Love Your Lake – Background

“Love Kennisis Lake!”

“Love Your Lake” Shoreline Assessment Program Comes to Kennisis Lakes in 2016

The Kennisis Lake Cottage Owner’s Association (KLCOA) working with the Coalition of Haliburton Property Owners’ Associations (CHA) will be participating in the “Love Your Lake” (LYL) Shoreline Assessment program, evaluating the natural state of the shorelines around our Lakes in May 2016. Shoreline Health is one of the key Stewardship focus areas of the KLCOA.

Shorelines are often referred to as “the ribbon of life”, due to the number of species that depend on them for food and habitat. Did you know that 80% to 90% of all life on the Kennisis Lakes depends on a healthy shoreline?  In addition to providing wildlife habitat, shorelines play a key role in maintaining good water quality. They do an amazing job of slowing runoff from roads, driveways and buildings, help to filter sediment, contaminants and nutrients (e.g. from septic systems) entering the lake and help keep water temperatures cooler in the summer.

In order to determine the state of the shoreline on our lakes, two Trent University environmental science students who have successfully completed an intensive shoreline assessment course will be assessing the entire shorelines of on Kennisis and Little Kennisis Lakes in the summer of 2016.  The shoreline assessment will be performed from a vantage point on the water with the assessment team located in a boat.  After the shoreline assessment is complete, each individual landowner will be given a comprehensive report about the state of their shoreline and what they can do to make their shoreline better if they choose to do so.  There are no regulatory obligations to make any changes – this initiative is completely voluntary.   The CHA has prepared list of resources (e.g. reference materials, consultants, contractors, nurseries, etc.) that may be of assistance to you should you plan to make shoreline improvements to benefit the health of the lake. These will be provided with your assessment package.

Since all shoreline assessments will be done by boat, the assessment team will not have to access any landowner’s property. ALL information collected will be kept private. The only people who will know the results of the individual shoreline assessments will be the assessment team and that property owner. (The Trent students will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement as part of the program). The KLCOA will receive an overall report, which will provide only a broad overview of the results. No names, addresses or details will be published or provided to the KLCOA.

Why are we doing this assessment? The benefit is that once the shoreline assessment is complete, we as a lake community will know what percentage of the shoreline is natural on Kennisis and Little Kennisis Lakes. This information will help the KLCOA to prioritize future Stewardship projects and focus on maintaining good water quality to ensure that we are able to continue to enjoy our lake surroundings.

Please note that this project is non regulatory, and the site-specific information for individual properties will not be shared with any government or regulatory agency. The overview report however will be available for distribution and will be shared with the Kennisis community.

As a landowner, you don’t need to do anything to participate and you don’t need to be a member of the KLCOA to take part in this important project. All costs are being covered by the KLCOA with the assistance of Trillium grant already obtained through the efforts of the CHA.  Participation is voluntary, and you may opt out of the survey if you wish. If you do not want your property to be included in the assessment, please notify us by May 15, 2016 via the e-mail address listed below. This program has already been completed on 20 lakes in Haliburton County with 5500 properties participating and 28 additional lakes are scheduled for assessments in 2016!  Of the 5,500 properties that have already been surveyed, less than 0.5% of property owners have chosen to opt out.

Over the full four-year term of the Trillium Grant, the project will classify over 12000 waterfront properties and provide member associations with an aggregate view of the health of shorelines around each of their lakes and across all of Haliburton County.

The shoreline classification project will take place during the weeks of:

  • May 24 – May 27
  • May 30 – June 3
  • June 6 – June 10

Property assessments will take place only between Monday and Friday.

Would you like to help?  We need volunteers!

Billeting

We need volunteers to billet the students over a period of approximately 15 days (May/June). Landowners can offer to billet students for one week or longer.  Students are responsible for their own food and they will have their own vehicles.

Boat Transportation

We will need volunteer boat drivers (with a valid boat operator’s license and insurance) who are willing to use their boat to take students along the shoreline while they complete the assessments. Boat drivers can volunteer to take a student out for one day or more.

The KLCOA has a budget for boat fuel and boat drivers will be reimbursed for their fuel costs if they wish. Out of a 5 day work week, the students will spend approximately three days on the water doing the assessments and two days per week on data entry, weather depending. Field assessments cannot be completed in the rain.

If you would like to volunteer for billeting or boating, please contact us!

Opt Out Email: klcoainfo@gmail.com

Thank you so much for your support!

For more information on the “Love Your Lake” project, visit  www.loveyourlake.ca and the CHA website at www.cohpoa.org.

Two excellent videos have been prepared by the CHA about the Ribbon of Life and the simple steps that can be taken to improve it:

  1. Ribbon of Life: https://vimeo.com/channels/lakeprotectors/90929405
  2. A Beginner’s Guide to Shoreline Stewardship: https://vimeo.com/channels/lakeprotectors/91079466