottom contours), water level management, land access and ownership.
Social Elements - The purpose of this section is to identify and describe the social elements that contribute to the quality of life on our lakes. Very little existing information is readily available on social elements other than historic and cultural sites, which can be researched at the local library. For this section we relied on information gathered from the Resident and Stakeholder workshops and the Resident and Commercial Surveys.
Natural Elements – This section contains a general description of the natural heritage characteristics of our lakes. This section includes information about our lakes’ water quality, such as trophic status, vegetation, wetlands, streams, fish and wildlife communities, exotic species and rare species and species at risk.
Physical Elements - The purpose of this section is to examine the physical aspects of our watershed in order to identify potential constraints affecting present and new land development and resource management. Soils, floodplains, narrow water bodies, steep slopes, minerals and aggregates are discussed in this section.
Land Use - The purpose of this section is to describe the current land uses around the lake and in the watershed, and to provide a review of the Ministry of Natural Resources policies for Crown land and the municipal Official Plan policies and Zoning By-law provisions for private land. Observations from this section could result in recommendations for changes to both Crown land and private land policy.
Values and Concerns - The purpose of this section is to report on the features and elements of the lake that are most valued by the residents, commercial operators and recreational users. Information collected during the workshop (see workshop proceedings) and the residential and commercial survey will be analyzed and presented in this section.
Action Plan - Many issues, which directly impact the general values that attract people to the area, as well as the solutions were identified at the workshops and in the survey. We will be working with you to confirm the issues and identify solutions. These proposed solutions will be the premise to the implementation/stewardship strategies to be outlined in the final section—Action Plans. The action plan will be determined based upon the findings throughout our background report.

Since the size of this document is substantial and in some areas technical in nature, a summary of the salient points and action plans will be developed and will be made available to all residents in the spring of 2006. However, we have learned some very crucial information from you, and we will be looking to initiate some early action plans in 2005 . You have very clearly told us the following:

Almost everyone wants to protect the natural environment
The majority of residents would support land use limits
You have a major concern with boating issues (safety, noise, pollution, speed, pwc’s)
You are concerned about camping

In addition, the top 10 values that you want preserved are:

Water Quality
Quietness
Privacy
Closeness to Nature
Clear Air
Dark Skies
Natural Shoreline
Crown Land Preservation
Wildlife
Safety on Land and Water

Next Steps

Update Council, Algonquin Highlands – June 2, 2005
Update AGM – July 2, 2005
Resident Workshop - August 20, 2005 – Club 35, Highway 35
Presentation of Lake Plan to Board of Directors, October, 2005
Final review & adjustments to Lake Plan – Winter 2006
Board approval of Lake Plan – May 2006
AGM Approval – July 2006
Present findings to Council, Algonquin Highlands – August 2006
Initiate implementation of Action Plan – August 2006

Resident Workshop – Objective

We have scheduled a Resident Workshop on August 20, 2005 at Club 35 on Highway 35. The purpose of this workshop is to work with you to confirm our findings and to identify concrete solutions. PLEASE MARK IT ON YOUR CALENDAR AND PLAN ON ATTENDING.

Costs

Our Financial Plan has not changed since my last report. We are tracking to our projected costs of $22,000, however we are experiencing a shortfall in available funds of $4,000. Below are the details:

Funding received from:

Ontario Trillium Foundation $ 6,000
Municipality of Algonquin Highlands $ 2,000
HHLPOA $ 6,500
Membership donations $ 3,500

TOTAL Funds Available $ 18,000

TOTAL PROJECTED COSTS $ 22,000

In addition to the above projected costs, we have estimated that the volunteer hours are between $60,000 and $80,000. In addition, the generous donation of Genesee Survey Services for the development, production and reporting of the survey is valued at $20,000.

Reaching Out

An important element in the process of developing a Lake Plan is sharing learning and experience and helping other associations work through their challenges. To that end, we have met with the Mountain Lake Association and provided them with our learning and with a copy of our survey. We have also provided a copy of our survey to the Kennesis Lake Association. On June 11, 2005 we will be attending a one day Lake Plan Workshop sponsored by Environment Haliburton during which we will be participating in a panel, along with Paudash Lake and Peninsula Lake. We will deliver a presentation which will address our process, our learning and our challenges and will answer any questions from the workshop participants. Looking ahead, we will continue to participate in any opportunity to support and assist other groups in the development of their Lake Plans.

Closing

On closing, I want to thank my Steering Committee for the significant commitment they have made to this initiative: George Legate, Elaine Burbidge, Helen Perkins and Diane Thomas. John Perkins and the Board have consistently shown strong support for the Lake Plan and have been instrumental in providing guidance and direction to us. Our many, many volunteers have been invaluable to us and Randy French from French Planning Services has made sure we followed a meaningful process and captured all the relevant information to bring our Lake Plan to life.

There is no doubt we are doing the right thing. Thank you all.

LAKE PLAN UPDATE, FALL 2004

Lake Plan Progress – What a summer!!!!! By Carole Russell

Well we have had a very busy summer working on the Lake Plan; and, thanks to a great deal of effort by a lot of people, we have made some tremendous progress. Here are the highlights.

At the AGM, we presented our plans and brought in two guest speakers—Randy French from French Consulting and Chuck McDonald from Lake Kawagami. Our motion to proceed with development of the Lake Plan received your unanimous approval.
We have made good progress with fundraising—received a $6,000 Trillium grant, a $1,000 donation from the Municipality of Algonquin Highlands, a $6,500 contribution from the Association, and $3,520 in membership donations, for a total of $17,020 in cash.
We sent out a survey to stakeholders in late July, and we have now tabulated the results. This is a key part of the process, and the results from this input will heavily influence the direction our Lake Plan takes. Please see the section below with more detail on the survey.
We held two workshops—one on August 15 for the residents and one on October 1 for other stakeholders and commercial operators. We had good turnout (50 and 15 respectively) with lots of discussion. As a result, we collected excellent feedback that we can now include in our process. The top ten concerns/issues identified in that process are in order:

Use of crown land
Water quality—use of fertilizers/pesticides
Boating conduct
Light pollution
Noise pollution
No more road access
New development
Illegal building
Camping—garbage
Septic lagoon

The Survey: The survey was mailed on July 26 and closed on September 6. It contained 25 questions on the Natural Environment, Physical Elements and Social Elements, 17 demographics and 1 open-ended question. Out of 662 mailed surveys with correct addresses, we received 220 surveys—a 33% response rate. This is considered an excellent response rate. The average response rate for paper surveys is 20% to 25%. Thank you for your valuable input.

Four reports were generated: Total Three Lakes, Big Hawk, Halls, and Little Hawk.

To give you an example of how the data appear in the reports, below are the survey results regarding water quality, the number 2 issue identified by the workshop participants mentioned above:

The data from the reports will serve as the foundation for the Lake Plan.

The Finances: Our finances have not altered since our last update to you at the AGM. Our costs are approximately $25,000 (note this includes the $21,801 cost of a professional survey, $20,000 of which was an in-kind donation from Genesee Survey Services). We have collected cash donations of $17,020.

Here’s what our Financial Statement looks like:

Revenue

Ontario Trillium Foundation $6,000
Municipality of Algonquin Highlands $1,000
HHLPOA $6,500
Membership Donations $3,520
In-Kind Donations $20,750
Other Donations $613
Total Expenses $38,383
French Planning Services $2,663
Survey $21,801
Administration (Workshop, Advertising) $356
Total $24,820
Excess of Revenue over Expenses to Date $13,563

Future Expenses
Outstanding Funding Requirements $7,437

Where do we go from here...

Although we have come a long way, we still have much work ahead of us. The focus for the next few months will be;

Completing data collection from MOE, MNR, by-laws, etc.
Analyzing and summarizing the data already collected
Developing the Lake Plan document, including recommendations.

Once we have a version of the Lake Plan that the Steering Committee is comfortable with, we will be scheduling another workshop (targeted for spring) to present it to you for your feedback.

Couldn’t have done it without you...

There is a long (and growing) list of people who have generously donated their time:

Kathleen Bain	Pamela Dennis	Doug Hodgins	Helen Perkins
Dave Bateson	Richard Dennis	Kevin Hood	John Perkins
Jan Brown	Lana Fryer	Bruce Hopkins	Carol Pinch
Anne Bulford	Rob Green	George Legate	Diane Thomas
Dave Bulford	Rob Hartry	John Logan	Craig Waller
Elaine Burbidge	Lorraine Hawley	Bob Mills
Cathy Chambers	Bob Hodgins	Jim Nighswander

LAKE PLAN MISSION STATEMENT

To protect and enhance all elements contributing to the Quality of Life in the Halls, Big and Little Hawk Lakes community.

To identify government-managed issues that affects the Quality of Life and to influence their resolution.

To foster educational, social and stewardship programs that support the spirit of the Lake Plan.

SIX STAGES OF LAKE DEVELOPMENT

From Chuck McDonald’s notes taken at a presentation by Karl Scheifer, president of Beak International and Beak Consulting at the FOCA Spring Seminar 2002)

Did you know that there are 6 stages of shoreline development...

Stage 1 - A single road is brought to the shoreline at a single access point. A few cottages are clustered at the access point.

Stage 2 - A marina is built at the access point and water access lots are opened up. The shoreline is quickly developed to about 30%.

Stage 3 - Road access is developed to almost all of the shoreline and the shoreline develops to capacity within 1 to 3 generations.

Stage 4 - Driveways, cottage additions, garages, boat houses, and docks are added. Loss of habitat, reduction in nearby wildlife, loss of dark skies becomes increasingly evident. Buildings dominate the environment.

Stage 5 - Full density around the shoreline is achieved with loss of natural shoreline, declining water clarity and quality. More marinas, resorts, and golf courses are added.

Stage 6 - Back lot development, infrastructure development and increased commercial development occurs. The lake takes on the look of an urban development.

What stage do you think our 3 lakes are in? Without a Lake Plan every lake will go from Stage1 to Stage 6!

Definition of a Lake Plan

What is a Lake Plan

	IS	ISN’T
Lake Plan	• Our Action Plan to preserve our Environment • One voice • Political Clout 2 key components: (1) Stewardship strategies & Action Plans; (2) Recommendations for land use regulation amendments to the Official Plan	The Law
Official Plan	The Law Has Bylaws	Specific to our Lakes and our wishes

Elements of a Lake Plan

Natural	Physical	Social
Water Quality	Topography	Aesthetics
Fish and wildlife habitat	Soils	Cultural Values
Littoral Vegetation	Land Capability	Historic Values
Riparian Vegetation	Forestry	Social Values
	Minerals and Aggregates	Boating Limits
	Existing Development	Recreation Activities

Quality of Life

Collectively, the Elements of a Lake Plan determine the Quality of Life. In turn, these Elements can be influenced in two ways: Land Use Regulation and Stewardship Programs. This is precisely the process through which our Lake Plan will influence the Quality of Life on Halls and Hawks Lakes.