Written by: Kevin TrimbleOriginally published to: https://www.muskokaregion.com It’s time to get serious about getting residents, businesspeople and decision-makers to start building a watershed plan for the Muskoka River watershed. And I’ll tell you why. I can think of no other place in Ontario with a greater connection between socio-economic prosperity and the environmental quality. We assume Muskoka will always be a world-class destination that supports our varied livelihoods, but there is evidence that we can’t keep conducting ourselves the same way we always have. If Muskoka were to...

On Friday, July 24th, a visitor on the lake called the Ministry of Environment, Conservation & Parks (MECP) with concerns related to blue-green algae and the Ministry sampled the water at a location in Falkenburg Bay. The Brandy Lake Association was in contact with MECP on Monday, July 27th, and they confirmed that blue green algae was identified, and that they would contact the BLA as soon as the results were available.  They emailed the BLA on July 29th, that they had identified the blue-green algae Woronichinia.  This is a different genus than was detected in September of 2019. The...

President’s Message Much has changed since we sent out our Winter Newsletter; we are now truly living in challenging times.    However, your Brandy Lake Association (BLA) Exec has been busy determining how we can best move forward considering the new realities of the pandemic.  We held our first BLA Exec Meeting of the year by videoconference, a format that is undoubtedly a first for the BLA.  We look forward to the start of the traditional cottage season and know that all of you do as well.  The Mayors of Muskoka jointly wrote a letter with information of interest...

Since there is a lot of misinformation circulating about the boat launches in Muskoka, the BLA Exec reached out to the Township of Muskoka Lakes and have learned that at this time there are no boating restrictions or public boat ramp closures in place within the Township of Muskoka Lakes.  Users of any public facilities are reminded to practice physical distancing. The provincial announcement of April 3, 2020, which further restricted the definition of essential businesses, includes limits on the operation of marinas such that services can only be provided to enable individuals to...