Kawartha Lakes backs Lake Dalrymple Management Plan launch

April 26 – Kawartha Conservation staff are launching an exciting four—year project to better understand, enhance and protect Lake Dalrymple.

Earlier this year Kawartha Lakes Council supported the launch of the Lake Dalrymple Management Plan – a four-year science-based lake management planning project for Lake Dalrymple and its watershed.

Lake Dalrymple provides significant economic and environmental contributions to local communities, and once completed, this lake plan will help to keep this lake, the fifth largest in the municipality, healthy and resilient.

“The long-term health and sustainability of Lake Dalrymple is critical to the entire area and to the many full-time and seasonal residents who call Lake Dalrymple and its surrounding watershed home,” said Kawartha Lakes Ward 1 Councillor Emmett Yeo. “I had been in discussions with Kawartha Conservation for some time about undertaking this important lake management plan, and with the support of my fellow council members, I am pleased that we are starting this much-needed project this year.”

The primary purpose of this project is to work collaboratively with lake stakeholders towards obtaining a better understanding of the pressures on a lake and to determine priority management activities.

Comprehensive monitoring of water quality, water quantity, and land use parameters will be undertaken during the Lake Dalrymple Plan Management Plan development. This allows Integrated Watershed Management staff to develop baseline documentation – or ‘state of the lake’ – as the foundation for developing management recommendations.

Kawartha Conservation staff have undertaken a number of characterization reports and related lake management plans including Sturgeon, Shadow, Pigeon, Scugog, Four Mile, Canal and Mitchell, Head and Balsam and Cameron Lakes.

“Kawartha Conservation and their staff are the environmental experts who will be able to work with local groups and individuals around Lake Dalrymple, examine current conditions, identify increasing pressures and develop a plan that supports our lake and the surrounding watershed community long into the future,” said Coun. Yeo.

Kawartha Conservation Aquatic Biologist Brett Tregunno said the size and environmental and economic impact of Lake Dalrymple makes it important for the entire region.

“With Lake Dalrymple being the fifth largest lake in our watershed, the environmental and economic significance this lake has is tremendous,” he said.

Lake Dalrymple is comprised of Upper and Lower Lake Dalrymple. The plan, when complete, will summarize the current state of the lake, develop objectives for maintaining excellent water quality, and recreational enjoyment as well as future monitoring, among others, and to provide a suite of recommendations for all lake stakeholders to consider undertaking to ensure a healthy lake is maintained.

“We are in the initial stages of the Lake Dalrymple Management Plan,” said Mr. Tregunno. “This process will begin this year and continue through 2024. We look forward to engaging and working with lake stakeholders, residents and recreational users throughout this process.”