August 2007 - page 1

Message from our new President

Members and Friends,
Thank you very much for asking me to preside over our Association for this year. We are looking forward to an interesting and exciting year. We, on the Board of Directors, are all volunteers, not professionals, but we do our best. We need and appreciate your help and support. So bear with us and together we will move forward. Remember - Muskoka - Ours to Care For.

Madeline Fielding - President, Muskoka Ratepayers' Association

Thanks for making our AGM a success!

What a great meeting, and another terrific Environmental Showcase we had on July 14! So many of you and your friends turned up and made it a real event. Maybe the rain had something to do with it...? Area MP Tony Clement, MPP Norm Miller, District Chair Gord Adams, Mayor Susan Pryke and many of township councilors/staff were present. And as always, Mayor Pryke braved the crowd and took your questions. Guest speaker Ian Turnbull, our local historian, gave a wonderful talk with lots of pictures comparing today with yesterday. He showed us that we are actually a lot better off environmentally now than at times in the past.

We'd also like to thank all our Exhibitors in the Environmental Showcase and the local interest exhibits upstairs. If you missed this year's meeting, make sure you make it next summer.

The main message at the AGM was that we must take care of our environment for future generations. Water quality is key to maintaining our wonderful Lake area. We are concerned about any lakes or bays that are now considered "over threshold" for phosphorus. Three Mile Lake, which had a major algae bloom in 2005, continues to be monitored. In our township, the areas that are now "over threshold" are:

• Clear Lake
• Dark Lake
• Long Lake
• Medora Lake
• High Lake
• Rutter Lake
• Cox Bay on Lake Joseph
• Silver Lake
• Stewart Lake
• Leonard Lake
• Mirror Lake
• Brackenrig and East Portage Bays on Lake Rosseau
• Three Mile Lake
• Nutt Lake

Get your local lake associations organized and you can make a difference and reduce the level of phosphorous in your lakes. Also, if you want a primer on how you can take care of the water around us, we encourage you to pick up the book, "On the Living Edge: Your Handbook for Waterfront Living," by Sarah Kipp and Clive Callaway, available at Muskoka Heritage in Bracebridge.

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