Conservation, Preservation and Stewardship

It all means taking care of our shared environment ... together.

Clean Water

Download the lake management plan here.
What's with the water level?
Parks Canada has the historical chart.

CLEAN. DRAIN. DRY.

Informative presentation from OFAH about how you can help prevent the spread of invasive species.
read the presentation

Water Levels 101

CEWF shares the details about how water levels are managed and how you can stay updated.
READ THE PRESENTATION
CEWF are the experts when it comes to water levels - how they're managed, why they change and how you can protect your property from their impact. Learn more and sign up for water level email alerts at CEWF.ca.

Environment 101: local waste, recycling and reusing resources

The best place to search for waste/recycling information, including reuse, reduction, and recycling, is the Haliburton County Waste Wizard. There is a web version and an app for Mobile devices (search Haliburton County Waste Wizard - App Store or Google Play).
Reuse Dorset and Maple Maple Lake Waste Site, Dorset Transfer Station and Oxtongue Lake Waste Site each have a ReUse Centre where you can leave good, useable items that need to find new homes. The ReUse Centres are open for the same hours as the sites.
Diabetes Canada Donation Bins Maple Lake and Dorset also have Diabetes Canada clothing bins, for donations of good, useable clothing, bedding and other household items (info on what is and is not accepted https://declutterfordiabetes.ca/what-you-can-leave-in-a-donation-bin). Items must be placed in a clear garbage bag and each bag needs to be less than 40 lbs in weight (so one person can easily pick it up and carry it).
Lights and Bulbs Recycling Program This year the program for recycling lighting materials has expanded to keep more of these materials out of landfills. All types of light bulbs, not just fluorescent ones, are now collected and sent for recycling or safe disposal. https://www.productcare.org/products/lights/ontario/.
What's new? Maple Lake Waste Management site has a new addition for 2024, a weight scale. Tipping fees can now be calculated based on weight, a change from the volume measurements we have used in the past and at other waste sites.
Third Party Donations Sirch Thrift Warehouse - Haliburton128 Mallard Road, Haliburton, ON 705-457-5247Donations Accepted: Tuesday to Saturday: 10 am – 3 pm Accept items in good, usable condition. Furniture, mattress (no rip or stains), Summer clothes and items (from Apr to Oct), Winter clothes and gears (from Nov to Mar), dishes and kitchen utensils (no cracks or chips), small appliances and books (check before bringing).
Haliburton/Minden Freecycle Facebook Page Our representative for environmental management at Algonquin Highlands: Melissa Murray, Environmental Manager Township of Algonquin Highlands1123 North Shore RdAlgonquin Highlands, ON K0M 1S0 Office: 705.489.2379 extension 332Email: mmurray@algonquinhighlands.ca

Ever wonder about life under the ice?

First, the water:During the summer our lake is thermally stratified (when bodies of water "divide" into distinct layers of density due to different temperatures). Warm lower density water sits on top of colder higher density water. As summer transitions to fall, the upper layers cool, breaking down that density difference. Eventually, the surface of the lake cools to 4°C, the temperature at which water is most dense. This causes the water at the surface to settle to the bottom, pushing the now relatively warmer water at the bottom back to thesurface. This continues until the dropping air temperatures cause the surface water to cool below 4°C. At 0°C water expands and becomes less dense, so it stays afloat as it turns into ice. This process, known as the turnover, is critically important to the life in the lake. It is these turnover periods that infuse and distribute oxygen throughout the entire water column. Once the ice forms across the surface of a lake, it seals off the water from atmospheric oxygen exchange and blocks out much of the light that is necessary for aquatic plants and phytoplankton to produce oxygen within the lake. Throughout the winter oxygen levels in the lake slowly decline from the point they were at when the surface froze. Then, the fish:The behaviour of fish in winter is radically different from the summer months. In the summer, smallmouth bass prefer shallow, warm water, while lake trout stay in the deeper, cooler areas of the lake. Sticking to their preferred and separate environments means the fish aren’t competing for the same food sources. Researchers from University of Toronto Mississauga have discovered that when the winter lake temperature dipped to between 0°C and 4°C, the lake trout moved to shallow water where the smallmouthbass were and stayed there all winter. “The data showed us that, in winter, these off-shore fish become in-shore fish,” says Bailey McMeans, an assistant professor of biology with University of Toronto Mississauga. “We think lake trout are following temperature. In doing that, it’s bringing them in much closer proximity to bass, which they are typically separate from". They also learned that, while the lake trout remain active throughout the winter, the bass enter a state of semi-hibernation, slowing their swimming and eating activity. As a result, the two species aren’t competing for food even though they are occupying the same area. Fish also have several adaptions to survive a winter below the ice. First, they are cold blooded meaning their body temperature matches their environment. In the winter this slows numerous metabolic processes, such as respiration, digestion, and activity level. Fish are often classified as cold-water, cool-water, and warm-water species. The warm-water species will seek out the warmest water they can, which is now found at the bottom of the lake. They hunker down in these areas and enter a state of torpor, reducing their respiration and using as little energy as possible. To save energy they will also stay away from areas which have a current. The cold-water fish species, such as trout and salmon, will stay more active throughout the water column preying on other organisms. Another challenge in the winter is the availability of oxygen. Remember that once the lake freezes over the oxygen in the water must last all winter. The lack of oxygen, or hypoxia, can cause fish to suffocate. When a fish suffocates and dies, it decomposes, which consumes more oxygen, and leads to more death, known as winterkill. Many benthic fish - fish that live at the bottom - move out towards the edges of the lake. Here, the shallow water is oxygenated down to the bottom, so they can rest on the lakebed and are still able to breathe. Lakes lose oxygen from the bottom up, so the logical solution is to move up, lingering near the surface ice, where oxygen in the ice slowly dissolves into the water. Pike take this to the next level, taking it upon themselves to create areas of high oxygen. They rest at a slight angle in the water, with their snouts almost touching the ice, and their tails pointed downwards. Then, they maintain slow, steady movements of their pectoral fins and operculum (the hard, protective covering for their gills), creating a weak current of warm water under the ice. This melts the ice, creating a dome of oxygen-rich water. While pike are normally a solitary fish, they can often be found resting in these little domes in small groups and will create and utilize several of them throughout the winter. Moving up to the surface comes with another challenge. Since the ice is actively melting into the surface water, this is the coldest part of the lake, and the water closest to the ice can be less than 1 °C. This exposes fish to the risk of hypothermia. One strategy to combat this is to conserve energy by entering a state of semi-dormancy. This is what largemouth bass do. They reduce their metabolism, activity, breathing rate, and primary body functions. However, in this state, they cannot process very much food, so their body whittles away at their fat reserves to stay alive. As a result, if the winter is too long or too harsh, fish can die of starvation. Another strategy is to increase their activity and breathing rates as yellow perch do. This means that the fish must feed actively throughout the winter, which can be difficult when winter resources arealready so scarce. Winter is hard on all living organisms, but somehow, life finds a way. Come spring, the warming water nudges dormant fish back into action. There is an explosion of activity as the fish hunt and spawn again, recuperating from their winter losses, and raising a new generation of hardy Kushog Lake fish!

How does lake testing work?

You may have seen KLPOA volunteers on the water doing testing and wondered “what are they doing?” … well, here’s the skinny on water testing. Water testing is conducted monthly by KLPOA. Results are analyzed by FOCA's Lake Partner Program and shared on their website. If you're interested in the Kushog Lake results, visit https://foca.on.ca/lake-partner-program/ to set up an account and log in. 2021 results are available now. Fleming College Fall ProgramWater quality monitoring is also done in partnership with Ecosystem Management Technology program students from Fleming College. This annual initiative collects trended data over time and runs for more than 2 months each fall. It covers water chemistry (11 key measures are collected), zooplankton communities (plankton containing small animals and immature larger animals) and benthic macroinvertebrates (animals without a backbone). The data describes two areas of concern: acidification (lowered pH levels) which could have an effect on lake trout, and the presence of an invasive species, the spiny water flea. Citizen Science with Water Rangers Did you know water testing can be done by anyone with testing kits available from Water Rangers? Water Rangers is a not for profit organization that advocates for community testing. They collect results from the public to add to their database and have developed great education resources that are science-based yet easy to understand. KLPOA is committed to proactive water testing and water quality monitoring.
read the kushog lake health report

Avoiding ice heave damage

The boat is winterized and stored. Now it’s time to deal with the dock.
Floating docksDocks with legs must be removed but floating docks can stay in the water depending on your location. Water is nature’s most powerful force and when ice forms and shifts due to wind and currents damage can be done to your dock. Some years on Kushog Lake the ice goes out gently without any fuss and other years the ice may start to go out, the wind shifts, and the full force of the ice comes back to wreak havoc. This is especially true if your home or cottage is on the east side of the lake as most of the wind comes from the west, northwest and southwest. If your waterfront bears the brunt of ice movement in the spring, it’s best to take your dock out or shelter it in a protected bay or cove. If your dock is staying in the lake, secure it to something stable like a well rooted tree and make sure there is a marker on it to identify it to snowmobilers. Each spring, there seem to be docks floating around that need to be rescued so make sure you have taken every precaution to tie it up securely and add your name and phone number to it so you can be contacted in case it still gets away from you!
New to the lake?Talk to your neighbours and find out what they do to avoid damage to their docks.
Unsecured docks are a safety hazardLoose floating docks in the spring are a major safety hazard especially at night. Make sure wherever your dock is, it is well secured and can’t come loose in the spring.
Learn more about dock prep

The Experts We Partner With

Get smart about lake health

KLPOA's InfoBits

Everything you need to know about the Kushog Lake environment - from invasive species to septic health to light pollution. If it's important, there's likely an InfoBit about it. We're always adding to the library ... if there's a topic you're interested in, let us know.
read them all

What can I do as a home owner? Glad you asked.

Lake Links is an initiative of Watersheds Canada. Their education resources are top notch and science-based. Want to see how you can protect the lake right from your very own waterfront?
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