There are so many ways you can get involved in and around the Bay.
Take a minute to learn about all the organizations working to protect the Bay by exploring our guide to the GB5.
Or see how you and your entire family can contribute by becoming a Guardians of the Bay.
Who Does What on Georgian Bay? Your Guide to the GB5 Organizations Working to Protect the Bay
Read More...The “Guardians of the Bay” (GOTB) is an initiative to permeate a mentality of protection and preservation across all parties that touch Georgian Bay, in any way, big or small.
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Lake Michigan-Huron continues to be below the level it was at this time last year – see first graph below. - From a month ago the water levels on Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair & Ontario are up 2, 2, 0 & 0 inches, respectively. Lake Erie is down 1 inch. Lakes Michigan-Huron, St Clair, & Erie are lower by 4, 4 & 2 inches, respectively, and Lakes Superior & Ontario are up 5 & 6 inches, respectively, than they were at this time last year. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are 9, 5, 9, 9 & 10 inches, respectively, above their long term June average. All the lakes remain well below their June record highs, except for Superior which is only 6 inches below. - In a month’s time Lakes Superio
Lake Michigan-Huron continues to be below the level it was at this time last year – see first graph below. - From a month ago the water levels on Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are up 6, 4, 3, 0 & 6 inches, respectively. Lakes Michigan-Huron, St Clair, & Erie are lower by 3, 1 & 1 inches, respectively, and Lakes Superior & Ontario are up 7 & 8 inches, respectively, than they were at this time last year. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are 13, 7, 13, 13 & 13 inches, respectively, above their long term May average. All the lakes remain well below their May record highs, except for Superior which is only 3 inches below. - In a month’s time Lakes Superior, Michi
Transport Canada invites you to have your say on the proposed changes to Small Vessel Regulations regarding Pleasure Craft Licenses (PCL). A PCL is a document issued by Transport Canada which contains a unique number used to trace a vessel to its owner. This number (displayed on the front of your boat) allows police and search and rescue personnel to access important information in an emergency and also supports accountability and compliance with safety and environmental regulations. This affects us all as the PCL is required for all vessels with 10 or more horsepower. The proposed changes have been published in Canada Gazette 1 and include: the establishment of a 5 year validity period (currently 10 year) licence holders will be required to notify transport Canada of any chang
The issue of floating cottages is a topic GBA has been working on for many years, and last year we formed a strategic committee with multiple organizations, and municipalities to engage with the relevant government agencies to get these structures properly regulated. The helpful proposed MNRF regulations to prevent floating cottages from tying up to crown land and anchoring overnight are much appreciated, but GBA is asking again for MNRF to help get the needed changes to Transport Canada (TC) regulations. The strategic committee that GBA formed is prioritizing this and has developed a comprehensive strategy to push TC to make the needed changes so that these floating accommodation units can be properly regulated and located. See GBA’s letter here and the full details of GBA actio
GBA supports municipalities having the ability to regulate development within their jurisdiction through policies and by-laws. We are concerned that under the current Transport Canada regulations the construction of a water aerodrome is able to bypass the planning and environmental impact assessment processes. GBA recognizes that residents with float planes need to have a safe place to dock, but construction of such dock facilities should follow the same rules as apply to all other shoreline structures - municipal planning regulations and provincial environmental assessments. Please support the petition that is being circulated to ban circumvention of these rules. For further details see GBA’s letter to Transport Canada here.
The bi-national GLFC does important work for you and needs Canada to honour their funding commitments to ensure operations, such as controlling sea lamprey populations, are not interrupted. GBA has written in support of the GLFC and their request for a funding method that will provide this needed stability. See full details here and GBA’s letter here.
When you open your Summer 2023 UPDATE from GBA you'll notice a little something extra courtesy of BrokerLink Insurance. GBA has teamed up with BrokerLink to design a magnet for your fridge so that you can jot down your 3 words and post them in a prominent place for reference in the event of an emergency. what3words is an app that divides the world into 3m squares and gives each square a unique combination of three words. what3words addresses are easy to say and share, and as accurate as GPS coordinates. 9-1-1 and emergency services in North America are using what3words to help them find people who are in need of help and are unable to give an easily identifiable location especially in remote areas and on vast waterways. If you haven't already done so, download the app today and keep i
Lake Michigan-Huron continues to be below the level it was at this time last year – see first graph below. - From a month ago the water levels on Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are up 7, 5, 4, 1 & 9 inches, respectively. Lakes Michigan-Huron & St Clair are lower by 2 & 1 inches, respectively, and Lakes Superior, Erie & Ontario are up 9, 0 & 9 inches, respectively, than they were at this time last year. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are 13, 7, 13, 13 & 14 inches, respectively, above their long term May average. All the lakes remain well below their May record highs, except for Superior which is only 3 inches below. - In a month’s time Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron,
During warm late spring and summer months, should a Lake Trout caught in deep, cold water be released? Anglers need to understand, before releasing their fish, how water pressure and temperature can determine the fate of the fish’s life. Deep, cold-water species like Lake Trout swim at depths ranging from 35 feet (10.7m) to 65 feet (19.8m) during the warmer months. Swimming at these normal depths, the swim bladder (see diagram) in the fish’s body is regulating depth and buoyancy while water pressure is keeping the swim bladder small. When the fish is caught at these lower depths and is hauled to the surface, the water pressure declines causing the swim bladder to rapidly expand. This is called Barotrauma pressure shock. The Trout will not have sufficient time to absorb the bu
Lake Michigan-Huron continues to be below the level it was at this time last year – see first graph below. - From a month ago the water levels on Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are up 10, 6, 2. 1 & 11 inches, respectively. Lakes Michigan-Huron & St Clair are lower by 2 & 0 inches, respectively, and Lakes Superior, Erie & Ontario are up 10, 0 & 9 inches, respectively, than they were at this time last year. Lakes Superior, Michigan-Huron, St Clair, Erie & Ontario are 12, 8, 13, 13 & 15 inches, respectively, above their long term May average. All the lakes remain well below their May record highs, except for Superior which is only 4 inches below. - In a month’s time Lakes Superior, Michiga
In March of 2022 Transport Canada (TC) conducted a Let's Talk Transportation consultation asking the public to give their opinions on potential regulations for small vessel noise emissions. There were 5 options ranging from doing nothing to creating performance standards for both small vessel manufacturers and operators. Over 2,300 people responded with a strong majority in favour of noise emission regulations of some sort. Your voices were heard and it looks like TC is moving toward Option 5 which will have performance standards for both manufacturers and operators with applicable S.A.E. standards for both idling at the dock and passing by noise emissions. The next step in the process will be posting the proposed changes in regulations to Canada Gazette 1 at which point the public w
Ontario’s 2023 Fishing Regulations require the immediate release of fish caught in a designated fish sanctuary zone, out of season, over the daily catch or restricted size, and an endangered or threatened fish species. Round Gobies and other invasives must not go back into the water. Fish caught in open season, meeting legal size and daily catch limits, but not intended for the dinner table, require immediate release at the time and place of capture. One exception to the rule allows anglers, fishing from boats or in fishing tournaments, to delay releasing fish if kept in a live well with a mechanical aerator. Anglers must regularly monitor their fish and when released ensure they are healthy and that any kept fall within catch and possession limits. Requiring anglers to release
What’s your name and what’s your connection to Georgian Bay? Sheila Williams and I (Celesta Bjornson) are the co-presidents of the Bay of Islands Association (BICA) and have been enjoying our summers in the Bay of Islands since we were toddlers. My family is from Pittsburgh and we originally found the Bay of Islands in the 1950s by vacationing at a fishing lodge called Moredolpton Lodge. Sheila's family is one of the founding families of the Bay of Islands. Her grandfather discovered the Bay of Islands in early 1900s while working on the lakers, travelling from southern Georgian Bay to the North Channel, transporting lumber back south. He fell in love with the area and purchased an island around 1924 and began building a cottage. Why is being a Guardian of the Bay important to yo
Luc Voorn is a cottager in the South Channel and a passionate advocate for Georgian Bay. He currently serves as the Membership Chairperson for the South Channel Association (SCA), Editor of the SCA “On the Waterfront” newsletter, and as Director, Friends of the Massasauga Park. This past summer (2019), he was nominated as a Guardian of Georgian Bay for his ongoing enthusiasm and efforts to protect and preserve the Bay. Note from Jamie Drayton, GBA Chair of Guardians of Georgian Bay Committee My Dad used to take us camping. His lure to get us to bathe was to promise us ice cream if we ran into the water first thing in the morning for a swim. I recall the water being absolutely freezing at 7 o’clock in the morning… I don’t recall ever getting any ice cream. A few years l
As nominated by Heather Sargeant My Phragbuster Hero About 5 or 6 years ago, at an event jointly put on by the Georgian Bay Association, Georgian Bay Forever, and featuring Dr. Gilbert, an ecologist with Phragmites expertise , I first learned about invasive Phragmites and the harm it can have on wetlands. I decided to investigate if Phragmites was a threat in Woods Bay (my favourite area of Georgian Bay), and that’s when my journey tackling this plant began. I wasn’t sure if a plant across from the family cottage was indeed the invasive type, and so I was nervous and queasy about leading people to help me cut it. What if it was the native plant, and I’d taken all these people out to cut down something benign? One of my neighbors told me there was a hero on Georgian
The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario has just released a useful guide on how to how we can all reduce our environmental footprints. Being a Guardian of the Bay also means doing what we can to reduce our individual consumption of carbon based fuels. - Here is a very good fact sheet and here is a full presentation on this topic. -
What’s your name and what’s your connection to Georgian Bay? Cory Kozmik, Anthony Laforge, Samantha Noganosh, Chevaun Toulouse. We are the Lands and Resource Department for Magnetawan First Nation, in Britt, Ontario. - Source: Magnetawan First Nation Our connection to the Bay is the dense biodiversity that it hosts and the role its ecology plays in our lives, including the environment. It is also where ancestors of the Anishinabek Nation walked and practiced each day what it means to live with the land in reciprocity. The connection to the land and water is sacred to the Anishinaabe culture, and held very close to the communities that inhabit the area. - Why is being a Guardian of the Bay important to you? We take great pride in being “Guardians” because it is our
My name is Eileen Maynard; I am 10 years old and the eldest of the 5th generation in my family at our cottage in Cognashene, part of the Georgian Bay Archipelago. Georgian Bay is so special to me. It is where I spend my summers and any weekend we can get free of our crazy life in the city. In the summer you can go swimming and tubing or out to islands for picnics. In the fall, it is so pretty with all of the colorful leaves and trees and a great time to go for a walk on Beausoleil Island. Being a Guardian of the Bay is important to me because Georgian Bay is vital to us and the animals around us. Being a Guardian of the Bay is a responsibility that we all have for keeping it healthy for the next 5 generations. Last year, with my grandfather, I applied for and was accepted as a vo
Sticking it to Garbage Along the Shoreline What’s your name and what’s your connection to Georgian Bay? My name’s Chloe Drayton and I’ve been going to Georgian Bay with my family since I was born - I’m only 7! It’s a nice, peaceful place and it’s nice to go swimming, look for turtles, go exploring on the rocks along the shore and spend time with my family. - Why is being a Guardian of the Bay important to you? Because I want to help all the animals and plants in nature and because it’s nicer to enjoy the cottage when there isn’t garbage lying around. I also want to enjoy Georgian Bay for a long, long time so we have to keep it nice and clean. - What’s your story that helps to show your Guardian of the Bay values? Every year we walk around the shoreline of ou
Go Wild and Protect the Bay What is your connection to Georgian Bay? I came from a family of campers. We didn’t have a cottage. This was back in the 1960s and early 70s and Killbear Provincial Park was one of my favourite campgrounds. It’s where I saw my first rattlesnake and caught my first smallmouth bass. I was introduced to the South Channel in the early 1980s when my wife, Beth, invited me to her family cottage. We bought our own property in the late 90s and have made the annual trek from Alberta to Georgian Bay every year since. - Why is being a Guardian of the Bay important to you? I believe that an individual’s actions are as important as government regulations for protecting Georgian Bay. We are the guardians of our property’s ecological health. Collectively, Guardi
