Stewardship

Protect Your Muskoka Cottage Investment. Muskoka Lakes Association seedling sale; re-naturalize your shoreline this spring

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The single most important thing you can do to protect the value of your Muskoka cottage waterfront property investment is to protect the water quality of your lake. One of the best ways to help sustain/improve water quality in your lake is to ensure you have a natural shoreline and a buffer zone; an area … Read more

Signs of spring, or the health of your lake. What are you watching?

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Many years ago my Grandmother won a contest with Toronto radio station CKEY (now long gone). I think you had to write in, and the best story about signs of spring won. The prize was a ride in the radio station’s traffic helicopter during a weekday rush hour.  Grannie’s story was something about the pussy … Read more

Our Lakes: How they have changed over the last 25 years.

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I recorded this lecture by Dr. Michelle Palmer in July. One of the Muskoka Watershed Council lecture series. Our Lakes: How they have changed over the last 25 years. Dr. Michelle Palmer discusses how recent climatic warming, changes in acidic deposition, and human-related activities such as road salting and the accidental spread of invasive species … Read more

It’s not too late to catch the MWC lecture tonight.

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Admission is by donation to the Muskoka Watershed Council. Just head for the Port Carling Community Centre at 7:00pm. Our Lakes: How they have changed over the last 25 years. Dr. Michelle Palmer will discuss how recent climatic warming, changes in acidic deposition, and human-related activities such as road salting and the accidental spread of … Read more

Loss of biodiversity, is it important if we don’t see it?

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As a volunteer, as well as being on the executive of the Muskoka Watershed Council, I am the videographer. This gives me a great opportunity to ensure that truly wonderful ideas and presentations are not lost after the words are spoken and the video projector is turned off. I record, edit and post to YouTube, … Read more

Mice at your cottage – snakes may be your best friends.

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Don’t love snakes? They are harmless, all except the Massasauga rattler, which is virtually harmless; and 5 are in trouble in Ontario. Learning to live with them near your cottage, even going so far as to create some habitat for them may be the most effective and natural way to get rid of those rodents … Read more

Habitat Types in Muskoka

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Think of Muskoka, not as a single habitat, but a mosaic of different inter-dependent habitats. I just finished editing, and posted a video on YouTube. Dirk Janas of Beacon Environmental presented at the Muskoka Watershed Council‘s Muskoka Stewardship Conference. In about 40 minutes you’ll be able to tell all your friends how a bog is … Read more

Skeleton Lake Fish Hatchery

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We had a number of meetings of the Muskoka Watershed Council today. Lots of great projects underway intended to benefit our environment, and all of us who reside here or visit. Included in the full council meeting was a presentation of the Skeleton Lake, Lake Plan in development by the Skeleton Lake Cottagers Organization; wonderful … Read more

Moon River Walleye Fishery

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Here’s another video for the Muskoka Watershed Council‘s YouTube channel. Eric McIntyre, of the Eastern Georgian Bay Stewardship Council discusses spiking water flow downstream from Bala Falls, its devastating implications to Walleye reproduction and the current status of the agreement between the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ontario Power Generation. Eric spoke at the Muskoka … Read more