A Recap of 2016

From my notebook, here are some interesting dates from 2016:  

1. The lake froze over on Jan 5
2. The Spring freshet peak occurred on April 3 when high backwater conditions were measured in the Burnt River. Lake water flooded the lowlands around the lake. 
3. The ice went out on April 19
4. The Spring phosphorus sampling for the MOEE was done on May 12. That same day I started the yearly Secchi testing for the MOEE as well as I began my personal series of chemical tests.
4. The Loon started to nest on June 19
5. Two Loon chicks were born on July 15
5. One chick died on July 26
6. The other chick died on August 7
7. Invading species sampling for the OFAH/MNRF was done on August 19 at three locations on the lake. Results will come in April 2017.
8. Dissolved oxygen testing for the MOEE was started on August 29 and will finalize after ice-out 2017. That same day I took my own lake bottom sampling at a depth of 27 meters. 
10. My last chemical test and Secchi measurement (MOEE), was completed on October 1

And Some Interesting Facts:

No new invading species plants were discovered on the lake during the year.

Purple Loosestrife continues to grow on the south shore of Stump Lake. It’s virtually impossible to eradicate!

During a period of extreme heat and humidity, combined with calm waters, a transient bluish green algae “bloom” appeared at one location but it was very short lived.

Year end e-coli sampling done by the Lake Association revealed that an elevated Total Coliform count in all test locations existed while the actual e-coli counts remained low. The test results will be monitored going forward to determine if a pattern occurs and if the Total Coliform counts change appreciably. At this point, I will not speculate what could be causing this condition. 

Despite the invasion of the “Spiny Water Flea” into Loon Lake, the lake remains quite healthy. What is very important is that all property owners should be proactively working to see that Loon Lake stays healthy. It’s not necessary to join any special groups to do that because there are superb resources available where you can go to learn about what you should be doing. The Federation of Ontario Cottager’s Association (FOCA) immediately comes to mind since it has excellent resource material.

Have a healthy and good winter and spend some time learning about how to help keep Loon Lake healthy!