We started 2011 by shaking things up a bit. No more would you get the traditional newsletters in the mail, but instead, you received a 12 month calendar loaded with tips on safety and how to be good stewards of our beautiful environment. We also included some great photos of life on our lakes and pre-loaded the calendar with events that we thought would be meaningful and helpful to you. We got some great comments and hope that all of you continue to enjoy the calendar and found it helpful.
On the July long weekend, we hosted our first Docktalk event, in partnership with Big Hawk Marina. We had the OPP on site to answer your questions, especially about safety and boating licenses and had the BoatSmart folks set up for writing the test. A total of 13 people wrote the exam and Ron and Cathy Socha from Big Hawk Marina cooked up burgers and dogs for all, courtesy of HHLPOA. The folks from BoatSmart advised that it was the best turn out they had had all season!!! Hope you caught the photos that we have had on our website.
As per usual, the AGM on the August long weekend was jam packed. Our new Reeve, Carol Moffat gave an update and Sheila Ziman from Haliburton Highlands Land Stewardship gave a great presentation on Species at Risk (SAR). We also gave away SAR books to 5 lucky folks in the audience. We welcomed 3 new board members – Terry Moore, Charlotte Bouckley and Rick Ronchka – and said good-bye to John Perkins. Jackie Hart won the 50/50 draw
We honored Dark Skies on the 3rd week of August and the same day hosted our 3rd Symposium and Social at Oakview Lodge. We recorded 40 people in attendance, leaving no empty seats. We had 2 great presenters. Julia Harrison from Trent University talked about her new book “The Canadian Middle Class at the Cottage” and Nikki Latanville from the MNR did a great presentation “How Bear Wise are you”.
We also hosted the Shoreline Advisor program again this year. Once again we were fully booked. This is a really great program where you get FREE….yes FREE…. consulting regarding improvements you can make to your shoreline and property to help protect our most valuable asset – the quality of our water. A highly recommended program. We also worked with Council this year and acquired permission to bring the consultant to Elvin Johnson Park. This was very worthwhile and we are now working on a plan on how to bring life to some of their recommendations.
There were many more things we worked over the year besides the events you participated in, including:
• Worked with Council to install “no parking” signs at the entrance to Round the Bay Road
• Installed 3 new “no wake” signs at the lake-side entrance to the Big Hawk bridge
• Worked with the Volunteer Firefighters to purchase a new portable firepump, and donated $3375 towards the cost
• Donated $500.00 to the Haliburton Fish Hatchery in support of the Haliburton Gold
• Have open work-in-progress files with Council on:
o Removal of one section of the Government Dock at Little Hawk
o Inappropriate long term docking at Little Hawk’s Government Dock
o Noise levels on Little Hawk
o No parking at launch area on Halls
We are also working with Council regarding the new Bell Tower on Halls Lake, and have requested a reduction in the glare.
Other important projects that we are working on include the proposed hydro project at Buttermilk Falls and the County of Haliburton Shoreline Tree Preservation bylaw. We also hosted a tour of the Hawks for the Superintendent of Parks Canada , Dawn Bronson, who has accountability for the operations of the Trent Severn Waterway.
We have also been working diligently with the Coalition of Equitable Waterflow to provide them with a report documenting our “preferred water levels”. The intent is that this report, along with reports from other reservoir lakes, will be used as input in discussions with the TSW regarding changes to the model they use for managing water levels. I hope you had a chance to fill out the survey on our website.
A busy year indeed!! I hope you saw value in our 2011 accomplishments and will continue to support us in our future endeavours.
Carole
