Lake Planning

North America is endowed with many lakes, and lake-based tourism has been at the root of the economic growth and cottage enjoyment for many in-land lake communities. People are attracted to the clear waters, pristine shorelines, the natural environment, wildlife, recreational opportunities and social values derived from shoreline living, which has drawn many tourists and cottagers to set-up seasonal and permanent residency in these areas. Unfortunately, the increasing desire for development in cottage country has exuded pressures on a finite resource base. Our lakes are now ringed with residential and commercial development, and the very reason why people want to be on the lake could be in jeopardy. People are now realizing that lakes, like all ecosystems, have limits and that if a lake’s capacity is exceeded because of overdevelopment, the combined effects of pollutants and other pressures will cause a degraded environment from both an ecological and aesthetic point of view. [ MORE INFORMATION ]

• The shoreline encompasses much more than property, it encompasses the whole lake and “shoreland” area, which provides the setting for the recreational experience.
• The environmental impacts of development are not restricted to the shoreline either, because these impacts will be felt throughout the lake.
• In general, the way a site is developed and managed will have a significant influence on the health of your lake and watershed.

The value of freshwater lakes goes beyond their economic and social importance. These systems maintain the health of human populations and ecological communities throughout the world. Generally, most people are becoming more knowledgeable and concerned about the environment, and through this awareness is a need for the public to feel that they are part of the solutions to environmental problems, as well as having a say in preventing new ones. Lakes have their own unique physical, biological, chemical and geographical landscape characteristics, which are reflected in local communities. The goal of lake planning is to identify, protect and restore the natural (chemical and biological), physical and social integrity of the lake’s ecosystem. Lake management is not so much about managing natural resources, as it is about managing the human activity that affects these resources.

Many lake associations across Ontario have recently initiated a lake planning process to identify the special character of their lake and to put in place a strategy to protect the high quality of life they currently enjoy. Currently in Ontario, many lake associations have initiated or completed lake plans with the help of French Planning Services Inc. 
 
Associations, groups and individuals concerned about the health of their lake, the maintenance of vibrant ecosystems, and who understand the relationship of a healthy lake to healthy human population are implementing lake plans across Ontario.

The lake plan is an action-oriented plan developed by the community to reflect and preserve the special character of the lake. The end results derived from implementing the lake plan’s recommendations is the protection of your lake’s special areas and features through land use regulation and stewardship approaches, and the assurance that they are protected for your children and the next generations to come. It sets a strong vision and direction for the future of your lake, identifying how you would like to see your lake 20 years from now and what you need to do to achieve that vision, and sets goals and objectives to clearly define the targets to be used as your measures of success.

The lake plan provides an inventory of your lake’s resources including:

• Identifying the special character of your lake;
• Identifying the land use, water, recreation and resource management issues;
• Identifying information gaps;
• Providing detailed action-oriented recommendations for land use policy (official plan, zoning by-laws) and stewardship approaches (communications plan, restoration projects) for futureneeds; and
• Explores the relationship between local land use activities and the lake’s environment, and relates it to the broader ecological scale of the watershed. 

The broad scope of your lake plan is governed by the boundaries of your lake’s watershed, which includes wetlands and the inflow and outflow of water through the streams, rivers and tributaries that connect your lake to other water bodies. Due to the fact that “humans, like all species, are agents of change”, certain of their activities may have negative implications on the quality and quantity of the water flow.

Terrestrial and aquatic components of a watershed are “inherently linked by the downhill movement of minerals and water”; therefore, any change of land use within the watershed, whether on the immediate lakeshore or upstream, will have an impact on the lake, other lakes within the watershed, and all downstream watersheds.   
    
Humans place a wide assortment of values upon the watershed and these values are reflected in their interactions with the land and water, and their species. The lake plan identifies these values and the issues that arise from land use, human activities and natural occurrences as a collaborative effort through workshops and meetings. These interactive workshops assist with formulating recommendations that are the foundation of the “strategic” action plan. These stewardship initiatives, which are implemented by community volunteers, extend the responsibility to all stakeholders.

Many of the implementation strategies provided in the action plan of the lake plan may not be enforceable by law, so the success of the lake plan will rely on alert and concerned cottagers to put these recommendations into practice, as well as passing the message onto their neighbours. However, lake associations should take into consideration presenting their concerns to their local municipality to encourage the amendments of official plans to establish new policies that will guide any future development and other activities on their lake. It also provides a means of measuring success through monitoring and review. The lake plan is considered a living document, or an open-ended document, allowing for periodic reviews, updates and responses to change as new issues arise.