What is Kawartha Conservation?

COURTNEY McCLURE The Standard

NORTH DURHAM/KAWARTHA LAKES: How much do you know about Lake Scugog? Whether you are a long-time resident, living in the Township of Scugog, or a newcomer, you may not know a lot about the lake.

In the 1800s, the Lindsay Dam flooded into the Scugog basin, forming the lake we now know today.

As you may know, Lake Scugog is quite shallow, and full of various plant life. While the thriving vegetation may be an “eye-sore” to some residents, it keeps the lake healthy and helps the ecosystem.

There is a program at Kawartha Conservation called the Lake Scugog Environmental Management Plan. Part of this plan involves members of Kawartha Conservation monitoring Lake Scugog; making sure the ecosystem stays intact. This program has been ongoing for about 20 years.

According to the water quality specialist at Kawartha Conservation, Tanner Liang, the plants within Lake Scugog do a “great job” of keeping the sediment down.

“We are really excited,” said Mr. Liang. “Not many programs out there have [an ongoing] program where we monitor Lake Scugog.”

Kawartha Conservation is proud of their lake monitoring program, he added. They also monitor various local rivers flowing into the lake, along with the temperature of the streams on the Oak Ridges Moraine.

According to Mr. Liang, these streams are usually colder during the summer. So, these streams provide a nice habitat for some fish species, like Brook Trout.

One of the newest programs, Kawartha Conservation has implemented, is called the Lake Scugog Environmental Management Plan (LSEMP).

Kawartha Conservation has collected feedback from residents about their concerns regarding Lake Scugog.

“We are going to use [the feedback] to develop a study design, for LSEMP version 2,” explained Mr. Liang. “So we are hoping to recharacterize the lake and come up with recommendations for the lake and its watershed.”

The latest LSEMP report will included an update to the first LSEMP report from 2010.

Kawartha Conservation was established in 1979 by the municipalities within the Kawartha watershed. Kawartha Conservation is one of the 36 conversations operating within Ontario.

The programs and services Kawartha Conservation offers are focused within the Kawartha watershed. This watershed spans over two thousand kilometres and includes Lake Scugog, Pigeon Lake, Balsam Lake and Crystal Lake.

To learn more about Kawartha Conservation and the work they do, please visit their website, at kawarthaconservation.com.

You can also contact them at their administrative centre, Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., by phone, at 705-328-2271. The administrative centre is open.