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Gardom Lake plan in demand

Protection: Group concerned about use, water quality
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Friends of Gardom Lake members Vlado and Helga Vrabac

Gardom Lake is showing signs of stress again and her friends are looking for a comprehensive plan to improve her health in the long term.

Members of the 84-strong Friends of Gardom Lake (FOGL) want a management plan that will deal with a number of issues around increased pressure on the small, shallow, spring-fed lake with a very slow water replacement rate.

In October 2009, biologists treated the lake with Rotenone to kill off the fish population due to high numbers of invasive perch that threatened to destroy the ecology of the lake and surrounding area.

The lake was restocked the following year and the fish have grown to almost trophy size, which has attracted growing numbers of boats – including gas-powered ones whose removal was supported by an overwhelming majority of attendees at an April 27, 2011 meeting with the Columbia Shuswap Regional District.

The application was sent to Transport Canada in August, 2011 and a department spokesperson says the application is currently under review but no timeline for completion has been offered.

Friends member and Gardom Lake resident, Elizabeth Winter, was very upset when work was started on a new boat launch at Musgrave Road last fall.

She says that out of 571 small lakes managed by Fisheries in Penticton, Gardom Lake, with 5,000 fishing days last year, is the second-most used lake in the area.

A Gardom Lake resident since 1986, Winter says traffic on the lake has increased dramatically, in part because of the size of the fish and a new boat ramp would only encourage more people to access the lake.

But CSRD Parks manager Marcin Pachcinski says that was never the intention of upgrading the site.

He says the current, and informal, boat launch at Teal Road has been used for years but lacks public parking, washroom facilities and garbage disposal.

Because the lake has become so popular, the regional district looked at the issue and, as is a common practice, decided to develop lake access with these amenities. Musgrave Road has the most space and an existing local hand launch, which was accessible to canoes or kayaks but did not accommodate boat trailers.

Last fall, CSRD made improvements that included grading the parking area, installation of curbs as well as a washroom, garbage receptacle and a picnic table.

“We also planned works to lessen the slope, allowing boats to back up and making access easier,” Pachcinski says. “But posts would have been installed 10 metres away from the water to prevent boat trailers from touching the lake.”

He says community members voiced concerns regarding removal of vegetation and that  the site would become a regular boat launch.

Because of those concerns, the regional district decided to hold off on additional works until an environmental assessment has been done – an assessment that will consider both the Teal and Musgrave road sites.

“The reason for that is CSRD Parks does not intend to create a second boat launch – we want to address the lack of facilities and amenities at Teal Road to help relieve the pressure from additional visitors that are  already coming to the lake,” he says. “The pressures and issues already exist, so we are trying to mitigate these issues as opposed to inviting additional people to the lake.”

Another Friends member, Denise Hearn, says clouded communication in the recent past has added to the problems.

“There was some mix-up in employees in the last year, some miscommunication,” she says. “The PAC (Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee) is also a new body and their exact role between us and CSRD has not been shared.

“We were told the PAC represents the community, but they don’t hold public meetings and there’s some confusion in the roles at this time.”

The Friends of Gardom Lake are adamant in their belief that there shouldn’t be development of any kind on the lake until a management plan is in place – one that includes parks, docks, the environment, wildlife and human impact.

 

For their part, the Friends of Gardom Lake have been assured by CSRD that the consultant will work with them and their input will be reflected in the final report.