The lake planning process involves the establishment of lake-wide objectives and the identification of important features and values that support the quality of life on your lake. The success of this process increases with the active participation of all lake stakeholders to confirm and set objectives to protect the important environmental and social values of your lake, and set directions for the actions to be implemented by your lake association.

The recommended approach is to utilize the resources within your association and those available at government agencies, municipal offices, and stewardship organizations to create a flexible process that will maximize the use of local resource people. The benefits of this approach include: reduced costs, increased awareness, local stewardship and the creation of a network of local experts on your lake. Communication and education are essential components of this initiative.

It is important to note that every lake is unique because of its different characteristics, which means that each lake will have different carrying capacities and thresholds. The lake planning process, through various workshops and meetings, allows local stewards and other stakeholders to define the carrying capacity of the lake, and to assign appropriate actions for the preservation of shoreline values and features. Carrying capacity refers to the amount of development, recreation or other human activity that a lake can sustain before diminishing any of its key features, including its ecological, social or economical characteristics.

The lake planning process has combined the best parts of existing municipal, parks and resource management planning processes, and by putting the responsibility and ownership into the hands of the residents, commercial operators and lake users, the process becomes a community-based planning process. [ MORE INFORMATION ]