Getting in ' The Zone'
Living Softly on Our Lakes:
A Manifesto for a Healthier Shoreline

While attractive, extensive lawn, left, invites nuisance geese, allows phosphates into the lake, and creates extra work for the cottage owner. At right, the same section after being planted with native shoreline plants; now a phosphate buffer. windbreak and an easy to maintain garden.

Eliminate fertilizers and pesticides.

"Remember, if you use fertilizers and chemicals, the runoff ends up in your lake," Carlyle says. This is the same water we swim in and drink from.

Adding more phosphorus to our lakes increases the possibility of algae blooms. The Muskoka Watershed Council pamphlet Protect your Waterfront Investment states that on lakes that are naturally clear, reduced water clarity can result in an 8.5 per cent decrease in your property value (although Brouse is quick to point out that, on lakes that are naturally dark in colour because of tannins washed out from the surrounding wetlands, this may not be the case).

Gradually naturalize your property.

If you stop mowing your lawn, wildflowers and grasses will colonize the first year, trees and shrubs a year or two after. Low maintenance native plants like black-eyed Susan and dogwood along the shoreline provide a mat of roots that slows runoff.

"There are fifteen types of deciduous shrubs that grow along the shoreline and they're easy to identify," says Rob Allen, owner of Northway Gardeners in Windermere. A landscape designer, Allen specializes in shoreline and woodland restoration and has been promoting shoreline naturalization for years. "The plant material is available and it's not expensive. A native spirea is $6 a pot."

Be more selective around your view pruning.

Trim native shoreline species instead of removing them. Don't eliminate the big trees.

"You don't have to look out of every window and see a view," Allen says. "A cedar that is eight feet high is a very old tree. Cutting it down opens up a wind tunnel and your specimen trees like hemlock, white pine and oak start blowing down. They are impossible to re-establish."

Shoreline trees and vegetation also protect natural material further uphill from erosion.

"It's not complicated," says Allen. "Just leave those chores we think we have to do and let the land do its own thing."

Instruct your contractor if you're constructing or renovating.

"Don't let your contractor make decisions about pruning and clearing your land," Allen says. "Fence the area off where you don't want activity. It's not scruff."

Be a steward. Share your shoreline savvy with neighbours.

Since 2001, the Muskoka Lakes Association water quality testing program has utilized volunteers to collect samples at 30 near shore locations on Lakes Rosseau, Joseph and Muskoka. Designed by Dr. Neil Hutchinson, senior surface water specialist with Gartner Lee Ltd., the program links the District Municipality of Muskoka, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and the Federation of Ontario Cottagers' Associations in a partnership. It provides information on how land use and activities affect water quality and measures turbidity, coliforms (bacteria) E.Coli, phosphorus and algae levels of the lakes.

Sampling shows that water quality in the Muskoka Lakes is relatively good, which gives us reason to ensure it remains that way. The testing does, however, show there is a subtle difference between offshore and near shore water quality. There is more bacteria near shore because that is where the runoff hits the lake first. It takes longer to notice a change in the middle of the lake.

You don't have to collect samples to improve the quality of our lakes. By making changes to the way you live on the land and increasing environmental awareness you become a steward of the lake.

Approaching an ideal: Highly visible points of land can harbour substantial cottages, without disrupting the granite-and-pine shoreline profile that has made Muskoka famous.

Legislated guidelines

Using land use planning tools to control what we do to our shoreline is a touchy subject and requires a delicate balance between giving people the personal freedom to enjoy Muskoka and protecting it from those who are less concerned about water quality. Over the years, the rules have changed.

"There are three main areas of change," says Steve Fahner, director of planning for the Township of Muskoka Lakes.

• The vegetative buffer must extend back 50 feet from the high water mark and the full width of the lot rather than 75 per cent of the lot.
• There must be a minimum of 300 feet of shoreline frontage for a two-storey boathouse and, for now, a two-storey boathouse is only permitted on Lakes Rosseau, Muskoka and Joseph.
• There have been changes to requirements for the location and sizes of shoreline structures relating to the classification of each lake. For instance, the dock width on a Class 1 lake (Rosseau, Muskoka and Joseph) cannot exceed 25 per cent frontage coverage and the front yard setback has increased to 66 feet from 50 feet.

As well, all new decks must be built back 50 feet from the high water mark regardless of their height.

Aesthetic guidelines

Fahner also suggests the following to reduce our impact along the shoreline:

• Build smaller boathouses. "From a visual perspective, the boathouses stick out. Let's eliminate the habitable space and get back to storing boats not people. You can screen them with a buffer."
• Build a boat port that you can look through. "You can get protection and have storage lockers or bins and still get a natural appearance."
• Eliminate shoreline decks and patios. "We cannot control the removal of trees," he says. "We need a tree cutting bylaw but that requires staffing. The question is, can the municipality afford it?"
• Minimize the number and size of pathways and stairs through the vegetative buffer. Have only a few points of access and keep them narrow, six to eight feet across.

"Because many people build to the extreme of the bylaw, there is a perception that all shoreline has been taken up," Fahner says. ''Actually, there is considerable amount of natural shoreline remaining."
A recent District inventory estimates the amount of natural shoreline to be approximately 90 per cent.

Case study: a naturalized cottage

Three years ago, Ken and Denise Cargill bought a cottage on the northwest corner of Lake Muskoka near Hwy 169. The existing cottage was 35 feet from the water and was replaced because it couldn't be properly heated in the winter. In compliance with the by-law, their new log home was built 60 feet from the water.

"The new foundation couldn't be as large so we had to build up," says Denise.

A fence 20 feet back from the shoreline was built to protect native plants and prevent sand from getting into the water. Native bushes help hold the soil.

"We communicated with the builder to make sure they checked with us first if they wanted to take a tree down," says Denise. "We only lost one."

Northway Gardeners naturalized the shoreline to attract birds, frogs, butterflies and other wildlife.

"The ducks and blue herons are very pleased with it already," says Denise. "They march up and sit in the long grass that used to be lawn."

"Right now my plants are a little spaced out but they'll fill in. We've still got some work to do. It takes patience."

"Don't be afraid to let what others might call weeds grow in," she says. "You'll be surprised by all the little flowers, like moccasin flowers and purple lady slippers, that will appear."

"We see the Muskoka Watershed Council's role to push everyone to do a little more," Brouse says. "Let's not get too comfortable." We can enjoy our waterfront property and preserve water quality and wildlife habitat. And, in doing so, we can save time, money, our investment and our health.

We have to stop and ask ourselves, "What can I do to minimize my impact on the lake?" says Brouse.

"The simple answer is to live softly on the land."

Cathy Cahill-Kuntz is a freelance writer and works for The Muskoka Heritage Trust. She lives in Bracebridge and enjoys writing about the people and places of Muskoka.

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Muskoka, Ontario