Stewardship Guides are important tools that are designed to help individuals help themselves to be good stewards of their own properties.  They provide a framework to allow you to evaluate your property and identify good management options. Through completion of the worksheets, you will learn what you are doing right, and where you can improve in protecting our natural environment. Here are some current guides:

Stewardship Guide for the Lake Huron Coastline  
http://theguide.huronstewardship.on.ca/index.php

This guideline targets non farm residents, cottagers and property owners along the Canadian shore of Lake Huron from Tobermory in the north to Sarnia in the south.  It provides a self assessment and provides ideas on how to improve your shoreline property.

The Rural Landowner Stewardship Guide for the Lake Huron Watershed:
http://theguide.huronstewardship.on.ca/index.php

This guideline targets rural non farm landowners in Huron County and the Ausable Bayfield and Maitland Watersheds that extend outside Huron County.  It provides a many great ideas on how to improve your rural property.

The Rural Landowner Stewardship Guide for the Ontario Landscape  ... coming soon.
This guideline is intended to target non farm landowners across Ontario’s rural landscape.  To find out more about this guide and the possibility of delivering it in your area contact Dr. Wayne Caldwell at the School of Rural Planning and Development, University of Guelph, Telephone: 519.824.4120 ext.56420,
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Website: www.waynecaldwell.ca

Environmental Farm Plans (EFP): 
http://theguide.huronstewardship.on.ca/index.php

EFPs are voluntary assessments prepared by farm families to increase their environmental awareness in up to 23 different areas on their farm. Through the EFP local workshop process, farmers will highlight their farm’s environmental strengths identify areas of environmental concern, and set realistic action plans with time tables to improve environmental conditions. Environmental cost-share programs are available to assist in implementing projects.

Living by Water:
http://www.livingbywater.ca/main.html

The Living by Water Project was initiated in 1997 by two shoreline residents from British Columbia. The mission of the Project is "working towards healthier human and wildlife habitat along the shorelines of Canada".

Watershed Report Cards
Several Watershed Report Cards have been implemented in the Lake Huron Watershed.  Report cards provide a general description of the health of lakes, watercourses and forests by using a letter grade of A to F.  The report cards provide and effective and transparent watershed based environmental monitoring and public report. Here are the areas in the Lake Huron watershed that have prepared a Report Card:

Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority
http://www.abca.on.ca/reportcard_map.php

Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority
http://www2.nvca.on.ca/OurProgramsandServices/WatershedMonitoring/index.htm

Muskoka River Watershed
http://www.muskokaheritage.org/watershed/watershedreportcard.asp

Water quality throughout the Lake Huron basin has shown gradual improvement since the early 1970’s. Nutrient enrichment, acid rain and heavy metal contamination remain as localized issue in some parts of the basin. Follow these links to additional information on water quality:

 
Nearshore Water Quality - Southeastern Lake Huron   
http://www.huronkinloss.com/documents/downloads/nearshore_report_-_LHCCC_2004_1.pdf

A Preliminary Report on Historical Nearshore Water Quality Information for Southeastern Lake Huron. 

Sources and Mechanisms of Delivery of E.coli (bacteria) Pollution to the Lake Huron Shoreline of Huron County
http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/techdocs/5077e.pdf

In 2004, the Lake Huron Science Committee (LHSC) was initiated by Ministry of the Environment (MOE), in consultation with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF) and Environment Canada (EC), in response to public concerns over bacterial (E. coli) pollution along the southeast shoreline of Lake Huron. The committee was created as an MOE-led, multi-agency technical committee to:

- identify sources of E. coli (as an indicator of fecal pollution) to the shoreline of Lake Huron,

- investigate the extent of influence of fecal pollution sources on the shoreline, and,

- make recommendations on possible actions to address the microbial pollution of fecal origin. 

Source Water Protection

As part of its strategy to protect Ontario’s drinking water from source to tap, the government released draft legislation on the development and approval of watershed-based source protection plans. Watershed-based source protection was a key recommendation of the Walkerton Inquiry.  The following links provide more information:

Ontario Ministry of the Environment   
http://www.ontario.ca/ONT/portal51/drinkingwater

Conservation Ontario
http://conservation-ontario.on.ca/source_protection/index.html

ABCA/MVCA
http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:4Tuj3iYlheAJ:www.sourcewaterinfo.on.ca/content/sourceProtections.php+source+protection&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=30&gl=ca 

Pollution Probe
http://www.pollutionprobe.org/Reports/swpprimer.pdf 

Lake Huron has been dramatically and forever changed by the invasion of non-native species, which have decimated native fish populations and in some cases permanently impacted fish communities. Invasive species are defined as species that do not originate in the Lake Huron ecosystem and have been introduced either intentionally or accidentally.  Invasive species threaten the diversity and abundance of native species and the ecological stability of infested waters.   Follow the below links to additional information on invasive species.

Canadian Wildlife Service     http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/publications/inv/cont_e.cfm\

This site provides a list of invasive plants in Canada, their biology, impact and control options.

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 The Great Ships Initiative (GSI)    http://www.nemw.org/GSI/index.htm

The Great Ships Initiative (GSI) is a collaborative effort to end the problem of ship-mediated invasive species in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System through independent research and demonstration of environmental technology, financial incentives and consistent basin-wide harbor monitoring.

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 Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG)    http://www.issg.org/

The Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) is part of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of The World Conservation Union (IUCN).

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National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species (NECIS)    http://www.necis.net/

The National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species (NECIS) is a national coalition whose aim is to strengthen the national environmental voice and focus collective efforts on one of the most urgent threats to the environment-- non-native, harmful invasive species. This site provides in-depth resources on aquatic and terrestrial invaders

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 Great Lakes Information Network     http://www.great-lakes.net/envt/flora-fauna/invasive/invasive.html

This site provides a comprehensive list of invasive species in the Great Lakes Region 

Extreme or extended periods of high or low water levels can cause undesirable results. High water levels are of concern for those living along the shoreline, since they can combine with other factors, such as storms, to cause serious flood and erosion problems.  In contrast, lower lake levels pose safety concerns for boaters, increased costs for commercial ships carrying lighter loads, wetland loss, and generate water quality concerns.

Water Levels and Related Great Lakes Data    http://www.on.ec.gc.ca/water/levels/intro.html#historic

Learn about current, recent and historical Great Lakes water levels and associated causes by following this link.
 

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Upper Great Lakes Water Levels Study    http://www.ijc.org/conseil_board/upper_greatlakes/en/upper_mandate_mandat.htm 

In the past year, evidence pointing to possibly important water level changes in Lakes Michigan and Huron due to ongoing physical changes in the upper St. Clair River has come to light in the Georgian Bay Association funded Baird Report.

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Lake Huron Water Levels Spell Big Trouble -Toronto Star Article    http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/Environment/article/273215   

When Julie Woodyear was a kid, she and her brother raced each other around their family's Georgian Bay island in dinghies. Thirty years later, a dinghy race would involve dragging the boats over land because her island is no longer an island. It's become part of the mainland.

Environment Canada - Water Level    http://www.on.ec.gc.ca/water/factsheets/waterlevels1_e.html 

This site provides general information about water levels on the Great Lakes and access to current water level data on Lake Huron.

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 Lake Huron Coastal Centre    http://lakehuron.on.ca/coastal/water-levels.asp

Water levels on Lake Huron are always changing. They can change within a few hours (short-term changes) in response to a storm system, undergo seasonal changes in response to higher evaporation rates in the late fall, winter and spring, and higher precipitation and melting snow-pack in spring, to long-term changes that can see Lake Huron fluctuate within a range of about two metres between highs and lows.

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Great Lakes Information Network - Current Lake Huron Water Levels    http://www.great-lakes.net/envt/water/levels/levels-cur/hurwlc.html

Current water level information is posted on this United States website.

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Georgian Bay Association     http://www.georgianbay.ca/index.html  

The Georgian Bay Association provides information on Lake Huron water levels including two videos from CBC and CNN.