New: Facebook has blocked all Canadian news. Join our mailing list to stay in the loop.

New: Facebook has blocked all Canadian news. Join our mailing list to stay in the loop.

Wednesday, 14 August 2019 12:47

Drones, burlap and Eastern Water Milfoil

On August 6th, members of the North Frontenac community and beyond, gathered at Clar-Mill Hall in Plevna to partake in an education session hosted by MALLA (Malcolm Ardoch Lakes Landowners’ Association) regarding the t Eurasian Water Milfoil infestation which has negatively affected many lakes in the area.

The goal of the session was to inform community members on the precautions which are being taken to minimize the harsh effects this invasive plant is having on local aquatic ecosystems. Many local lakes sent representatives and multiple local organizations and businesses made an appearance as well some of which provided educational booths. Booths were provided by Kelly Stiles from Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority, Makayla Parks, the owner and operator of Highland Aerial Canada, Chole Lajoie from Watersheds Canada and Olivia from Federation of Ontario Cottage Associations.

The presentation provided the highlights of the MALLA Eurasian Water Milfoil Management plan thus far and provide an environment where audience members could share their experiences.

The main goal being - to gain some control over this invasive species.

The MALLA project features a unique partnership. North Frontenac Township who provided the initial funding in 2018 for the purchase of burlap mats, which is the latest method of controlling this invasive plant that is being deployed. In 2019, NF Township also funded a MALLA summer student with knowledge of drone operations; Ryleigh Rioux. The Above and Beyond class at Granite Ridge Education Centre is also a partner. They have provided the lake with aerial imagery of the recent infestation under the supervision of teacher Wade Leonard, who trains students in drone technologies. Two of these students are Ryleigh Rioux and Makayla Parks. The final partnership is with Professor Jessie Vermaire and grad student Patrick Beaupre from Carleton University who are well known for their studies in aquatic invasive species.

Ryleigh Rioux, the MALLA summer student, provided a detailed summary of the project thus far by supplying aerial maps from the last three years. She compared 2017, 2018, and 2019 data indicating the huge expansion of the EWM colonies across Malcolm and Ardoch Lakes.

“Over the last 8 months, there has been a dramatic increase in all the patch sizes, the most dramatic being the one at Ridge Lane, but there have also been significant increase in size of all the patches,” Rioux told the News in a phone interview afterwards.

That’s the bad news, but while there is not quite any good news there is some promising news.

“Last year, we laid our first sheet of burlap in the mouth of Ardoch Lake, and dozens of sheets were laid at the beginning of this summer, and the burlap has slowed the growth of the millfoil enough for the area to be safe for boating, and gives an opportunity for other treatments. There have also been good results from the introduction of the milfoil weevil. No treatment can eradicate the milfoil, but hopefully it can be contained,” she said

Rioux has conducted 7 drone flights over sections of the lake so far this summer as part of the project and 7 more are planned.

The drone flights are scheduled around a kind of goldilocks weather scenario (not too sunny because the images get washed out but not too much low cloud because the images can be too dark) as well as the availability of volunteers from the lake association. Because she is a licensed drone pilot, Rioux can operate the drone from one boat, and two to three other boats are also necessary so that someone can have eyes on the drone at all times.

“It takes a lot of organization to do the drone flights,” she said.

She has been using the Granite Ridge drones for the work until now, but going forward she will be using a new drone that she just purchased, equipment that may also help her to start up her own business in the coming months.

As the drone work has been proceeding, Jessie Vermaire and Patrick Beaupre from Carleton University have been collected data from the lake. They are looking at the impact of the milfoil on aquatic life in the region and will be monitoring the impact on aquatic life. They will also be looking at the impact of the milfoil mitigation efforts on aquatic life.

At the meeting in the Clar-Mil hall, the range of strategies that MALLA has selected to minimize the negative effects of milfoil on their lake system were discussed. The number one strategy is still hand pulling along shorelines, followed by the laying of biodegradable burlap mats, educating community members, lobbying for government funding, and the expanding a weed watch program.

The presentation was followed by an interactive question and answer session. Some discussion centred on the use of weed cutters both hand- held and motorized as a strategy of removal as well as the use of the Milfoil Weevil, which has had promising results in other lakes.

The day came to a close with the reading of “The Story of The Starfish” which highlights the importance of making a difference as we all have the ability to make a positive change to the environment- even if it is a small one.

 

 

 

 

Published in NORTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 24 April 2019 16:37

Flood Watches

A flood watch has been issued by the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority for properties around Bob’s Lake and Christie Lake, as these lakes are at capacity.

Although the water level increases are now almost stabilized, the water levels may still increase with the forecasted rain.

A flood warning has been issued by the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority for the entire Mississippi River watershed. Water levels on Mazinaw, Marble, and Little Marble Lakes have peaked and are beginning to recede, and are are expected to be close to summer levels by the end of the week.

Levels on Kashwakamak Lake and Buckshot Creek should begin dropping by the end of this week. Flows out of Crotch Lake to High Falls are still increasing and are expected to peak on or around April 26. Levels on Dalhousie Lake have receded since their early peak but could rise above this season’s high of 157.8 metres on Thursday

In the Quinte Watershed, It is expected that rivers in the northern region of the Moira and the Salmon watersheds will approach 2014 flood levels this week.

The Cataraqui Region Conservation Association did not project major flooding in their most recent release, which was a week ago on April 17

Published in Lanark County

Diver/U of Ottawa anthropology grad student Kevin Brown didn’t pick the Mazinaw for his through-the-ice dive two weekends ago specifically because as the second deepest lake in Ontario excepting the Great Lakes (Lake Timiskaming is the deepest) the chance to set a record for the deepest under the ice dive ever was a possibility.

The biggest reason was to begin a series of dives (related to his Master’s thesis) looking for indigenous artifacts in the area.

But, since he was down there . . .

The previous world record was 72 metres (236 feet). Brown doubled that with a dive of 132 metres (434 feet).

“We decided to dive there because there was a lot of traffic in the area back in the pre-colonization days,” he said. “We didn’t find any artifacts but we decided to start at the deepest spot and we’ll move a bit to the right with subsequent dives.”

By “a bit to the right,” Brown means closer to Bon Echo Rock, where 260 pictographs attributed to First Nations artists from centuries ago can be found. The location of this dive, was a bit north and west of the rock itself.

“We don’t seek record-breaking, we seek exploration,” he said. “We weren’t really expecting to find anything but then at that depth, you can only spend about eight minutes exploring the bottom.”

What he did find was about an inch to an inch and a half of “fine, volatile silt,” he said. “It was a virgin destination that looked like landing on the moon.”

The dive itself took eight minutes for the descent and two hours for the ascent. Brown had six “emergency divers” helping but the deepest any of them got was 55 metres (180 feet).

Brown used a dual rebreather system for his dive, which he estimates cost around $30,000 US and that doesn’t include the gear for his safety divers.

“I’d like to emphasize that this was very much a team effort,” he said. “It’s like the Tour de France.

“You have a lot of team members contributing to that one guy who crosses the finish line first.

“The guys did all the work.

“I was just the guy who went down there.

“And, I’d like to mention my wife, Ayesha. She was very supportive and you need a lot of moral support for something like this.”

And speaking of going to the bottom, it’s cold down there, it’s dark and given the pressure of all that water above you, it doesn’t make for the greatest of working conditions. You don’t have the greatest manual dexterity and you move slowly.

“The pressure makes it hard to breathe and my face was swollen because of the cold water and decompression,” he said.

But fear didn’t enter into it.

“Frankly, I’m more afraid of answering reporters’ questions,” he said. “But any feelings of anxiety or anything like that was pretty much gone the night before the dive.

“You can’t let emotion enter into it - you have to focus.”

He was acutely aware that he was diving under ice however, and that’s why they drop down a line. You want to make sure you know where the hole in the ice is when you get back up. But there is one distinct advantage to an ice dive. It takes some serious gear to get down that deep and being able to load it all into the back of a few pickup trucks and driving out to the dive spot meant they didn’t need a boat big enough to haul it all as well as being able to stay in the same spot for hours.

Brown acknowledges that like the first people to climb Everest, curiosity was a big driver in this project.

“You don’t need to have a mission,” he said. “But there are still a lot of questions to be answered.”

And he plans to answer as many of them as he can. He does have some First Nations blood in him (“my great grandmother was Innu,” he said) and he very much wants to find some artifacts that might answer questions as to what life was like in the area 1,500 years ago.

To that end, he’d very much like to talk to anyone that might have some tips for him as to where to look and he’d like to make contact with First Nations groups to ensure that anything he does find is “displayed properly” with respect. Anyone who might be able to help can contact Brown through his Facebook page.

Published in ADDINGTON HIGHLANDS
Wednesday, 13 September 2017 22:03

Gilmour Point Beach closed for health reasons

A popular swimming hole has been closed by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change.
Gilmour Point in Battersea was officially closed Aug. 30 due to possible blue-green algae in Dog Lake. The beach is located at the end of Wellington Street and is a busy summer gathering place for local families.
“It’s not uncommon for there to be challenges on Dog Lake,” confirms Wayne Orr, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for South Frontenac Township.

A public servant with the township for eight years, Orr says the closure only impacted the last two-week-session of children’s programs at the beach.
Of the townships four public beaches, Gilmour Point is the only one closed. Samples were taken at the beach and were submitted to a lab for analysis. As of press time, results were still unknown.
Speaking on behalf of the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Public Health Unit on Sept. 6, Andrew Girouard says the turnaround time for testing is 10 to 14 days.

An experienced health inspector, Girouard has seen blooms in Kingston and other parts of the health unit’s catchment area.

“We want to educate people more, to take their own precautions,” says the Manager of the Environmental Health Team about the potentially harmful blooms. “I think this (Gilmour Point Beach) is a case where it’s so visible and present, people won’t go in that water.”
According to officials, cyanobacteria, commonly called blue-green algae, are primitive microscopic organisms that have inhabited the earth for more than two billion years. They are bacteria, but have features in common with algae.
Blue-green algae occur naturally in a wide variety of environments including ponds, rivers, lakes and streams. During an algal bloom, people are encouraged to avoid activities such as swimming and bathing in water near the bloom to reduce the risk of exposure to algal toxins.
“We want the public to be aware this bloom exists and not go into the water,” says Girouard who calls the blooms a product of heavy rains and warm weather.
“As soon as the water temperature changes, it will make a difference,” confirms the township CAO.

Located a few minutes from the lake where he worked as a fishing guide, Storrington Councillor Ron Sleeth notes, “Dog Lake turns over every year. This is a natural occurrence.”
Describing the lake as drowned land from the building of the Rideau Canal, the well-known community activist notes, “The problem appears to be worse this year due to the heavy volume of rainfall. The water level is extremely high for this time of year.”
To protect residents against possible exposure, people are encouraged to take a cautious approach if they encounter a blue-green algal bloom which can be dense and solid-looking clumps. Fresh blooms often smell like newly mown grass and older blooms may smell like rotting garbage.
Although many varieties of blue-green algae are harmless, some can produce toxins that are harmful to the health of humans and animals.

During an algal bloom, health experts recommend avoiding activities such as swimming and bathing in water near the bloom to reduce the risk of exposure to algal toxins. Residents are encouraged to contact the health unit for swimming advisories as well as information on health risks associated with the blooms.
If you suspect a blue-green algal bloom:

• assume toxins are present

• avoid using the water

• restrict pet and livestock access to the water, and

• call the Ministry’s Spills Action Centre at 1-800-268-6060.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
With the participation of the Government of Canada