On behalf of the Bruce Beach Executive, I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and best wishes to your beach families and friends in the coming year.
"Cheers for the New Year and another chance to get it right". The year is coming to a close with a very different start to the winter, high water, big winds, no snow and warm temperatures. The last day of 2014 is the first really cold day of the winter and the beginning of the ice formations along the shoreline.
Crying Over Spilled Oil
Oil disasters like the Exxon Valdez and Deep Water Horizon are nightmares that we on the Great Lakes have not had to worry about. At least not yet.
But recent developments in the oil transportation industry compel us to pay attention to proposed and existing oil routes in the Great Lakes region.
We have also been in touch with the Ministry of Natural Resources and they are looking into this situation. There will be little more accomplished before spring but we will keep you posted.
The state of the beach in front of our cottage has prompted me to contact the H-K office about a solution. Our beach is so narrow that if there is any wave action one must walk in the water to get past the growth of grass and weeds that has left a three foot cliff along the waters edge. After repeated e-mails to Mayor Mitch Twolan ( mitch@lakerangerealty.ca ) he finally arranged for Mike Fair to come and see my concern and listen to my suggestions. Have you ever talked to a wall?
Dude, Where's My Beach?
As summer cottagers began their vacations, some had to wonder where their beach had gone. Particularly in dune areas, the shoreline appeared to be overtaken with dune grasses. What actually happened was a confluence of natural processes.
They're Back, Baby!
An endangered shorebird has begun nesting on Lake Huron beaches, and that’s a good sign for people concerned about good lake health.
The tiny Piping Plover has made its way back to Sauble Beach to nest for the eighth consecutive year. Before that, it was absent from Great Lakes shorelines in Ontario for 40 years. It’s very picky where it nests, but it’s no coincidence that it is preferring high quality beaches where beach and dune conservation efforts have taken place.