Institute for Watershed Science Trent University Proceedings of the State of the Kawartha Lakes Workshop Elmhirst’s Resort October 27-28, 2008 Table of Contents Introduction and Background......................................................................................... 3 Challenges with Mult-jurisdictional Management of the Lakes ..................... 5 Public Engagement and Education ...................................................... 6 Scientific Data on the Kawartha Lakes ................................................. 9 Monitoring and Data Collection .........................................................10 Water Level Management ................................................................11 Emerging Issues for the Kawartha Lakes ..............................................11 Taking Care of the Resource ............................................................12 Next Steps ..................................................................................12 Workshop Speakers .......................................................................13 Multi-jurisdictional Management of the Lakes .......................................13 Fish and Fish Habitat .....................................................................13 Invasive Species ...........................................................................13 Shoreline Development and Nearshore Zone Management .........................13 References .................................................................................14 Introduction and Background The Institute for Watershed Science (IWS) at Trent hosted the first State of the Kawartha Lakes workshop on October 27-28th, 2008 at Elmhirst’s Resort on Rice Lake. The intent of this workshop was to begin the process of exploring the development of a strategic management framework to ensure the sustainability of the Kawartha Lakes through a cooperative planning process involving all levels of government and relevant non-governmental organizations. This initiative grew out of the knowledge that the lakes are under threat from a variety of sources. These threats are becoming more obvious, as indicated by the recent carp die off of 2007 and the invasion of Round Goby into Rice Lake. There is public concern over the overall health of the lakes. The objective of the workshop was to build communication between the various government and non-governmental agencies that have interest in the health and sustainability of the Kawartha Lakes aquatic ecosystem for their ecological and human health benefits. Similar initiatives were held in the spring of 2008. The Lake Scugog Conference, hosted by the Township of Scugog brought together government, business, agricultural, environmental and community stakeholders to discuss programs in place and ways to move forward with ensuring the sustainability of Lake Scugug (Cumming + Company, 2008) The success of this event attests to the broad public concern about the state of the local environment and a willingness to turn this concern into action. add some text around recommendations. All levels of government, citizen action groups, and conservation organizations have cooperated on the Lake Simcoe Environmental Management Strategy and the One Voice Action Plan for Lake Simcoe. This collaborative effort has resulted in the proposed Lake Simcoe Protection Act which will set strict limits on pollutants such as phosphorus, require stringent sewage treatment and support a governance structure that has been recommended by the Lake Simcoe Environmental Management Strategy working group (www.environmentaldefence.ca). The Kawartha Lakes Region of Ontario is defined by the lakes that are linked through the historic Trent Severn Waterway, east of the Severn River watershed, south to Rice Lake. This region boasts exceptional biodiversity as it incorporates lands and waters at the junction between the Mixed Wood Plains, St. Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield. The rivers, canals and lakes in the region support a diverse aquatic ecosystem that, along with the adjacent communities, is a prime tourist destination. The proximity of the region to the largest growing metropolitan area in the province and development of more convenient transportation corridors via the extension of Highway 407 to Highway 115, as well as a possible future commuter rail link, has the potential to place the region at risk for pressure from increasing development. The Oak Ridges Moraine Protection Act, Ontario’s Greenbelt Legislation and the Smart Growth Plan, have the effect of increasing development in this region. Housing developments and aggregate extraction activities are two of the major development pressures that are increasing in the area. Shoreline development through the re-development of older cottage properties to year-round homes and subdivision of larger properties as well as urban growth throughout the region requires an integrated planning approach, essential for sustaining the ecological and economic benefits of the aquatic ecosystem for local residents and for visitors to the region. Similar to the rapid urbanization of the region around Barrie, the Kawartha Lakes region is poised to become a “bedroom community” to the Greater Toronto Area. Management agencies including the municipalities must develop a long term forward vision and plan now for sustainable development, using both incentive and regulatory tools. The Report on the Future of the Trent Severn Waterway titled “It’s All About the Water” http://www.tswpanel.ca/english/report.asp, developed by the Panel on the Future of the Trent Severn Waterway highlights the importance of long term planning regarding the decision making framework for water quantity and quality as it has been forecast that there will be an increase of over 3.5 million residents within 1.5 hours of the TSW by the year 2035, increasing both local and tourist activity on waterways in this region. The State of the Kawartha Lakes Workshop was scheduled around five major themes: ¾ Multi-jurisdictional Management ¾ Fish and Fish Habitat ¾ Invasive Species ¾ Shoreline Development and Management of the Near shore Zone ¾ Water Levels and Diversions Each session had one or more speakers highlighting their organization or government agency work related to the theme. There was the opportunity for discussion after each speaker and a general thematic discussion facilitated by pre-selected questions. The group covered many aspects of the management and biology of the Kawartha Lakes however within each discussion session particular themes were recurring. The following sections highlight the main points presented regarding these recurring topics from all of the thematic presentations. Challenges with Mult-jurisdictional Management of the Lakes Which Lakes are “Kawartha Lakes”? One of the initial questions that emerged from the group of participants was how to define the “Kawartha Lakes”. Many of the Haliburton area lakes north of the traditional larger Kawartha Lakes, feed these larger more southerly lakes in the navigation channel system through several rivers. The integration of a large number of lakes in the overall Trent Severn Waterway in the “Kawartha” region creates difficulties in defining an exact border as to which lakes in the region should be considered as “Kawartha Lakes”. Some workshop participants viewd the lakes in the Haliburton region as part of the overall Kawartha Lakes system, where others felt that the lakes along the navigation channel only should be considered. Rice Lake was considered the most southerly of the Kawartha Lakes as it is the receiving lake for the Otonabee River, and the northern shore is within the Otonabee Region Conservation Authority jurisdiction. Generally, using a watershed approach to defining the Kawartha Lakes was considered the best option. However this larger focus increases the complexity of what must be considered for management purposes. Participants agreed that a balance must be found for what is considered for management purposes in the context of the large number of lakes and waterways encompassed by this watershed focus. Who Manages What? It was recognized that governance involving multiple jurisdictions increases the complexity of managing the aquatic resources in the Kawartha Lakes. The Trent Severn Waterway (TSW-Federal Parks Canada) owns the bed of the lakes and rivers along the navigation channel and in these areas, coordination between the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) and TSW is necessary. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the OMNR share responsibility over fish and fish habitat in the area. Several local municipal governments at both the regional and local level, further increase the governance complexity. As well, the region is home to a number of First Nations, and the importance of their input on management decisions was acknowledged in the Panel on the Future of the Trent-Severn Waterway Report. “It’s all About the Water”. Provincially mandated Source Water Protection legislation has resulted in the development of local Source Water Protection (SWP) Committees throughout Ontario. The local committee, under the umbrella of the Trent Conservation Coalition (TCC -includes Crowe Valley CA, Otonabee Region CA, Ganaraska Region CA, Lower Trent CA and Kawartha Conservation) is focussed on developing a Source Water Protection Plan for the Kawartha Lakes region. This plan is currently focussed on municipal drinking water supplies and municipal drinking water intakes however