Box 142, Westport, Ontario K0G 1X0
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Box 142, Westport, Ontario K0G 1X0 |
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Lake Vision Statement Wolfe and Greene Lake, June 2009 Themes: A review of the survey indicates two overwhelming themes: preservation of the "environment" and enjoyment of the sanctuary provided by living and relaxing on our lakes. The preservation theme includes water quality, shoreline, and vegetation, wildlife, and personal safety. Protection of the sanctuary could be negatively impacted by additional high-density commercial development, mining issues, back lot development, lawns extending to the lake edge, and noise pollution, e.g., jet skis and snowmobiles. Respondents: A total of 49 Wolfe and Greene Lake property owners responded to the Lake Vision Survey from a total population of 177, not including the fractional owners at Wolfe Springs. Of the respondents, 73% were seasonal residents and 23% principal residents, with the balance being made up of vacant lot owners and occasional visitors. 35% of the respondents occupy four season residences, 60% have seasonal properties with no plans to convert to fulltime properties, and 5% who occupy seasonal properties contemplate conversion to fulltime or four-season residences. 33% of the property owners occupy their seasonal homes 1 to 4 months, 23% are fulltime residences and 15% occupy their properties 4-8 months with weekends in the summer filling out most of the remaining percentage. 40% of the respondents indicate they are over age 50, 42% are families with grandchildren, 10% are adults in the 30 to 50 age group. About our properties: 43% of respondents receive their water from wells, 30% bring drink water with them, 20% use the lake, and 7% indicate they are on "town" water. 65% of the respondents use the lake water for non-drinking purposes, 32% use wells and 3% utilize "town" water. 79% of the respondents utilize a septic system, 14% use a holding tank, and the remaining 7% rely on outdoor toilets. What we like to do: Water-related activities tend to dominate recreational activities. The order of the popular water related activities is: swimming, boating, canoeing, tubing, fishing, water skiing, scuba diving, ice fishing, and ice skating. Other popular activities include observing nature, cross-country skiing, jogging, hiking, arts and crafts, bird watching, reading and just relaxing. Hunting, jet skiing, and snowmobiles received the least emphasis in terms of recreation. What's important to us and what concerns us: The things which the respondents rated as important listed by order of importance are water quality, natural trees and vegetation, wildlife and birds, retention of natural shorelines, good swimming, privacy, a gathering place, and safety of property. Those items which negatively impacted respondents' enjoyment at Wolfe and Greene Lake in order of most negative to least negative are high-density commercial development, jet skis, lawns extending to the lake edge, mining issues, heavy automobile traffic, outdoor light pollution, use of snowmobiles, increasing residential development, and public access to the lakes. Other areas of concern included a negative impact because of the lack of police protection and road maintenance for cottage access. Areas of major concern included preservation of water quality, escalating property taxes, high-density development, invasive species, and preservation of shorelines and vegetation. Those things which respondents valued the most were water quality, swimming, the general enjoyment of nature, the tranquil environment, boating, fishing, canoeing, large areas of undeveloped land, and the limited public access to the lake environment. 43% of the respondents indicate they are concerned about further development of the lakes, citing damage to the environment and potential harm to water quality as their reasons. 57% of the respondents did not express a concern about additional development. There was very strong agreement that the townships in their official plans should control high-density commercial development and that back lot development should be strictly controlled. The limitation on the percentage of a lot that can be covered by buildings and minimizing boat houses fell into an "agree" category and there was disagreement with the belief that too many rules were impacting enjoyment of property. Where we live: 10% of the respondents are located on Green Lake with the balance of 90% on Wolfe Lake. 95% of the respondents are members of the Lake Association. Lake Association priorities: Respondents indicated the Lake Association should as its primary goal seek to protect and preserve the overall lake environment. Additional items of Lake Association priority should be to politically impact regulations on development of lake property, influence property taxes, and be an advocate with the townships on any issue impacting the quality of life at the "Lake Community". The pursuit of environmental stewardship and communicating with lake residents on matters of importance, development, mining, invasive species, and taxation all were mentioned as potential priorities for the Lake Association. Manjit Kerr-Upal and Bill Hutchison 
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