LAKE PLANNING

Lake environments are under ever increasing pressures -cottage & resort development, pollution, tourism, logging, boat traffic, construction and nois - that can potentially threaten the quality of life at the lake. Lake Planning is a process that brings together a community who shares a common vision for a healthy lake environment.

What is a Lake Plan?

A lake plan is a blueprint or strategy for the future of a lake. It reflects agreement within the community about what is needed to protect the interests of the lake. And provides an opportunity for lake users to influence the direction of change and protect the features of the lake they value most.

Who should be involved?

For a lake plan to be successful and widely accepted, it need to involve as many interests as possible who share the lake or lake resources. This includes not only shoreline seasonal and year-round residents and business owners on the lake but other lake users, such as anglers and boaters, campers, and owners of back lots that are not directly on the shoreline. This will help to create a sense of community and ownership, which is an asset to the lake plan process. The more consensus and participation the better.

Keep in mind that the whole lake plan process requires many hours of work, so the more volunteers on hand the easier the job will be.

What legal authority do lake plan policies have?

In Ontario, policies and legislation regarding land use and development near lakes are set out in the Provincial Planning Act and through the local and regional Official Plans and zoning by-laws. A lake plan has no legal authority. However, if your municipality incorporates your lake plan into its Official Plan, then certain components of the plan may become enforeceable.

How long does it take to develop a lake plan?

Depending on the number of volunteers and experts available, the number and types of issues and concerns for the lake involved, and the size and population of a lake area, the intial process of developing a lake plan can take anywhere from one year to up to three or four years.

The Lake Plan Process

Adapted from the Charleston Lake Management Plan - Gary Nielsen, Leeds County Stewardship Coordinator

1. 1. Get people to buy in to the idea and get a consensus on the right approach

   • Interest and gain the support of your lake association in developing a lake plan
   • Obtain approval from the lake association to proceed with developing a lake plan, form a lake plan committee
   • Scope out the task, develop a budget, and find the funds to do it
   • Discuss what do we need to do, who will do it, when do we need it done

2. Develop a vision

   • Develop a questionnaire/survey to get a better about issues and concerns (these will later be compiled and used to direct the lake plan policies). Examples of concerns that may arise – noise from boats and neighbours, excessive aquatic vegetation, harrassment of waterfowl, shoreline development, light pollution. Include some questions about how the lake is seen by residents/user in order to help develop a vision statement.
   • Hold workshops and meetings with stakeholders to inform, get input and develop a vision and outline what needs to be done to get us there

3. Assess your lake - State of the Lake Report

   Before you can develop a vision for the future, you need to know where you are. This can be one of the more time consuming parts of a lake plan - depending on the amount of information available. A State of the Lake Report will typically provide information on the current state of the lake, including unique features as well as historical information and long-term trends

   • Dig up all available information on water quality, fisheries and development
   • Map out all available data to give us an overview of what the lake looks like right now (a snapshot in time)
   • Develop a Lake Capacity Report - "How much can our lake take?"
   • Identify trends and pressures that will exceed the lake's capacity to remain healthy

4. Provide on-going communications

   Be sure to keep all stakeholders in the loop as the plan develops to keep everyone involved up-to-date, motivated, and interested. Include questionnaire results and analysis, and then later updates on the lake plan draft policy recommendations, and the draft lake plan. Its a good idea to send out each edition of the newsletter before any general meetings so most people are informed of the latest developments beforehand.

5. Develop a Draft Lake Plan

   The plan will set out the shared vision for the lake, issues or concerns regarding the lake, and recommendations for dealing with the identified issues

   • A vision of what we want it to look like in the future
   • Identification of pressures on the lake
   • Recommendations on what should be done "The Action Plan" (this needs to be detailed with responsibilities assigned and timelines clearly stated)
   • A monitoring plan to keep track of progress on all issues

6. Circulate, Discuss, Approve

   Provide opportunity for input and comment from all stakeholders. Get approval at a general meeting of all involved.

Adapted from the process used by the Charleston Lake Management team to develop their lake plan. Read about the Charleston Lake Management Plan on the Leeds County Stewardship website.

General Resources

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has two guidebooks available in PDF on their website to assist groups in watershed protection.A Guide for Conducting Watershed Outreach Campaignsprovides tools to develop and implement an effective watershed outreach plan, including addressing public perceptions, promoting management activities, and informing or motivating stakeholders.Engaging and Involving Stakeholders in Your Watershed provides tools to effectively identify, engage, and involve stakeholders.

The Interstate Commission on the Potomac River has an excellent website with excellent resources on how to develop a watershed plan.

Read more about lake planning on the Muskoka Water Web.

The Huntsville Lakes Council, in cooperation with the Muskoka Community Futures Development Corporation has prepared a publication entitled,Developing a Lake Plan for Your Lake – A Template and Manual. This publication includes step-by-step guidelines on how to develop a lake plan, and sample questionnaires for identifying the values and concerns of lake residents and users. This publication costs $15.00 and is available by e-mailing the Huntsville Lake Council <hlc@vianet.ca> or writing to R.R. #2, G.B. 35, Huntsville, Ont., P1H 2J3

The University of Wisconsin has put together a publication, entitled A Model Lake Plan for a Local Community that sets forth a model management plan for a fictitious lake. The Model Lake Plan is designed to help communities care for local lakes by explaining the types of information needed to make decisions at the local level, offering a format for summarizing information and debating alternatives, and by furnishing an example of community commitment to a lake.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources' Planning Grant Program provides funding to local governments and lake management organizations though their Wisconsin Lakes Partnership for the collection and analysis of information needed to manage lakes.