Plant your shoreline on Lake of Bays

LOVE YOUR LAKE Shoreline Enhancement Project Grants 

Available to Lake of Bays Waterfront Property Owners

Apply before July 24th to receive a $1,750 grant for a shoreline planting project on your property this fall!

The Love Your Lake Fish Habitat Enhancement Program is a shoreline makeover program to naturalize private shorelines across Ontario. Five shoreline planting projects on Lake of Bays will be funded this year. With minimal cost to you, the Muskoka Watershed Council will design and help you plant your shoreline.

Why undertake a planting project on your property?
Natural shorelines help reduce erosion, maintain your lake's water quality, provide habitat for fish and wildlife, and enhance the aesthetics of your shoreline property.

Who is eligible for a Shoreline Enhancement Grant?
Last summer, the Lake of Bays Association, in cooperation with the Muskoka Watershed Council, conducted a shoreline assessment of nearly 800 properties on Lake of Bays. The property assessments started at the public dock on the South Portage Road near Whiskey Bay and followed the shoreline toward Menominee Bay, Burnt Island Bay, past the south branch of the Muskoka River, along the south shore to Dorset and included Trading Bay and Rabbit Bay.  If your property was assessed by the Love Your Lake Program in 2014 you will have received a letter (sent to the address on your property tax roll) with the PIN number to access your individual property report online or request the report to be mailed to you. These confidential, non-regulatory reports offer suggestions for simple changes you can make to your shoreline that will improve the health of the lake. If you have accessed/received your personalized Love Your Lake Property Report you may qualify for a Shoreline Enhancement Project Grant! If yo

u think your property was assessed but you have not received a letter or have had trouble accessing your property report online, please contact Rebecca Willison at the Muskoka Watershed Council (705) 646-0111, info@muskokawatershed.org. 

How do I apply for a Shoreline Enhancement Grant?
Contact the Muskoka Watershed Council at info@muskokawatershed.org

Criteria to consider when applying would be;

1.      moderate to significant shoreline erosion

2.      a loose rock retaining wall with no supporting vegetation

3.      a significant stretch of shoreline with no natural vegetation

If one or more of the above criteria apply to your property, and you are interested in participating, please contact us as soon as possible to express your interest and arrange for a free site visit.

What happens on a site visit?
During the site visit, program staff will assess your eligibility, take measurements and photographs, and discuss with you how your land use needs can be merged with the concepts of shoreline naturalization. This information will be used to develop a shoreline planting plan for your property. Please note that site visits are completely non-regulatory in nature.

Once a plan is approved by you, the planting will be scheduled for the fall of 2015. Program staff will provide all the technical and physical assistance required, including ordering the plants, supplying equipment, and helping you plant your shoreline.
 

Up to $1,750 is available for each property to subsidize the cost of plants, labour and the site visit. Five grants will be awarded on Lake of Bays this year.