Lower
Beverley Lake Association
P.O.
Box 204, Delta, Ontario K0E 1G0
Spring 2001 Newsletter
click here to download the LBLA 2001 Newsletter in PDF format
(164 kbytes)
IMPORTANT
NOTE: The
web version of the newsletter (below) has been reformatted to make
it easy to read on screen. Material that appeared in the newsletter
that was already on the website has been omitted. Other editorial
changes have been made as well. To see the newsletter exactly as
it was printed, download the PDF file (above).
Greetings!
We hope you
had a pleasant winter and that you are looking forward to the
summer season on beautiful Lower Beverley Lake.
Annual General
Meeting, 2001
Date: Wednesday
July 18, 2001
Time: Registration
7:00 PM Meeting 7:30 PM
Place: United
Church, Delta
Last year,
the LBLA membership decided to change the annual meeting to the
third Wednesday in July in the evening, to encourage wider attendance
and participation. We were pleased with the significant increase
in attendance and the membership voted to continue the Wednesday
evening meeting time this year.
Your representatives
have been working on many initiatives and concerns of the Lake community
(see below) and we will update the latest status and address new
concerns at the Annual Meeting.
Water Safety
and Safe Boating
LBLA members
with assistance from OPP developed our "Safe and Considerate
Boating" brochures and forms which were mailed with our
Newsletter 2000. Another initiative was an educational campaign
on three peek arrival weekends at the LBL Township Park. Over
Victoria Day, Canada Day, and Civic Holiday, a total of eleven
LBLA volunteers and six Regular/Auxiliary OPP Officers distributed
brochures and forms, and gathered data on entering watercraft.
For 2001,
our objective is to reach more boaters at the park by trying to
make arrangements for distribution of our brochures from the LBL
Park Office as people register, and requesting OPP Marine to patrol
the lake as often as possible. To report a serious incident requiring
immediate response, phone 911. To make a routine report of dangerous
or inconsiderate behavior, phone OPP Rideau Lakes at 613-283-6911.
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Operator Competency
Requirements
The operator
of a pleasure craft fitted with a motor and used for recreational
purposes is required to have proof of competency on board by the
following dates:
Operator
born after April 1, 1983 Sep 15, 1999
All operators
of craft less than 4m/13ft Sep 15, 2002
All operators
Sep 15, 2009
This regulation
also applies to non-residents operating their pleasure craft in
Canadian waters after 45 consecutive days. Details of requirements
are available in the "Safe Boating Guide", which can be
obtained by calling the Boating Safety Infoline (1-800-267-6687)
or visiting the Canadian Coast Guard website www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca.
Pleasure
Craft Operator Cards (PCOC) can be obtained from some Ontario
Motor Vehicle Licensing Offices (phone your local office), some
boating organizations (call Canadian Power and Sail Squadron [white
pages] or "Boating Instructions" [yellow pages]), and on line
at www.BoaterExam.com,
e-mail BoaterExam.com,
or phone at 1-877-682-6773 (Instruction + Exam + PCOC Application:
$45/person; Exam + PCOC Application: $25/person).
As requested
at the 2000 Annual General Meeting, Doug Kilpatrick has made arrangements
for a formal class instruction in Delta, on Saturday, July 21
at the Delta United Church hall. The $50/person fee (group rate)
covers Instruction + Manual + Safe Boating Guide + Exam
+ PCOC Application. The course will be conducted by a retired
OPP Marine officer, beginning at 9am: the exam (1 hour) starts
at noon. The class will be open to LBLA members, non-members,
non-residents, and children, with places allocated first to members.
We need a minimum of twenty participants, maximum twenty-five.
To sign-up, make an appropriate entry on the LBLA Registration
Form. Reservations are required by June 23 and registrants will
be notified by July 8. Fees to be paid at the time of instruction/exam.
For people
who wish to prepare themselves to take the examination for a PCOC,
LBLA has obtained copies of the Canadian Power and Sail Squadron
"Boat Pro Manual", available at the public libraries in
Delta and Lyndhurst.
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Age-Horsepower
Restrictions
- Under
12, not directly supervised [accompanied/directly supervised
in the boat by a person 16 or older]; no more than 10 hp
- Between
12 and 16, not directly supervised; no more than 40 hp
- Under
16, not allowed to operate a Personal Watercraft
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Cottage Watch
The tremendous
response to Ontario’s Cottage Watch Program is mirrored by
the response on Lower Beverley Lake. More than 150 Cottage Watch
groups have been formed throughout Ontario, and more than 125
LBL cottages now have the Cottage Watch decals in their windows
or dock signs on their property.
For those
of you who have not yet been canvassed or are unaware of the program,
Cottage Watch is a program sponsored by a grant from the Partners
in Crime Prevention program, Ministry of Solicitor General. The
program itself is roughly a lakeside equivalent to Neighbourhood
Watch. It organizes lakeside residents to identify valuables and
assist each other to prevent crime.
Our request
for funding for large Cottage Watch road signs from the Township
of Rideau Lakes was not approved, but we have a supply of attractive
smaller signs (9"x12" dock signs) that will be available to individuals
for $20.
If you are
willing to canvass your in your lake area or if you are interested
in joining the program, please call John Truyens at 613-928-3199.
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Water Level
Monitoring And Control
Dams
at Delta, Lyndhurst, and Morton enable water levels to be controlled
more or less independently in our watershed. For optimum benefit
of residents and recreational users of the waterways, MNR’s
objective is to keep the summer fluctuation to 15 cm/6 inches.
However, many factors must be juggled to achieve an optimum level,
including snowfall, frost depth, seasonal rainfall/dry spells,
heat waves/evaporation, etc. We will continue to work with MNR
to monitor water levels. Please report concerns regarding water
level to Don Santos (613-928-3111), and not directly to MNR.
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Shoal/Hazard
Marking
Public minded
users of the lake have for many years placed warning markers on
shoals and other hazards to navigation. General safety on LBL
will be enhanced if residents mark areas they are aware of.
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LBLA Fishery
MNR responded
to our concerns regarding lower creel counts and coarse fish netting.
They indicated that regulated commercial fishing is an important
part of fisheries management. Removal of allowed species in compliance
with allocated quotas enhances game fish stock by reducing predators
that attack spawning beds. Game fish stocking in LBL is considered
unnecessary because available data indicates our fish population
is adequate and well supported in the enriched lake environment.
MNR conducted
a Near Shore Community Netting project last August
in partnership with a team from Queens University. Netting was conducted
at several locations with each day’s catch catalogued and measured
for comparison to indices based on results at similar lakes.
Follow-on projects include a Voluntary Angling Survey,
where anyone who fishes completes an MNR form indicating what/when/where
was caught. We are trying to arrange the issue and return of forms
through Fishing License issuers in Delta and Lyndhurst. A second
initiative is a Voluntary Activity Count, where a team
on the lake counts the number of people fishing. The objective
is to obtain data on pressure on the LBL fishery. Ted Brett, a
year-round resident, will coordinate these projects. If you can
assist whenever you are on the lake, please contact Ted at 613-928-2719,
or e-mail at <3pines@sympatico.ca>.
MNR indicates these assessments of current fish population are
necessary before designing a fisheries management programme for
LBL.
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Take a Little
Lead Out
LBLA is endorsing
the area wide effort to eliminate use of lead sinkers. Loons and
other water birds with similar feeding habits foraging for food
can swallow lead when they eat fish with sinkers attached. In
Ontario, 30% of adult loon mortality is attributed to ingestion
of lead sinkers and jigs. Clare Angermann (613-928-2683) will
be leading this effort for LBLA.
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Sewage Systems/Shoreline
Survey
In response
to the Newsletters of 1999 and 2000, 32 property owners asked
for a Sewage System/Shoreline Survey. In the summer of 1999,
LL
Green, a non-profit organization of people trained and
experienced in promoting care of the environment, was able to
perform surveys of 15 properties around the lake. Feedback from
the property owners we contacted was positive. Unfortunately,
LL Green was not able to renew its funding for 2000 or
2001. We have maintained a list of those people who requested
but did not receive the service. It is possible that LL Green
may be able to make something happen in 2002. Please indicate
your interest in a survey on the Registration Form.
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Water Quality
Approximately
550 lake locations were sampled in the Lake Partner Program in
2000. Slightly more than 20% were classified as "enriched"(high
in nutrients) with comparatively poor clarity (less than 3 Metres).
Lower Beverley is in this category with consistent trends over
the past three years. The presence of Zebra Mussels in LBL was
confirmed in 1998. See attached details and the LBLA
website.
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Rabies
In February
2001, MNR reported three new cases between Athens and Lyndhurst,
despite extensive measures to control raccoon rabies. This brings
the number of confirmed cases in Leeds & Grenville to over
30 since July, 1999. You can help by keeping pets under control
and shots up to date, and eliminate potential wildlife food sources
from around your home. If your pet has been in contact with a
potentially rabid animal, or you find a dead raccoon or skunk
with no obvious cause of death, call the Canadian Food Inspection
Agency at 613-342-3682. If you come in contact with a potentially
rabid animal, alive or dead, contact the Health Unit at 613-345-5685
or 1-800-660-5853.
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Loon Nesting
Platforms
LBLA
volunteers, using their donated materials and purchased hardware,
constructed two platforms to be positioned after ice-out. It will
be necessary to recover them in the autumn. Because of the size
and weight of the platforms (and their construction site), they
will be placed south of the narrows. Construction of two additional
platforms is planned for 2001, for placement in other lake areas.
An application has been submitted to MNR for a grant from the
Community Fisheries and Wildlife Involvement Programme, to help
defray the costs of this activity.
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Lake Associations
Initiatives
Initiatives
from the Alliance of Rideau Lakes Associations (ARLA) and the
Cataraqui Region Lakes Stewards Network (CRLSN) that were supported
at the LBLA General Meeting in 2000 include the following:
- Sewage
System mandatory inspection to ensure efficiency when ownership
of property changes. The intention is to improve water quality
throughout the watershed and involves several municipalities.
However, based on experience in other locations, this could
have a negative impact on property resale.
- Proposed
ban on water sports involving towing during the same hours when
navigation lights must be shown.
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Thanks to
the effort, skill, and resources of Neil Herber and Jan Reatherford,
LBLA boasts its own website. We are posting meeting minutes, the
annual newsletter, and current status on LBLA initiatives, new
concerns, etc. as the year progresses. Please make use of this
new resource and give your comments and suggestions to the Webmaster.
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Donations
To Fire Departments
From
the modest beginning in 1994 when 33 members donated a total of
$381, 60 members donated $899 in 2000, bringing LBLA contributions
to $4,300!
| |
2000 |
1999 |
| Bastard
& South Burgess |
$684 |
$665 |
| South
Crosby |
$ 85 |
$ 70 |
| Rear
of Leeds & Lansdowne |
$130 |
$ 65 |
Donations
in the year 2000 were used, in Bastard & South Burgess for
the purchase of High Volume Fittings for their tanker and pumper
trucks so they can deliver more water faster; in South Crosby
for training and purchase of equipment; and in Rear of Leeds &
Lansdowne toward the two-year project nearing its goal of a Boat
Pump which will enable the attack on fires from the water side
of shore and island properties. LBLA was presented a plaque in
December in recognition of donations to the Delta Volunteer Firefighters
Association totaling $3,144 to date.
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Election Of
Officers
Returning
to the traditional LBLA schedule, elections for all officers will
be held at the Annual Meeting on July 18.If you wish to stand
for an office, please indicate on the Registration Form.
Download a printable registration form in PDF format - 124
kbytes
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Thank
you for your support. Have a happy and safe season.
We look forward to seeing you at the annual meeting on Wednesday,
July 18 at 7 pm at the United Church in Delta.
Don
Santos, LBLA President
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