PaBIA eBlast March 11, 2020

Volume 12 No. 4

Greetings!

Above is a view from Dave Sharpe's cottage as he looks out on the Middle Reach of Shawanaga Bay from the mainland looking toward the Wreck and Ojibway! Dave was up to ensure a perfect Junior Member Winter Blast in PaB last weekend!

Your PaBIA Board has approved our CZBL Committee's recommendations for the Pointe au Baril Island Neighbourhood and will be sending them to the ToA and our Councillors as requested by the Township as a part of the process.

And if you are interested in the water levels, the GBA has written an article for their Spring GBA Update explaining what affects water levels and what possible scenarios might be looking forward to summer.

In this eBlast:

PaBIA Membership Dues Reminder
PaBIA's Recommendations to TOA's CZBL
PaBIA MP Applicants Deadline extended to 3.18
PaBIA Junior Member Winter Event in PaB in pictures!
GBA: Coleman and Stearns Products Discount Offer
GBA: Higher Water Levels for 2020?
Upcoming: GBLT LANDMARK Speaker Series - March 25
Upcoming GBBR Parry Sound Walk - April 18th
Upcoming: GBF Energy Rights & Wrongs Program April 25th
Lake Michigan-Huron Water Levels March 10, 2020
Lake Michigan-Huron Water Level 6 month forecast
In Memoriam - Dorothe Hassard

PaBIA Proposed Recommendations for Effective CZBL in the Pointe au Baril Islands Neighbourhood

Participants: Cam Richardson (Chair), Tom Scoon, Ian MacLeod, Jamie Bunston, Doug McNair, Katie Findlay, Tom Lundy.

PaBIA’s CZBL Committee has met monthly over the past year to digest and sift through the findings from the past two surveys of the members of The Pointe au Baril Islands Neighbourhood.

The recently adopted Official Plan, the Comprehensive Zoning By-Law and the Planning Handbook are all excellent and well written documents that reflect the Township’s mission of protecting the natural environment.

The majority of the Pointe au Baril community are in full agreement with these goals and have reinforced, in the most recent PaBIA survey, their love for the Bay and the importance of protecting and preserving it now and for future generations to come.

In addition, the majority of the Pointe au Baril community feels strongly that the following recommendations borne out of the survey results will help to ensure that end. The committee has formed these recommendations based on the residents’ desire to control development and density in our neighbourhood.

Membership Dues Payment Reminder - March 15

If there is anyone who has NOT paid their PaBIA dues, Nancy needs to have them in by THIS Sunday, March 15th, for you and your family to be listed in the Yearbook. On the following Monday, all the membership lists are pulled from the database for the Yearbook listings...

Again, remember there are now 4 levels of membership:

Primary,
Secondary,
Supporting and
Junior

to fit your individual needs with costs reduced if your island already has a Primary member paying full dues and therefore covered for the Off Season Cottage Patrols. This effects many young families, renters and permanent residents! We need everyone's support to help promote, protect and preserve Pointe au Baril as the natural gem that it is!

PaBIA has made it easy to pay your dues through a variety of channels.

Cheque & Membership renewal application mailed to Nancy
E-transfer via PayPal to Nancy
Website

Marine Patrol Application Deadline Extended to 3/18

Do you, or someone in your family, have an interest and ability to serve your community? Protect the environment? Participate in scientific testing? Promote boating safety and the interests of a dynamic community association?

The Pointe au Baril Islanders’ Association (PaBIA) is seeking students currently enrolled in grade 12 or university/college with a strong interest in the local environment, protecting community quality of life, and promoting better boating safety.

The employment period is Saturday, June 21 to Monday, September 2, 2020. Training will be provided from June 21st—June 30th.

The Marine Patrol position demands maturity, dedication, and teamwork. Individuals will be required to work autonomously, follow well-defined protocols, and demonstrate sound decision-making in advancing PaBIA’s agenda and those of its partners: Georgian Bay Land Trust and Canadian Coast Guard. It is a ‘resume-worthy’ position with attractive compensation for students that are looking for a demanding position with serious responsibilities.

A detailed job description can be found at PaBIA's Marine Patrol page on the website . For those students interested in a Marine Patrol position, please apply for the 2020 Summer Program by email with:

a cover letter,
resume
references

to both : Bill Culp , Marine Patrol Supervisor, and Nancy Rogers , PaBIA Secretary-Treasurer.

US citizens are welcome to apply!

The DEADLINE for receipt of all resumes has been March 28, 2020.

Latest Updated Calendars for

July ( 2/21) and August (NEW 3/02)

Of Interest

Winter Fun for PaBIA Junior Members in Pointe au Baril - March '20

It was a beautiful day in paradise last Saturday when 18 of PaBIA's Junior Members joined Virginia Skuce at the Sharpe's cottage for a Winter Fun-filled Day on the Bay! Between the trek out to the cottage on safe ice, sitting around on the dock eating grilled hamburgs, snowshoeing and cross country skiing out on Shawanaga Bay, they enjoyed a glorious perfect weather day with their new PaBIA hats while building friendships and longing for the summer to begin! Many thanks to Dave Sharpe for providing the hats, menu, campfire and the yummy food on the grill!

Your GBA Membership Provides Special Discount Offer

Coleman Canada and Stearns Products

GBA is a member of Canadian Safe Boating Council (CSBC), an organization promoting safe and responsible boating throughout Canada. CSBC is extending a special discount offer to all GBA members from Coleman Canada and Stearns of an amazing 40% off the price of many Coleman Canada outdoor products and Stearns life jackets. Along with your PaBIA membership, you are also a GBA member! So they have asked that we share the details of this discount with you, a member of the GBA by virtue of your membership in PaBIA member, so that you can take advantage of this!

Members must use the password SAFEBOAT20 to enjoy the discount.

Instructions for the discount:

Go to https://www.colemancanada.ca to view Coleman and Stearns products.
Note the product name and item # for each item you are interested in purchasing.
For pricing information, go to: https://csbc.ca/en/about-us-alias/627-coleman-stearns-discount-program and enter the discount code SAFEBOAT20 to access the list.
Place your order via email, using the instructions on that CSBC webpage.
The offer representative, Carolyn Shepherd, will contact you to complete your order.
Orders will be shipped to you by Purolator.

More information on this discount and other GBA Member benefits can be found on our website at: georgianbay.ca/membership/gba-membership-benefits/

Higher Water Levels in 2020?

By Rupert Kindersley, Executive Director of GBA

Reprinted from GBA Update Spring 2020

In 2019, the entire Great Lakes Basin experienced high water levels.

There was extensive flooding, erosion, and damage to shoreline infrastructure. Many residential and business shoreline properties were severely impacted – some were even destroyed, with at least one house toppling off a cliff on Lake Michigan. Every lake exceeded its historical record high in some months:

Lakes Superior and Erie went over their record highs from May to September;
Lake Ontario from May to August; and
Lake Michigan-Huron in only one month – December.

So where are we going from here? Analysis of past long-term water level fluctuations used to provide fairly accurate short-term predictions, but climate change impacts are making it impossible to depend on historical trends to predict the future. Regardless, we can draw some inferences about what to expect this spring and summer from the available information. Over the last several months, most predictions showed that Georgian Bay water levels would start 2020 around 11 inches higher than on January 1, 2019. In actual fact, we started the year at 16 inches higher.

To read more about this subject, please read the entire article from the GBA Update Spring Edition 2020 that includes :

What Determines Water Levels in Georgian Bay?
What to Expect in 2020?
What to Look for and Action You Can Take?

Upcoming Events

LANDMARK Speaker Series

Country Turtle, City Turtle:

Helping to keep them safe in a changing world

with Dr. Pat Chow-Fraser

Join us on Wednesday, March 25th for a fascinating talk about turtle conservation from an expert in the field. Dr. Pat Chow-Fraser has conducted research in Georgian Bay's wetlands and throughout the Great Lakes for decades, with a recent focus on at-risk turtles. She will talk to us about the way turtles use Georgian Bay's wetlands and other habitats, the increasing threats that they face, and how we can use ecological knowledge to keep them safe.

LANDMARK Speaker Series

Wednesday, March 25th

6:30 reception, 7:15 talk

Bishop Strachan School

298 Lonsdale Road, Toronto

Free admission

RSVP

Please join us at the reception before the talk for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres! PAT CHOW-FRASER is Professor of Biology at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, where she teaches courses in applied ecology and management of aquatic ecosystems. The Chow-Fraser lab uses remote sensing techniques to predict the effect of water level, invasive species, and human disturbance on the quality and quantity of marsh habitat in the Great Lakes, with an emphasis on Georgian Bay. Dr. Chow-Fraser led development of ecological indicators using fish, plant, turtles, and water-quality information to assess the ecological status of coastal wetlands. In recent years, she has used interdisciplinary approaches to classify and identify habitat for at-risk freshwater turtles and important sportfish including pike and muskellunge.

GBBR Walk in Parry Sound April 18th

Energy - Rights and Wrongs.

Can we do more right? Yes we can.

April 25th

Toronto, at the The Electric Vehicle Discovery Centre

What is it? Each event session features 2 parts:

Part 1: Get the big picture on Ontario's Renewable Energy Grid, xxxxxxxand future possibilities. A presentation by Georgian Bay xxxxxxxForever's Executive Director, David Sweetnam.
Part 2: Test drive an electric vehicle and get all your questions xxxxxxxanswered by Plug 'N Drive staff.

Tickets are $20 and include light refreshments.

either morning or afternoon

Lakes Michigan/Huron Water Levels

March 10, 2020

To better read the charts, please click on the chart for the

Daily or Six Month Forecast Water level chart and the corresponding websites

USACE Six-Month Forecast Bulletin

In Memoriam

Dorothe Hassard , past PaBIA member, A30 - 28, wife of the late Kenneth Hassard, mother of Nancy (Timothy Craig ), John (Kimberley), Judy, Mary-Jane (Mark), September 2019.