PRESIDENTS MESSAGE WINTER 2023

If you are lucky enough to live a the lake, you're lucky. -unknown

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We were blessed with another beautiful summer on the lake. The weather cooperated, the water levels were
appropriate and the LDD ( formerly Gypsy) moth invasion came to an end, as we had hoped. Generally, there was
little damage to most trees from the 2021 moth infestation.

 

The return of in-person gatherings allowed us to hold the Annual General Meeting on July 9, 2022. It was well
attended and there was an excellent presentation from Dr. David Philipp, which received positive feedback. CLA continues to collaborate with Dr. Philipp on his Bass Spawning project on Charleston Lake.

Bill 23, known as the “More Homes Built Faster Act” was introduced by the Government of Ontario on October 25th, 2022 and passed by the House on November 28th. This bill is of concern to our Association. The reduced power of the different Conservation Authorities means that development on the lake could be allowed with less checks and balances. A reduction in protection of wetlands could affect the quality of our lake. It is too early to tell what the impact will be. On November 3rd, as President of CLA and CLEA, I sent a letter to our MPP, Steve Clark who is also the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and introduced the Bill in the House. I expressed our concerns and requested a meeting with Mr. Clark. Unfortunately, we received a response some time later from his office, advising us that he was too busy to meet with us. The reply was disappointing and we continue to follow developments on this issue.

 

The Association Directors had another busy year and will provide updates of their respective projects in this and the
Summer newsletter. The 2022 Golf Tournament was a great success and sold out once again. Thank you, Sue Willson for taking over the organization of this event. The 2023 tournament will be on Saturday, August 12 at Cedar Valley Golf Course.

A Water Testing report is included in this newsletter and shows very good results. This important volunteer task

was taken on by John Willson and Gary Nielsen - many thanks.

 

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has provided a very informative article on Bear safety and Charleston Lake Provincial Park gave us an interesting piece on the rare Pitch Pines on the lake.

 

Thousand Islands Watershed Land Trust continues to be a valuable partner for us. They have acquired a number of properties which offer protection to our watershed. There is an article on wetlands in this newsletter.

 

Also in this issue, Nature Conservancy Canada has a piece regarding the property just above Old Baldy, which NCC acquired a few years ago. This property was important to preserve in its natural state. CLA contributed to this, but our Director, Michael McAdoo played a vital role, being involved from the beginning and bringing all parties together to make it happen.

We hope you enjoy this newsletter and we appreciate your continued support of our environmental, safety and quality
of life objectives.

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Pierre Menard - President Charleston Lake Association

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