Greater Bobs & Crow Lake plan completed

by Jeff Green

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Members of the Greater Bobs & Crow Lake Association (GBCLA) have appeared before local councils in the last two weeks talking about the comprehensive lake plan that they have just completed.

The plan, which is summed up in a 65-page document and some accompanying reports, is the culmination of a two-year long process overseen by a volunteer steering committee. The process was aided by a Trillium grant and some other funding, totalling $80,000.

Association President Susan O’Brien-MacTaggart told Central Frontenac Council that in addition to the services and efforts of two consulting firms, volunteers have put over 4,000 hours into the project.

Fifteen hundred surveys were distributed around the lake, and 500 were returned; 12 planning workshops were organised, and a draft version of the plan was made available to the public for comments.

The plan that has emerged includes documentation concerning the current water quality, fish populations and habitat, and natural environment in the watershed area surrounding the lake. Maintaining and enhancing these factors are main objectives of the plan and the measures it envisions for the future.

In addition, boating and recreation, emergency and municipal services, development and a sense of community are identified as priorities for action.

In a section of the report on the history of Bob’s Lake, it is made clear how integral human development has been to Bobs and Crow Lake. The lake was in effect created out of a four-lake valley when the Bolingbroke dam was put in some 137 years ago in order to create a reservoir for the Rideau Canal, and that reality is not lost on the current residents of the lake.

The primary concern of the Bob’s and Crow Lake community is water quality, and the good news in the lake plan is that water quality has improved over the past 30 years. Reg Genge, who did the water quality studies for the plan, said “Changes in water quality have been minimal over the past 32-year period of record and what changes there are have been positive, with slight decreases in chlorophyll and phosphorous and a small increase in clarity.”

The fish population on the lake is a bit of a different story. Although certain populations, such as largemouth and smallmouth bass, Northern Pike and panfish species remain abundant, the Lake Trout population (which is concentrated in Green Bay and Crow Lake) and the Walleye population have “had periods of population decline or poor recruitment success, such as poor spawning”, according to the report.

There are two “provincially significant” wetlands in the Bobs Lake watershed. The lake satisfies the Environment Canada guidelines for an ecologically healthy watershed, but the report encourages the maintenance of a 30-metre Ribbon of Life around the lake in order to maintain the diversity of species in and around the lakes. Among what the report terms as “high priority bird species common to the area” are Red Tailed Hawks and Cerulian Warblers, which are classed as provincially vulnerable, and Bald Eagles, which are classed as provincially endangered.

Among reptiles in the watershed, the Northern Map Turtle, Sinkpot, Northern Ribbon Snake, Black Rat Snake, and Eastern Milk Snake are on a list of provincially rare or at risk species.

On the other side of the coin, there are invasive species found in the area. Zebra mussels and the Spiny Water Flea are in the lakes, gypsy moths in the air, and European Milfoil and Purple Loosestrife on the ground.

Among the options for action proposed in the Natural Environment section of the lake plan report are continued assessment of all habitats and species, programmes to protect nesting sites, education campaigns, and the establishment of an invasive species programme.

As well, the GBLC&A are interested in working with the three municipalities that border the lakes: Central and South Frontenac and Tay Valley, so that the official plans and comprehensive zoning bylaws in all three townships are all oriented to the kinds of development that is consistent with the goals of the lake plan.

One of the major issues is that of setback. In all three townships, all new buildings must be set back from the water by at least 30 metres. In Central and South Frontenac, new waterfronts lots must have at least 300 feet of shoreline and must be 1 hectare (2½ acres) in size. In Tay Valley however, the shoreline need only be 200 feet long and lots can be as small as 0.4 hectares (1 acre).

Another issue where municipal policies differ is in the area of septic re-inspection. Both Tay Valley and South Frontenac have active septic re-inspection programs, and Green Bay on Bobs Lake has been the subject of inspections in the past couple of years, whereas Central Frontenac does not do septic re-inspections.

Susan O’Brien-MacTaggart told Central Frontenac Council that the “linkage between lake plans and official plans has not been worked out” and that was one of the next steps envisioned by the Greater Bobs and Crow Lake Association.

She also said she would like to see the township formally adopt the plan, at least in principle.

Mactaggart stressed that the lake planning process has demonstrated that the people who are best able to study a lake and decide how to guarantee the future health of the lake are the ones who know it best. She found a remarkable similarity in the viewpoints of commercial operators and private property owners on the lakes.

The Stewardship Plan for Bobs and Crow Lakes will have its official public release on Friday May 25 at the Bedford District Hall from 11am – 1pm.