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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2016-11-02, Page 1212 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, November 2, 2016 'Coastline municipalities need to share best practices to protect Lake Huron,' says Coastal Science and Stewardship advisor Darryl Coote Communities along Lake Huron's shoreline need to work together to combat issues the entire lake faces, said Pat Donnelly, Coastal Science and Stewardship advisor, because if they are not addressed they could have an adverse effect not only on the lake but the sur- rounding area's biodiversity and drinking water. "It's the only shoreline we got," he said. "It's why Goderich, Sauble Beach, Grand Bend are there -- it is because of the shoreline. It is the tourism mecca of those communities. And it is something that if we don't manage it properly and wisely, we're going to run into all sorts of issues like water quality." Donnelly spoke with The Signal Star Oct. 20 following his presentation to council- lors from municipalities that surround Lake Huron during the first Lake Huron Munici- pal Forum at Goderich's Beach Street Station, just a stone's toss from the shore- line of discussion. Hosted by the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conserva- tion, the forum was organ- ized to bring together municipal decision makers along Huron to talk about their issues preserving the great lake and best conserva- tion practices. Donnelly said lines of communication between these various communities from Tobermory to Sarnia need to be opened, such as through this forum, so they can discussion an issue that affects them all evenly. "These folks are busy doing all sorts of things, talk- ing about taxes and every- thing else as municipal councillors. This is an oppor- tunity today to just sit down and talk about Lake Huron," he said. The municipalities need to discussing the "nuts and bolt issues" such as shoreline management, phragmites, water quality and climate change to make sure the right decisions are being made concerning the future of the lake, he said. The lake is an ecosystem, he said, which humans need to remember they are apart of and some communities are participating in this rela- tionship better than others and this forum could help to find a balance in the relationship. An example of this ecosys- tem, he said, is issues sur- rounding bluff erosions. Many cottages have been built along Lake Huron's bluffs because of the prox- imity to water and the beau- tiful views from the cliff's edge. However, the water level of Lake Huron fluctuates by up to two meters, with the all-time low occurring in 1964 and the all-time high in 1986. "Over the course of those decades it was a two -meter change in vertical elevation and that makes a huge dif- ference if the toe of the bluff is being eroded by the waves or you've got 20 feet of beach and the erosion is happen- ing on the beach," he said. In Grand Bend there is great discussion among the public over a lakeshore management plan. Don- nelly said the conservation authority that put together the plan is essentially saying they need to plan not just for tomorrow but for 50 years down the line and they don't want to put any more development in an area that might not be there decades from now. Another issue that is affecting many communities on the lake is phragmites, which is an aggressive inva- sive species. "Phragmites is some- thing that is taking over the shoreline and it's a real concern for municipalities because cottagers are los- ing their access to the beach," he said. Growing over six -feet tall, the plant also blocks views and is a nuisance to cottag- ers. For native plants and animals, it poses a more seri- ous problem "[It's] basically taking over habitat that foxes and turtles and all sorts of different ani- mals are basically being left out and having to move. So Pat Donnelly, Coastal Science and Stewardship advisor, poses for a photo following his presentation Oct. 20 during the first Lake Huron Municipal Forum at Goderich's Beach Street Station. it's an invasive, prolific spe- cies that is taking over our coastline," he said. Donnelly doesn't see these issues as insurmount- able. He believes that solu- tions can be found through the municipalities. "Today what we're talking about is showing that we've got good examples in other areas of the shoreline that other areas can benefit from," he said. First Lake Huron Municipal Forum calls for collaboration between coastline communities Darryl Coote From Sarnia to Tober- mory, decision makers from 14 municipalities along Lake Huron congregated in Goderich Oct. 20 for a forum aimed at fostering greater collaboration in the name of preserving the great lake. Matt Hoy, executive direc- tor of the forum's organizing body The Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation and also a Goderich town councillor, said his organiza- tion is making a lakefront action plan, and it would be OFFICE HOURS The Office Hours for The Seaforth Huron Expositor are as follows Mondays - 9am - 5pm Tuesdays - CLOSED Wednesdays - 9am - 5pm Thursdays - 9am - 5pm Fridays - 8am - 4pm Snofarlh Ouron Expositor 8 Main Street, Seaforth ON PH: 519-527-0240 n www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com "no good" without the input of elected officials who will implement the plan at the ground level. "The important piece about today is collaboration," he told the Signal Star between presen- tations. "We're hoping this is going to be at a minimum an annual event so we can get the municipalities together and talk about our waterfront because it is the lifeblood of every one of our communities." Whether it be for tourism or industry or for simply drink- ing water, all the invited municipalities rely upon the natural resource, and this Lake Huron Municipal Forum was intended to be a channel for elected officials to share best preservation practices and greatest concerns about their lake, he said. "So what we're doing is going to each group and ask- ing what do you want to see, what problems are you see- ing so when we put together that plan we can help differ- ent municipalities manage their coastal better," he said. The forum consisted of presentations by Pat Don- nelly, Coastal Science and Stewardship advisor; Dr. Jan- ice Gilbert, a wetland ecologist; and Ted Briggs, Great Lakes advisor for the Ontario Ministry of Environ- ment and Climate Change. Mitch Twolan, mayor of Huron Kinloss and Bruce County warden, said foster- ing collaboration will be the most important outcome of the forum. "There's a lot of good work going on up and down the whole coast," he said. "But I think today is all about how do we form a better collabo- ration with the different municipalities along the lakeshore to compilate all the work that's being done, and, obviously, to share [best practices]." Elected officials, he said, are preoccupied with numerous responsibilities, and the forum is a good maneuver to get everyone concerned in a room to talk about one issue: Lake Huron. "What I'm hearing today, especially from the ministry of environment and climate change, collaboration seems to be the keyword," he said. And a larger collaboration could result in more govern- ment funding to tackle the issues facing the lake, he said. Having the ministry par- ticipate in the form, he said, is a "vital" tool to moving projects, such as exterminat- ing the invasive species phragmites or removing algae blooms, forward, he said. "This is why we're here; we're all interested and want to tallc and process a little bit further every opportunity we get," he said. Ted Briggs, the Ontario environment ministry's Great lakes Advisor, said in a follow up email the the forum's importance lies in bringing all concerned com- munities together. "The forum was important as it brought together municipal decision makers from along the entire Lake Huron southeast shoreline to learn about the variety of issues and how everyone can work together to deal with these issues," he said. He continued that the province readily works with nonprofits such as The Lake Huron Centre, and the organization makes for a "prefect" member of the Great Lakes Guardians' Council, which is a forum that searches for solutions to issues facing canada's five important natural water resources. And "People in the Great Lakes communities know what should be fixed on the shorelines of their home- towns," he said. Hoy said one of the issues he sees in preserving the lakefront of Huron is there is no centre hub collecting all the information the 14 municipalities along the roughly 325 -km coastline and working with all munici- pal and conservation authorities. "We're looking to fill that gap," he said. Founded in 1998, the non- profit moved into its own storefront location in down- town Goderich this May and is looking to expand physi- cally, technologically through its website and influentially by educating more people about the issues Lake Huron faces. "Our goal is to link all the organizations along the lake, because really there is no such body that does that right now. No non-govern- mental body that is on the ground running that can link everybody," he said.