The 2023 AGM was held at Four Loons Marina on Sunday August 13th, from 9-11am.
The agenda for the 2023 AGM was:
AGM Portion
Community Connections Portion:
- Cockeyed Loon Ceremony
- cooperative activity
Lunch by "Two Dishes Catering" was excellent. Thanks to all who baked cookies and squares for dessert.
Here are the 2022 Financial Statements, Board of Directors Election Notice, and the Summer 2023 Water Quality Report.
The 2023 Treasurer’s report and downloadable financial reports will be uploaded shortly.
· The Township is in the process of their Official Plan Review. The working group attended the March 2023 Addington Highlands Official Plan meeting. IBI presented the background working papers to the public and the Council. The LWCA working group presented their comments on the working papers and are working with to ensure that our needs are recognized.
· new cottage numbering and naming of islands by Township are both continuing but happening slowly. The most recent communication from Tanya Rosenblath, Senior Admin Assistant at Addington Highlands: “I have received information back from the MNRF indicating that they are still working on this and will provide us with an update shortly. They are consulting with local Indigenous communities about potential names for 9 islands that did not meet Board principles. Once we have more information I will update the LWCA.”
· LWCA continues to receive and monitor development proposals
· the last Municipal election was this past October, 2022; we reached out to the candidates to seek input from them and circulated the responses to all. The results of the election were circulated to the Members last year. Please feel free to contact the Township or the LWCA for further information about your municipal representatives should you wish, see the list below:
Henry Hogg, Reeve
613-336-0227
Tony Fritsch, Deputy Reeve
tfritsch@addingtonhighlands.ca
613-333-2224
Kirby Thompson, Councillor Ward 1
kthompson@addingtonhighlands.ca
613-333-5571
E. Helen Yanch, Councillor Ward 2
613-336-8774
Ken Hook, Councillor Ward 2
613-336-3211
· Hartsmere Rd - still waiting for conveyance from Ministry
· Emergency site at south end - still waiting for Municipality to pick a site
We continue to communicate to members and friends of lake through various channels. These are:
Website (via GoDaddy)
Newsletters (LWCA Quarterly via S’more)
Communiques (via Mail Chimp)
Membership numbers as of Aug 2, 2023
Members 200 (3 new)
Friends 19 (1 new)
Total = 219 (compared to 232 on July 25, 2022)
The Water Quality Report is available in the Downloadable file section above.
Courtesy Markers
We continue to battle the weather when it comes to these markers. Numerous storms and ice floes have caused damage to them but fortunately we have the right person on board who is quick to make repairs and replace lights that need replacing. We have also been methodically replacing the old-style floating markers with the newer white models which are bolted into the granite. We have a new contract with our flashy light tech up to and including the fall of 2027. Please keep in mind that these are not shoal markers nor aids to navigation, they are simply courtesy markers. Always use caution and be aware of your surroundings as there are still many rocks, stumps and deadheads that are not marked. As always, if someone notices a problem with a marker or if they notice one missing or floating loose, please contact us and we will do our best to make repairs as soon as possible.
Custodial Visits
This past year there were no major reports of damage up to and including the spring cottage check. The last few years have posed problems for us. Weather has been an issue, changing ice patterns have affected us, and of course the health issues that we are all aware of. We have been fortunate that there has not been any major damage or vandalism in the area over the past couple of years, although I don't know that fortunate is the correct phrase as we should all be expecting safety at our Lake.
Forestry
Currently Lake Weslemkoon is in a ‘Low-risk’ forest fire area as indicated by the Ontario Forest Fire Info website. Summary Highlights from the Independant Forest Audit published December 2022:
1. Lake Weslemkoon is located in the north-western region of the Ontario forest region known as Mazinaw-Lanark and is sustainably managed by a group of 12 independent logging companies that form a partnership known as Mazinaw-Lanark Forest Inc. These companies are responsible for harvest and access and are required to carry out operations in accordance with pertinent legislation and standards.
2. The audit period ranged from April 2016 to March 2022.
3. Important findings from the audit:
- On balance the silviculture (forest management) was delivered and the area ‘renewed’ generally balanced with the area being ‘harvested’.
- Harvest levels were “well below planned” meaning future desired forest conditions may not be met. This is due to “severe, repeated, and widespread wildlife browsing (deer and moose) on desirable regeneration (particularly red oak) which has lowered regeneration success rates.
- ”Although outside the scope of the audit…the team cautions that the impacts of a derecho storm in May 2022 will have “far-reaching and long-term consequences on forest structure and stand attributes such as species composition and tree quality…” They continue: “damage from the storm was widespread affecting a large area of productive forest land with many stands toppled.” This obviously effects other forest management functions related to the Forest Management Plan requiring many amendments (e.g. revised annual work schedules, etc).
4. It is clear from the extent and severity of last summers storm, ‘harvesting’ has been well below planned levels this summer and likely for the future summers.
Trails
Work to clear trails on the lake is progressing. The many trees that had fallen on the Canoe Lake trail have now been cleared and a team of volunteers will be visiting later in August to cut vegetation back from the trail. Many of the trees on the Mink Lake trail have been cleared – the trail is walkable and the remainder of the trees will be cleared this summer. Work is required to re-clear the High Dam Lake trail and the trail to Shiner Lake. Recreating the trail to Buck Lake (the one at the north end of the lake, accessed off Hartsmere Road) is still a work in progress. More volunteers are required to ensure that trails are kept clear for us all to enjoy.
This summer a new thunderbox (built by Glen Thompson) was installed at Canoe Lake. Thunderboxes have now been installed at Mink Lake, Canoe Lake, Green Lake, Channel Island (near the dam at the north end) and Picnic Island (west of Rockwell Island). Another thunderbox, built by Ian Sine, will be installed at Little Long Lake. Volunteers to install the thunderbox at Little Long Lake, or to build more thunderboxes, are welcome.
A reminder to all to take out all garbage when hiking or using any of the campsites on the lake, and be sure to completely extinguish any campfires. It is also wise to check for ticks after being out on the trails.
We need your stories, photos, memories, poems and ideas. Please make sure to share notes of passings, births and big birthdays or anniversaries too!
Please send along to info@weslemkoon.com or get in touch through the website or social posts and it will make its way to me. Items need to be submitted by the end of December to give us time to put it all together.
Please encourage your children to send in their stories and photos from the summer.
The Loon Call is only as good as the content within it - let’s continue to make it fun, relevant and all about our Weslemkoon.
Generally speaking, 2023 has been another relatively easy year for water levels and ice out.
A lack of water in the early spring caused the levels to drop abnormally and a subsequent week of excessive rain caused a rapid increase. This combined with a malfunction of the water gauge at the dam looked to cause excessive swings in the water levels. The good news is that all calls into the Ministry of Natural Resources were met with an update on what had already been done to resolve issues. They proved to be proactive and responsive, as indicated by satisfactory water level results.