Horseshoe Lake Property Owners Association (Minden)

Horseshoe Lake Property Owners Association (HLPOA)

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Invasive Species

Invasive Species - Identification and Management

What are invasive species?

Invasive species are plants, animals, and micro-organisms introduced by human action outside their natural habitat where past or present distribution, introduction or spread threatens the environment, the economy, or society, including human health (Government of Canada, 2004).

Protecting our lake from invasive species was one of the most important areas for our members and the top area of concern with respect to water quality. It was also an area where you wanted more involvement by the HLPOA. To that end, we are sharing information on how to report concerns to a provincial body and include the HLPOA in your report. Prevention begins with observation and identification which is a responsibility we all share.

Did you know that:

Horseshoe Lake has a team of volunteers who have permits and are trained to identify and remove the Chinese Mystery Snail and the Chinese Banded Snail from our waters. A huge thank you to the many volunteers who assist with this each year.
that you need a permit to remove any living organism from the lake, with certain exceptions eg. catching sport fish.
the Invading Species Awareness Program was formed in partnership between the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Through this program they address the increasing threats posed by invasive species in Ontario. http://www.invadingspecies.com/

What Can You Do To Help?

You can become knowledgeable about invasive species, and become active in removal and reporting.
If you are concerned about a plant or live organism, reports can be made by calling 1- 800-563-7111. If you make a report, please advise the HLPOA through our gmail account – horseshoelakeminden@gmail.com so that we can help to determine the strategy if there is a positive identification.
There are certain plant species that are considered invasive as well, such as Phragmites, which is a large perennial reed grass found in wetland areas. If allowed to thrive, plants like these can damage ecosystems and crowd out other native vegetation, thus resulting in decreased biodiversity. Ontario has regulated invasive Phragmites as restricted under the Invasive Species Act. For more info, go to: www.ontario.ca/invasionON
Be an invasive species fighter! Clean, drain, dry your boat!
If you, your guests or renters are bringing a boat into our lake, , please clean it before launching it into our lake and clean it before launching it into another lake. This reduces the risk of spreading invasive species between lakes. Click here to learn more: https://www.ontarioparks.com/parksblog/clean-drain-dry-boat/#:~:text=Clean%20and%20inspect%20your%20watercraft,storm%20drains%2C%20ditches%20or%20waterways.

Invasive Snails

Thank you to everyone for your continued diligence in identifying potentially invasive snails on Horseshoe. Here is a link to a map of the lake that shows the sites of identified invasive snail sightings on Horseshoe Lake. Thanks to Kent Rundle for developing this tracking mechanism and to the more than 25 volunteers who are actively involved in this program. There are confirmed sightings of banded mystery snails and chinese mystery snails, four chinese mystery snails on Horseshoe Lake with another four unconfirmed sightings of possible mystery snails.

Here are some highlight Numbers from the efforts on the lake in 2021:

8053 Banded Mysterysnail removed
9168 Chinese Mysterysnail removed
114 reports were submitted to me (I suspect there were more removal efforts that went unreported as there are some people who were on the list of volunteer removers who sent me no reports)
Single largest haul of Mystersnails in 1 day was by 800 Banded Mystersnail by Sandra Badali

Some overall observations:

Banded Mystersnail seem to be present throughout Horseshoe Lake, though not in the Narrows (Little Horseshoe), and Chinese Mysterysnail are present in the Narrows, but not in the main lake.

Here is the detailed report for 2021: Mysterysnail Collections Horseshoe Lake- Sept21-2021.xlsx

Lymantria dispar dispar formerly referred to as Gypsy Moths

These moths have been an issue throughout southern Ontario this summer and have recently appeared on several properties on Horseshoe Lake. Click here to learn more: http://www.invadingspecies.com/invaders/forest/ldd-moth

Horseshoe Lake Property Owners Association
P.O. Box 3, Minden, Ontario K0M 2K0

horseshoelakeminden@gmail.com

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(HLPOA)

The HLPOA acknowledge the lands and waters on which we meet, are the traditional homelands of the First Nation, Métis and Inuit peoples. Our beautiful lakes are fed from the north and flow to the south. We therefore acknowledge the Algonquin and Mississauga peoples as well as the governance of the Williams Treaties. We wish to express gratitude to Mother Earth, the resources we are using, and honour all Indigenous people who have been and continue to live on these lands.