Hello all. Happy Spring!

Now the last of the ice is long gone from the lake and the loons are back, it’s time to plan the AGM! Your Executive Committee proposes Sunday, July 19 at the Park’s outdoor classroom, 10 am to noon, followed by a potluck lunch from noon to 2 pm.

This date is in line with members’ requests at past AGMs that we endeavour to hold the AGM in July, not on a long weekend, and preferably on the second or third Sunday of the month.

The pro-forma agenda includes:

• The tabling of statutory reports from the treasurer and president
• Committee reports (lake health and water testing, the ecosystem grant Love Your Lake project, guidelines & constitution review, invasive species)
• Proposals that arise from committee work. 

Please submit any additional points you would like discussed by replying to this email or by contacting our president, Simon Smith, directly at executive@nsola.org.

We currently have three vacant positions to fill:

• Vice-President
• Treasurer (Oriana will be stepping down after three terms)
• Director at Large

Please indicate your interest in advance by contacting Simon at executive@nsola.org.

An official notice will be sent out closer to the date with an updated proposed agenda and relevant documentation. Any help with the organisation of the day would be greatly appreciated, including suggestions for a speaker.

Regards,

Piper Huggins
Secretary
NSOLA

Last summer NSOLA arranged for the Love Your Lake program to carry out a full survey of our shoreline by boat. The results are now in!

Love Your Lake has produced a personalized report for each lakefront property which includes both recommendations about how you can improve the quality of your shoreline, together with practical advice about what we can all do to keep our lakes healthy.

Instructions for downloading the personalized property reports are landing in our mailboxes right now (Canada Post).   Meanwhile you can access the summary report for the whole of North and South Otter lakes here..

NSOLA was able to obtain funding from the South Frontenac Township last year to enable this survey.  Please take the time to review the recommendations in your report  – for the benefit of nature and for our own enjoyment.

The health of your shoreline is key to the quality of our lakes.  

(updated 2025-07-30)

Current NSOLA executive

Following on from the elections at the AGM, the current members of the NSOLA executive are:

• President: Simon Smith
• Vice president: Vacant
• Past president: Marie Hulse
• Treasurer: Oriana Muzzin
• Secretary: Piper Huggins
• Director: Tracey Mallen
• Director: Peter Lausch

Members of the executive can be reached by emailing the president at executive@nsola.org.

Reports

• Minutes of the 2024 AGM as reviewed and adopted at this meeting.
• President’s Report by Marie Hulse
• Treasurer’s Report for year ended 2025-06-30 by Oriana Muzzin
• Frontenac Provincial Park Updates. Park superintendent Ben Chabot’s update on what’s new and what’s happening in Frontenac Provincial Park.
• Report of Invasives by Walter Abicht
• Update from the Ecosystem Grant Working Committee by Piper Huggins

Governance

Simon Smith will be chairing a group to develop a Guideline to Assist the Executive Committee in its Planning of the Annual General Assembly. If you have any input or wish to be part of this group, please contact Simon at executive@nsola.org..

Directory of Residents and Cottagers

This list of names and contact information is maintained by Mike Kramer. For privacy reasons it is not published on the web, but is available to any member of NSOLA – email Mike to request a copy. Please verify your details and those of any of your neighbours and send any updates to Mike.

REMINDER: NSOLA sends occasional emails to all its members with relevant news or notices of meetings etc. If are not receiving these please contact Mike  to ensure your email address is correctly included in the directory.

Lake Partner Program (LPP) water testing

The starting point for data on the lake water quality is the Ontario Ministry of the Environment page. Search for “North Otter Lake”, or follow the link to the Open Data Catalogue. The latest information available is for years up to 2024.

There is a good overview of the LPP on the  FOCA website. From here there are links to the database of results covering all the tested Ontario lakes. For more details still, there is a very detailed 42 page FOCA report on the LPP.

Wildlife

Loon chicks were raised on North Otter Lake for the for the first time in a number of years. See here for photos by Keith Dunn.

Watersheds Canada

Watersheds Canada has been contracted by NSOLA to survey the shoreline of our lake and report its findings and recommendations for improving the lake ecosystem. This survey will be conducted this summer, entirely from the water, and will not involve visiting any property nor any interaction with the property owners. The end result will be a report to NSOLA and individual personalised reports sent to each property owner. The work is being funded by the Ecosystem Grant we received from South Frontenac Township. For more information see the Watersheds Canada website which has a lot of relevant information.

What: North & South Otter Lake Association’s 2025 Annual General Meeting
When: Sunday, July 13 2025, 10 am, followed by a Potluck lunch
Where: Outdoor Classroom, Frontenac Provincial Park (across from the Trail Centre)

Hello All,

The meeting is scheduled from 10 am to noon, and will be followed by a potluck lunch; please bring something you can share. In the interest of reducing waste, please bring your own drink, plate and cutlery, etc.

A reminder from our treasurer, Oriana, that the membership dues (that were increased to $20 per property at last year’s AGM) can now be paid in the following ways:

• In person, by bringing cash or cheque payment to the AGM
• Electronically, by sending an e-transfer for direct deposit to the NSOLA account (treasurer@nsola.org)
• Post, by mailing a cheque to Oriana Muzzin at 15 Somerset Ave., Toronto, ON, M6H 2R3

Please read the Proposed Agenda, Treasurer’s Report, and Proposed Minutes of the 2024 AGM before coming; printed copies will NOT be distributed at the meeting.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The NSOLA Executive,
Marie, Simon, Oriana, Piper, David, Tracey, and Anita

We have a winner in our logo competition!!!

Congratulations to the designers, Dave Weatherall and his 10 year old son Felix.

Their wonderful design was chosen by popular consent as the logo NSOLA will adopt for future communications and apparel.

Thank you to all those who entered the competition. The designs were very creative and thoughtful, reflecting the beautiful environment and wildlife NSOLA has the privilege to operate in.

The winning logo is shown above and will in due course appear in all things related to NSOLA.

Marie Hulse
President, NSOLA

Hello Members of North and South Otter Lake Association,

As fall wanes and winter teases, I would like to pass on some exciting news about our Ecosystem Grant proposal, as well as timely info regarding the logo competition.

Our submission for a Lake Ecosystem Grant has been approved by South Frontenac Township Council and we have now received the contracts from both the Township and our partner, Watersheds Canada. Watersheds Canada will be conducting an extensive shoreline assessment with a view to protecting and, where necessary, restoring sensitive habitat, ensuring the future integrity of our lake’s ecosystem.

As announced at the 2024 AGM, we are reaching out to our members and beyond for ideas for a new logo for NSOLA. The closing date for submissions is now March 31, 2025, to give you time to get your creative juices working!

For more details, please take a moment to read the full December newsletter which was emailed to all members and is available here.

As always, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us at executive@nsola.org.

Season’s Greetings to you all!

Marie Hulse
President
NSOLA

Please note that the date for submission of your design has been extended to 31^st March 2025. You can download the poster as a PDF here.

Current NSOLA executive

Following on from the elections at the AGM, the current members of the NSOLA executive are:

• President Marie Hulse
• Vice president Simon Smith
• Past president Anita Dunn
• Treasurer Oriana Muzzin
• Secretary Piper Huggins
• Director Aaron Zimmerman
• Director David Crane
• Director Tracey Mallen

Members of the executive can be reached at executive@nsola.org.

Frontenac Provincial Park Updates

Park superintendent Ben Chabot’s update on what’s new and what’s happening in Frontenac Provincial Park is here. This is well worth reading, especially if you plan to bring your car into the park.

Lake Ecosystem Forum

The second annual Lake Ecosystem Forum hosted by the South Frontenac Lake Ecosystem Advisory Committee will take place Thursday, July 18 from 6:30-8:30 pm at the Storrington Centre, 3910 Battersea Road.

Guest speakers are:
– Holly Evans, Cataraqui Conservation on invasive phragmites
– Brian Cumming, Queen’s University on the aquatic ecosystems of Frontenac Park and Desert Lake

Everyone is welcome to come and network with lake association groups, lake stewards and committee members and share ideas on how to keep our lakes healthy. Light refreshments will be served.

For more information see here. Please RSVP to Christine Woods, cwoods@southfrontenac.net.

Tick Transmitted Diseases

Tick transmitted diseases have become an ever increasing concern in this area, and many of the members at the AGM reported that they had suffered from Lyme disease. But this is not the only serious tick-borne disease. See this article in Cottage Life for more information.

Lake Partner Program (LPP) water testing

The starting point for data on the lake water quality is the Ontario Ministry of the Environment page. Search for “North Otter Lake”, or follow the link to the Open Data Catalogue. The latest information available is for years up to 2022.

There is a good overview of the LPP on the  FOCA website. From here there are links to the database of results covering all the tested Ontario lakes. For more details still, there is a very detailed 42 page FOCA report on the LPP.

What: North & South Otter Lake Association 2024 Annual General Meeting (NSOLA  AGM 2024)

When: Sunday, July 14, 10 am, followed by a Potluck lunch

Where: Outdoor Classroom, Frontenac Provincial Park (across from the Park Office)

At last year’s AGM, members present expressed a preference to hold the AGM earlier in the summer. There was also interest in the return of the traditional post-meeting potluck lunch after the meeting; a moment together to catch up with old lake neighbours and meet new ones.

So this year the Frontenac Park’s Outdoor Classroom is booked for July 14th. The meeting will start at 10 am and be followed by a potluck lunch.

An email with a proposed agenda, the 2023 AGM minutes and more, will be sent to members in due course.

If you’d like to bring your young children or grand-children, please let us know asap so that we can look into setting up a crafts table for them.

Our Elbow Lake neighbours are, as always, very much welcome to join us! We mustn’t let a mere swamp come between us 🙂

Hope to see you there!

The NSOLA Executive,
Marie, Simon, Oriana, Piper, Aaron, David, Anita.

Directory of NSOLA Cottages and Residents

The list of contact information for all the properties in our area is currently being updated and will be distributed by email to everyone on the list when ready. If you know of any changes since the 2022 version please send them to nsola@nsola.org.

Current NSOLA executive

Following on from the elections at the AGM, the current members of the NSOLA executive are:

• President: Marie Hulse
• Vice president: Simon Smith
• Past president: Anita Dunn
• Treasurer: Oriana Muzzin
• Secretary: Piper Huggins
• Director: Aaron Zimmerman
• Director: David Crane

Members of the executive can be reached at executive@nsola.org.

Control of invasive species

Following her very informative talk on controlling invasive phragmites and dog-strangling vine, Sarah Kirby provided these links to further related information which is available on the web.

• General information on dog-strangling vine in Ontario (identification, management, impact on ecosystems)
• Best management practices for control of dog-strangling vine
• General information on phragmites in Ontario
• Best management practices for control of invasive phragmites
• More general information on how we can prevent the spread of invasive species, along with how to report sightings
• Purple loosestrife information; an invasive plant which wasn’t mentioned at the meeting but is very common here

Lake Partner Program (LPP) water testing

The starting point for data on the lake water quality is the Ontario Ministry of the Environment page. Search for “North Otter Lake”, or follow the link to the Open Data Catalogue. The latest information available is for years up to 2021.

There is a good overview of the LPP on the  FOCA website. From here there are links to the database of results covering all the tested Ontario lakes. For more details still, there is a very detailed 42 page FOCA report on the LPP.

FOCA

NSOLA is not currently a member of the Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations (FOCA), but they publish a number of useful documents on their website which are accessible to everyone. The 2023 Ontario Lake Stewards Magazine  is the current issue of their annual newsletter.

Frontenac Park Updates

Park superintendent Ben Chabot’s update on what’s new and what’s happening in Frontenac Provincial Park is here. If you intend to bring a car into the park, especially during the busier times, you should be aware of the significant changes noted in Ben’s update.

Lake Ecosystem Grant Program

These grants (up to $10,000) provide funding to lake associations and non-profit organizations looking to make positive changes within their lake ecosystem. For more information see the South Frontenac Municipal Grants page.