Dedicated to keeping Charleston Lake beautiful in every way.
Presidents Message Winter 2022
Welcome to another edition of the Charleston Lake Association Newsletter. This is my first newsletter since taking over the reins from Bill Hallam as President of the Association.
To begin with, I would like to acknowledge Bill’s contribution to the Association. Bill has been a member of the association for 21 years and was President for 11 of those years. Over that time, he guided the Association through many significant
milestones including important conservation initiatives. Whether it was with respect to the Associations Strategic Plan or building bridges with other like organizations, as I meet our members and partners, his name continuously comes up as a dedicated and great supporter of our lake and our mandate to “keep Charleston Lake beautiful in every way”. Bill continues to be
a member of the Association’s executive in his role as vice-president for the south portion of the lake. He remains involved as well in many of our ongoing initiatives and provides the board and myself with very sage advice.
I would also like to acknowledge Wayne Ashford, Rob Ross and Steve Arthur of the Charleston Lake Environmental Association Board of Directors, as well as Jay Kyle of the Charleston Lake Association Board of Directors, who have recently taken their leave. While we have new members on the boards, we are always looking for volunteers to join us in helping us in achieving our
many goals.
I have been a member of the board of directors for over 10 years and I intend to continue to support all our ongoing initiatives to make our lake beautiful and safe.
While visitor levels to the lake appeared to remain relatively stable through the Covid-19 pandemic, it was certainly encouraging to see many of our American seasonal residents, some of whom are CLA members, returning to their cottages late last summer as the border rules were relaxed. Let us hope that the Covid-19 pandemic ends or at least becomes minor in nature soon so that a sense of normality returns to our everyday lives. Consequently, we hope that some of our initiatives, such as the Summer Camps and Golf Tournament, will return this year.
Thanks to directors Michael McAdoo. John Webster. Nicole Rozario as well as Sue Willson for their work on our Boating Awareness Safety initiative. I encourage you to read the article regarding this very important initiative included in this newsletter.
For the last couple of years, large portions of eastern Ontario, including Charleston Lake saw a significant infestation of the LDD Moth more commonly known as the Gypsy moth which had serious consequences to tree foliage in early summer. Experts are monitoring the situation, but it is expected they will return this year. However, the cold weather that we experienced in January may help to reduce their number. There are useful articles online.
There is also a very interesting article in this newsletter from the Invasive Species Centre about an invasive plant known as Water Soldier which was discovered in Red Lake in 2020. The proximity of this invasive plant further reinforces the need for all of us to be very vigilant.
Thanks go out to Gary Neilson and John Willson for volunteering to take over Water Quality Testing from Reg Genge of Ontario Lake Assessment. After participating with Reg in water testing during the summer of 2021, they are ready to take on this most important initiative which keeps us informed on the quality of our water. We look forward to their report on water quality in upcoming newsletters.
Last year saw our Annual General Meeting go virtual as Covid related restrictions and concern for our members’ safety made it preferable not to have an actual in person meeting. It actually was a success and was well attended however, we hope to return to an in-person meeting on July 9, 2022, at the Oak Leaf Anglican Church this year. More on this in our summer newsletter.
I hope that you enjoy this newsletter and I encourage you to visit our website as well. Have a great Spring and many enjoyable days at Charleston Lake.
Pierre Menard - President