One of several property owners on Kahshe Lake who reported the presence of an algal bloom earlier this week has just received confirmation from the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) that the bloom was a Blue-Green (Cyanobacteria) bloom. The Ministry has notified the Simcoe-Muskoka Health Unit and an Active Alert has now been posted on their website (link below): (https://www.simcoemuskokahealth.org/Topics/SafeWater/bluegreenalgae_copy1.aspx#f0106af6-4016-47ad-9deb-8e262ab6e3b5

I have been in touch with the MECP and although the level of specific toxins typically associated with this type of algal bloom has not been quantified, the Duty Officer did confirm that there was evidence of elevated levels. 

I will keep you posted when I have more information, but for now, it's best to avoid contact with or consumption of the water by humans and pets in the vicinity of any blooms that are showing up. For more specific health related information, please refer to the SMHU like above.  

Ron Pearson

Kahshe and Bass Lake Steward

The next step in the District Municipality of Muskoka’s Causation Study for Bass Lake has now been released and is posted below. The material contains a link to the Terms of Reference which provide details on how the consultants are going to conduct the study and on the timing of the next steps to complete the work.

Ron Pearson, Kahshe and Bass Lake Steward

Thank you to everyone who has participated in the engagement and consultation opportunities offered as part of this causation study so far. The input and information you have provided has been valuable and has helped inform the development of the study’s Terms of Reference (TOR). The TOR has now been finalized and is posted to the Bass Lake project page at the following link: Bass Lake Terms of Reference

Next Steps in the Study:

• Data collection and field work will continue into the fall, after which the consultant will analyze the data to inform the study results and prepare recommendations.
• A stakeholder meeting will be scheduled where the study findings and recommendations will be presented, and you can ask questions and provide feedback, which will be considered in the final report.
• The timing of the stakeholder meeting may be affected by late fall blooms but is expected to take place in early 2022.
• After the stakeholder meeting, the final report will be prepared and presented to the District’s Community and Planning Services Committee.

A friendly reminder to continue to keep your eyes on the lake over the summer and fall seasons and report any sightings of potential blue-green algae blooms to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks’ Spills Action Centre at 1-866-663-8477.

If you have any additional data or information you would like to share with the consulting team, please send it to jacquie.evans@muskoka.on.ca. We will be accepting submissions from lake stakeholders until October 31, 2021.

Warm regards,

Jacquie Evans
Planning Policy and Programs Coordinator
The District Municipality of Muskoka
Phone: (705) 645-6764 x4114
Jacquie.evans@muskoka.on.ca

A number of people on Kahshe have been noticing or feeling little jelly-like little things in the water while swimming over the past couple of weeks. To solve the mystery of what they are, I collected a sample late on August 28 and have determined that they are a planktonic (water-borne) cladoceran identified as Holopedium glacialis. These little critters with their jelly-like sack thrive under conditions of low lake water calcium. I've reported on the trend towards increased numbers of them due to declining calcium concentrations in several of my Lake Steward Reports, as they have been documented as increasing in soft water lakes in Muskoka and neighbouring areas over the past few years. However, I had never actually encountered them in the water on Kahshe until this year..

Briefly, what appears to be happening is that another cladoceran called Daphnia (another water flea) is slowly losing out to the Holopedium species, as Daphnia require much more calcium and phosphorus, both of which (especially calcium) have been in decline due to reduced leaching from soil since the abatement of the acid rain problem. I've done some initial research in the time since I discovered what they are, and the only negative impact I can find is a tendency of these jelly-like critters which are about 5mm in size to clog up water intake lines. I have not heard of this happening on Kahshe, but it can't be ruled out if they continue to increase in numbers. I'll be looking more closely at the research that has been conducted on them and will have more information to present in the next KLRA Krier or sooner if possible.

Ron Pearson

Kahshe and Bass Lake Steward

The Town of Gravenhurst is seeking to review the usage of Short-Term Rentals (STR) across the municipality through a public survey available until September 30^th.

Whether you’re a full-time or seasonal resident, business owner, or visitor to Gravenhurst, the Town of Gravenhurst wants to hear your feedback on STR use. 

You can provide your feedback by taking the survey at www.engagegravenhurst.ca/str.

How you can engage with us:

• Fill out the survey on Short-Term Rental use in Gravenhurst. Be sure to select all that apply in the first question so relevant questions can populate based on if you’re a neighbour, business owner etc. 
• Find links on how to be a good neighbour 
• Ask a question about short-term rental use in Gravenhurst 

The 2022 Photo Contest is open for your submissions. Send your best three jpegs to us at photocontest@kahshelake.ca  The contest will end at 4:00 pm on TBA in August 2022 and all winners will be notified by e-mail.

The contest is over and the judging is done thanks to Bruce Gibson and Toby Fletcher, who did terrific job selecting winners from the 108 entries from 42 photographers in four categories.  All photos are on the web site and the winners have their own page and should have received their prizes by now.

The judges were disappointed that there were NO entries in the category Kids Eye View. This is an important section since the pictures reflect what our kids are interested in and are looking at. In the past we have had several photos taken by kids 12 and under. You can check them out since past year's photos are archived on the web site.

Clare

At the board meeting on Wednesday these organization changes were made:

• April moved to president.
• Marg moved to past president.
• Michele moved to vice president.
• Marlene moved to secretary.
• Steve moved to member at large.
• Alison Smithers is taking over as chair of the beach committee.

It was a spectacular day to launch the Rob Roy II. After a 2-minute speech acknowledging the realization of Cliff Fitchett’s 20-year dream, and a brief history of the Rob Roy on Kahshe we ‘virtually’ broke a bottle of bubbly over the bow and set sail. (The reason that the breaking of the bubbly was ‘virtual’ is because you can’t waste bubbly, so Cliff & JoAnne will enjoy it at a later time.)

A Huge ‘Thank You’ to all the Rob Roy II supporters!!

People on their docks, a flotilla of watercraft following behind, including a Disappearing Propeller Boat, a drone and even a small aircraft. It was terrific support.

I think Cliff blew the whistle more than 100 times, often at the request of young people. Making some memories of their own on Kahshe, since the last time we had a steamboat on Kahshe was 1924.

Thanks again for your tremendous support.

Here is a short video taken by Randy Craig: (233) Rob Roy II - Kahshe Lake 2021 - YouTube

The Rob Roy to sail on Canada Day Weekend

This coming Saturday July 3rd, weather permitting, the Rob Roy II, a replica of a steamboat that worked on Kahshe in the early 1900s, will be officially launched at 1059 Witbeck Rd, on the north side at the east end of Deep Bay.  A tour of the lake will follow, allowing everyone interested to see it in action. The planned route is as follows:

• 10:30 a.m.  leave Deep Bay and head north along the east side of Boyd Island and then east to the mouth of the Kahshe River;
• 11:30 a.m.   head back west towards Sopher’s Landing, the launching point of the original Rob Roy after it was transported overland from Sparrow Lake;
• 12:30-12:45 p.m.  depart Sopher’s headed for the main channel and then turning south to run down the full length of Grant’s Bay;
• 1:45 p.m.  leave Grant’s Bay to return to 1045 Witbeck Road via the west side of Boyd arriving at approximately 3:00 p.m.

All times are approximate, but George Lindsay will be giving progress reports on the Kahshe FB pages.

We encourage you to join the flotilla of boats that will most certainly accompany this sail-by.

If the weather does not cooperate, Cliff will try again on Sunday the 4th.

The 2020 AGM was held on Zoom yesterday, June 5. 60 Voting Members attended.  There were 9 proxies received and 13 members voted in advance of the meeting.

In the course of the meeting, Steve Rae was declared the first recipient of the Good Neighbour Award.  The page is available here.