The Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre (OTCC) has announced the return of their online 50/50 fundraiser.

OTCC - home of Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre- is a registered charity whose goal is to protect and conserve Ontario’s native turtles and the habitat in which they live. They accomplish this by operating a turtle hospital that treats, rehabilitates, and releases injured turtles, by performing extensive research in the field to further conservation initiatives, and by running a comprehensive education and outreach program. A record 2,300 turtles were admitted to the turtle hospital in 2024.

Funds raised by this raffle will support the Centre’s ongoing efforts to help Ontario’s turtles. 

The raffle pot has surpassed $38,000. According to the OTCC the raffle winner will take home at least $19,000, which means the same amount will go to helping the turtles.

Ticket sales end Monday, November 25, 2024, and the draw date is Tuesday, November 26, 2024.

For more information about the 50/50 Raffle or other ways to help turtles, e-mail info@ontarioturtle.ca, phone 705-741-5000, or visit their website at ontarioturtle.ca. 

Transport Canada has opened a public consultation on the question of mandatory personal flotation device (PFD) wear for recreational boaters.  

Did you know Canada averages 111 recreational boating deaths each year? According to Transport Canada, not using a personal flotation device (PFD) or lifejacket is a leading cause of death among recreational boaters, accounting for 89% of all fatalities.

For those ‘human powered’ vessels, kayakers are more likely to wear a PFD (78%), while our canoer friends are less likely (41%).

The Drowning Prevention Research Centre Canada produced a report in 2021 that tracked recreational boating-related deaths in Canada from 2008 to 2017.

Key takeaways:

• most people who died due to a recreational boating-related incident weren’t wearing a PFD or lifejacket
• most of the people who died were adults
• most recreational boating-related deaths involved powerboats, followed by canoes
• the most common incident that led to a death was a capsized vessel, followed by a person falling or being thrown overboard

At the Federation of Cottager’s Association (FOCA) 2024 Spring Seminar, Sgt. Dave Moffatt of the Marine Unit of the OPP gave a slide presentation about PFDs and fatality rates. See his slides here (download PDF, 4 MB)

Have your say on the issue of mandatory PFDs  here, and share your comments by November 4, 2024.

Source: FOCA.on.ca. The SLCA is a member of FOCA

Cottages and summer homes are most vulnerable to thieves and subject to damage or vandalism in the off-season—from the week following Thanksgiving to the weeks prior to Victoria Day—especially if the owners are not using them regularly in the fall, winter or spring.  From the Labour Day weekend onward, many cottage and seasonal property owners begin considering the closure and winterizing of their properties. The Federation of Ontario Cottagers Associations (FOCA) wants to help you protect your investment, year-round. Remember, the cost of owning a cottage or summer property could include the frustration and irritation of repairing damage and replacing stolen property, if no one is living there or checking it regularly.

Cottage Closing Tips from FOCA:

• Secure your windows and doors.
• Close window curtains or blinds, and put up shutters to protect the interior from marauders (animal or human), storm protection and theft prevention.
• Make sure your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working properly (replace if necessary) and ensure they have fresh batteries. You should have detectors on all floors and outside all sleeping areas.
• Leave no valuables at the cottage (electronics, personal items, tools) unless you’re prepared to lose them.
• Lock up sporting goods that you decide must stay year-round (fishing rods & equipment, water skis, toys).
• Record the serial numbers of anything of value left behind. Marking your valuables with a drivers’ license # can help deter a thief or aid in property recovery.
• Remove all food, and anything that may attract animals.
• Pack up and take home all alcohol.
• Don’t leave firearms or weapons at the cottage.
• If you are leaving vehicles, boats, ATVs or snow machines, make sure they’re winterized and secure.
• Leave nothing on trailers unless it is locked or disabled.
• Defrost and unplug the refrigerator. Place an open box of baking soda inside the refrigerator to keep odours away.
• If you have propane appliances make sure they are properly shut down.
• Drain all water pipes, water heaters and fixtures, to avoid freezing.
• Scatter moth balls in the attic and anywhere small animals or bugs might gather.
• Organize snow removal if it will be required over the winter.
• Make a list of where everything is and make copies. Store one copy on your home computer and put a copy with items that will go back up to the cottage on your next trip.
• Designate a year-round contact or key-holder for: alarms, thefts, weather damage or animal problems.
• Know which police force patrols your cottage area (OPP Bancroft).
• Set up a network of neighbors to prevent and detect crime in your area, know your neighbours, their movements and vehicles, and connect with the local OPP detachment. Watching out for suspicious activity in and around your neighbours’ property can go a long way to lowering the incidence of property crime.

A shout out to Keith Fletcher who keeps us safe on the lake over the summer by marking those rocks that might otherwise damage our motors.

As of October 9,  Keith has removed our yellow ‘Minions’ and replaced them with the winter water jug markers.

Keith ensures the markers are out around the May long weekend, removes them around Thanksgiving weekend, and during the summer boating season he maintains the markers.

Thanks Keith!

Hey bird lovers, here’s something you can do with the whole family this Thanksgiving weekend – it’s October Big Day on Oct 12, 2024.

October Big Day is your chance to join with other bird lovers around the world in recording the birds you see right here at Steenburg Lake.

Last October nearly 36,332 people from 191 countries submitted 83,735 checklists with eBird. In Canada, a total of 337 species were reported through 6,728 checklists from all 13 provinces and territories. You can explore all of the Canadian 2023 October Big Day stats here.

Whether you are here at the lake, or home, or travelling on 12 October, you can join in this global celebration. Participate from anywhere—even from home!

• TIP: Download the free Merlin Bird ID app to help you to identify the birds you see and hear on October Big Day. Upload your recordings to your eBird checklists to help Merlin identify more birds by sound.

For more information about October Big Day and how to participate, visit ebird.

If you see something wonky going on with the website it's because we are currently transitioning to a new design and new hosting service. 

The site has been completely re-designed, things have moved around, we might even have dropped or added some features, some features might not be entirely functional yet.  Don't worry, we're on it! Lots more information to come on how it works so stay tuned.

Your feedback will be most welcome and appreciated.

If you are a Paid Member who manages your property's member account you will soon receive an email urging you to sign into the new website with a new password, change your password, read and accept the new Privacy Policy and check your profile information and your privacy settings.

Any questions can be directed to President@Steenburglake.com (that's me!)

Thanks, Joanne

The results of water testing done by the SLCA after the August 12 beaver dam breach are in.

Our lake steward, Alastair Gorman, took the water samples on Sept. 2 and had them sent to a lab for analysis.

Samples were taken in the East Bay near where the water came into the lake, and halfway between the beach and the outlet to Bass River.

We sent the results to the Ministry of Environment (MOE) and Hastings Prince Edward Public Health for their information.  In both cases no red flags were raised, they were happy with the results and praised our clean lake. That said,  the SLCA has no expertise to interpret the results so if you have any concerns you can contact public health at (613) 332-4555. 

Both the MOE and Public Health asked we remind our members who use the lake for their drinking water to make it a practice of testing your drinking water on a regular basis.

This testing was in addition to the Lake Partner Program and done at the expense of the SLCA.  Another great reason, if you haven't already done so, to support your SLCA with your annual Member Fee of $30. More info on how to pay here.

The Steenburg Lake Community Association participates in the Lake Partner Program, a province-wide, volunteer-based, water-quality monitoring program – the largest of its kind in Canada.

Each year, hundreds of volunteers collect total water samples and make monthly water clarity observations on their lakes. 

The goal of the Lake Partner Program is to better understand and protect the quality of Ontario’s inland lakes by involving citizens in a volunteer-based water quality monitoring program.

 

The Steenburg Lake Community Association (SLCA) continues to make inquiries about any impact on the lake’s ecosystem that might result from the August 10 beaver dam breach.

The Ministry of the Environment (MOE) does not do water testing when the incident is a natural occurrence such as the breach of a beaver dam. It has however suggested some tests we can do — our lake steward Alastair Gorman is looking into that.

Given it’s been nearly two weeks since the breach, the MOE says the water released into the lake will have been diluted by the vast volume of water in the lake. Testing done now could provide a baseline against which to compare future tests.

If you use the lake for drinking water and are concerned about its quality, the MOE suggests you continue your regular water testing and include bacteria, Giardia, nitrate and methylmercury.

As recommended by the MOE, the SLCA will reach out to the Ministry of Natural Resources to discuss impacts on the fish population.

I’m also waiting for input from the Federation of Ontario Cottage Associations (FOCA).

……..

Did you know? The water renewal rate for lake flushing in Steenburg Lake is estimated to be about 2.2 years. This means that taking into account all the inputs from streams, precipitation and snow melt the entire volume of water in the lake would exit via Bass Creek over two years.

Following a beaver dam breach that caused significant flooding along Steenburg Lake North Road at McGeachie Conservation area on August 11, 2024, SLCA president Joanne Burghardt reached out to Crowe Valley Conservation Authority General Manager Tim Pidduck with questions about the incident. 

Tim Pidduck, General Manager

Crowe Valley Conservation

“The Crowe Valley Conservation Authority (CVCA) was notified of a beaver dam break north of Steenburg Lake early on the 12th of August 2024 resulting in a deluge of water entering the lake.

"These natural events do occur throughout our watershed at various times of the year and are relatively common, especially during periods of high water in the spring when a number of factors determine when or if a beaver dam break will occur.

“This dam break occurred during the summer season during a storm event that swept through most of Eastern Ontario. Although the total amount of precipitation was considerably less than expected, in all likelihood, other conditions leading up to the failure were a factor as well. This could include any one of or a combination of the age of the dam, its height, water pressure exerting on the structure, wave action due to the storm wind, high water levels prior to the storm, maintenance issues (was the dam abandoned due to predation or other causes such as old age, illness, injury or even territorial dispute) or was it already in a weakened state due to other natural causes or even human intervention. Without any evidence, the cause of the dam failure will never be known, unlike structures built by humans who must find out why a structure failed.

“CVCA staff have estimated the amount of water released into Steenburg Lake was approximately 2.3 – 2.5 million cubic feet of stored water behind the dam. There would have been additional water from the flow of the creek itself, which is virtually impossible to measure without an hydraulic analysis of the creek. Suffice to say, it was a large volume of water that unexpectedly occurred without any warning causing damage and disruption at the point it entered Steenburg Lake.

“The level is certainly high and CVCA staff have confirmed the lake rose approximately 17.5 cm (7 inches) due to the flow from the dam and the recent rainfall on the weekend. The lake is dropping and should start to resemble normal conditions within 7 to 10 days. However, this will depend on how much additional rainfall is received in the area during this post beaver dam break and when it occurs. Approximately 30 to 35 mm is expected this weekend, therefore it may reduce the lowering of the lake than what staff have estimated.

“Presumably there was a significant amount of silt, potentially some natural detritus material and likely some human garbage (hopefully very little) from the sudden surge of water. Depending on what contaminants were being stored in the silt and the volume released into the lake will determine if there are any environmental concerns. Testing and monitoring conducted for a period of time would likely be required to gauge what the effects would be on the ecosystem. Unfortunately, the CVCA does not have the staff or resources to complete this type of work to determine if there is any risk to the lake’s ecosystem.

“The CVCA has owned the McGeachie Conservation Area since the mid- 1990’s. The dam break at this location has happened twice in the approximately 30 years of ownership, which may or may not coincide with the natural beaver pond/dam break/beaver meadow cycle.”

Note: The SLCA Board will continue its regular water testing routine, and will reach out to the CVCA to determine if there is further testing we should do to monitor the affect of the dam breach on the lake’s ecosystem. – Joanne Burghardt, President SLCA,  Aug. 16, 2024.

Photo by Joanne Burghardt

Water rushes into Steenburg Lake following a beaver dam breach Aug. 11, 2024.

Did you know that Steenburg Lake is one of two lakes within a 10km radius regularly stocked with fish by the Ministry of Natural Resources & Forestry (MNR)?

According to the MNR, Steenburg Lake was last stocked in the spring of 2024 with 6,000 yearling splake. Nearby Robinson Lake received 264 yearling Lake Trout.

Seventy-eight percent of the annual stocking effort happens in spring. There are an estimated 5.7 million fish making their way to over 1,000 waterbodies across the province this spring.

When it comes to transportation to remote locations, helicopters play a big role, stocking more than 800,000 fish into over 600 lakes. Additionally, over 1.2 million fish are stocked by boat, with a focus on lake trout rehabilitation programs.

MNR stocking trucks travel over 230,000 kilometers each year, delivering 200 tonnes of fish. That's like circling the earth 5.75 times! From the Great Lakes to inland lakes, these fish will help continue to enrich our waters for Ontario's anglers and aid in further supporting the province's thriving waterbodies.

Learn more about Ontario's fish stocking program.

SOURCE: MNR