Courtesy of The Kawartha Promoter
The North Pigeon
Lake Ratepayers Association is no longer. At their recent annual meeting, members voted unanimously to change the organization’s name to North Pigeon Lake Association (NPLA)—reflecting the new reality that many new members are not actually ratepayers on Pigeon Lake.
The new name is intended to encompass North Pigeon Lake and its catchment area, explained continuing president Janet Klein.
“We are all connected by the water,” she said. “It’s important that we all work together to care for it so we can all enjoy it.”
The meeting also heard from Kawartha Conservation’s Jayme Hughes and Warren Dunlop from Kawartha Land Trust.
Hughes explained how the Nogies Creek Waterway will be developed as a destination for recreational, cultural, educational and scientific activities—the result of a partnership between Kawartha Conservation, Fleming College, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests, Trent Lakes municipality, Trent University, Kawartha Land Trust and Curve Lake First Nation, plus other local agencies, associations and residents.
The partners are developing a management plan they expect will include a canoe route, self-guided nature trails for hiking, opportunities for scientific study, a fish sanctuary and opportunities for fisheries research as well as a recreational linkage with Chiminis, or Big/Boyd Island. All are invited to offer their input to the management plan by filling out an online survey at surveymonkey.com/r/TSK2M7D.
Dunlop outlined the work the Chiminis (Boyd/Big Island) Management Advisory Team (MAT) is doing since it was established in April to develop a stewardship plan for the island. This includes compiling background information on cultural and natural history; identifying knowledge gaps; recommending priorities, and undertaking assessment activities (e.g. Ecological Land Classification).
Preliminary stewardship activities include ensuring the property’s natural and cultural features are protected and conserved, and that it’s safe for public use (cleaning up garbage and fire pits; mapping existing trails and identifying hazards).
The completed Stewardship Plan will identify future stewardship activities like shoreline and vegetation rehabilitation, and invasive species control, and compatible uses like hiking trails and picnic shelters.
The newly named NPLA also gave recognition awards to Tom McCarron and Francis Currer, who have both tested the waters of Pigeon Lake for Kawartha Lake Stewards Association for 14 years
