Public urged to dive into Lake Simcoe Protection Plan

Public urged to dive into Lake Simcoe Protection Plan
Draft available for comments until March 16

TORONTO - The province is asking Ontarians to comment on the draft Lake Simcoe

Protection Plan.

The plan represents the next step in protecting Lake

Simcoe and follows the passage of the Lake Simcoe Protection Act on

Dec. 10. Building on Ontario's watershed-protection approach in the Clean

Water Act, the new act requires the province to establish a protection plan

for the lake and surrounding areas. The draft Lake Simcoe Protection Plan is

the most comprehensive watershed-based legislated plan in Canada. The draft

plan is based on advice from the Lake Simcoe science and stakeholder advisory

committees and from the people who live and work around Lake Simcoe.

The draft plan proposes voluntary and mandatory measures to restore and

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protect the ecological health of Lake Simcoe and its watershed starting with

the most critical areas:

- Improving water quality by curbing the amount of phosphorus entering

the lake and reducing the lake's current excessive phosphorus levels

to 44 tonnes a year

- Protecting and rehabilitating fish habitat, wetlands, woodlands and

the vegetation that buffer the lake, rivers and streams

- Managing the potential impacts of climate change and invasive

species.


Going forward the plan would not be applied to existing developments or

development proposals that have already obtained significant development

approvals.

The Ontario government has also committed $20 million over four years to

help protect Lake Simcoe through research, monitoring and on-farm stewardship

activities.

The draft plan is available for public comment until March 16. Read

and comment on the plan at www.ontario.ca/lakesimcoe or through the

Environmental Registry at www.ontario.ca/environmentalregistry. The posting

number is 010-4636.