KEW
celebrates 10 years!
The Introduction to KEW
from the 2005 initial newsletter…
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Kukagami Environment Watch
Dedicated to the well being of the lands and waters surrounding Kukagami Lake
We welcome participation of anyone
interested in the Kukagami Lake area in all our activities. If you have an
event you would like to have published in the newsletter, please send it to kewatch@gmail.com.
Kukagami Environment Watch Mandate:
KEW is dedicated to the well being of the lands and waters surrounding Kukagami Lake.
-KEW will gather and verify information of interest from reliable sources
-KEW will share facts with any interested parties
-KEW will monitor lands, water and wild life
-KEW will initiate and support projects that encourage the careful use of our environment.
Our area
of concern includes the lands and waters on and around Kukagami Lake, including
Portage, Donald, Doon and other small lakes nearby.
Kukagami Environment Watch Summer 2015 Newsletter
Blue
Moon Gathering
July 31st
marks the only blue moon for 2015. Neighbours will gather at the Bald Rock,
just north of the Lion’s Head to see it happen. The sun sets just before 9 pm,
just as the moon rises in the east. Meet at 8:30 to share stories and snacks
while we wait for the blue moon rising.
Lakewater: Our Most Important Asset
Greater Sudbury is the "City of
Lakes" and many people living on waterfront properties are dedicated to
protecting the water quality around their homes. Recently, several lakes in the
Sudbury area have developed blue/green algae blooms affecting drinking water
and closing beaches. Some of the causes
of algae blooms are faulty septic systems, and increased levels of phosphorus
and nitrogen. Many of the area cottages and camps are still owned by one of
the original family members or one of their descendants. Because most of these
“older family cottages” were intended for seasonal use and not designed for
shower and laundry facilities, the existing septic/greywater handling systems
on the properties may be outdated and ineffective.
Greywater
– The Silent Invader Long gone are the days when grandpa used to
scoop-up buckets of fresh camp water from the end of the dock so grandma could
boil water in a stove top kettle to wash the dishes. The evolution of the
piston water pump eliminated grandpa’s daily water-fetching trip to the lake
however he had to retrofit grandma’s kitchen with a new sink and plumb an
outside water outlet for her new wringer washing machine. With the advent of
running water came the need to build a drainage pit (usually consisting of a couple
of methodically punctured 45-gallon drums) directly adjacent to the cabin.
Now-a-days, a high-capacity jet pump complete with reservoir sits where the old
piston pump once was and is usually accompanied by a high efficiency hot water
tank. More often than not, a warm shower has replaced the refreshing morning
swim. We have gone from using 8 to 10 litres of water per day per person to 10
times that volume simply because it’s become so much more convenient. Have
you asked yourself recently…where does all that soapy waste water go?
Chances are that unless you have upgraded grandpa’s old drainage pit in recent
years, much of this greywater may be finding its way to your shoreline and
ultimately into the lake.
Danger
on Donald Lake
Beware of the newly named “Red Ant Point” - formerly known as Ward
King’s old cabin on Donald Lake. We were up that way earlier this week on a
canoe trip and stopped to camp. While we were setting up we got a few bites
here and there. It was starting to get annoying. By the time we were settled in
the bug tent, it was unbearable. We were screeching, howling and slapping as
the little red ants would sneak up on us and take a chunk out of our skin. “Ouch”
was only one of the words that came out of our mouths.
We had no choice – we had to move. I have never seen anything like this,
but in talking with other canoe trippers, I discovered this does happen at the
odd campsite throughout the north.
So, to avoid chomping nasty
little red biters, “STAY AWAY from RED ANT POINT”.
Logging Plans
No logging is planned for the Kukagami
area this Summer. The slash from last Fall / Winter's operations will be dealt
with late this Summer / early Fall. Some roads will also be decommissioned at
that time.
There has been some tree planting done in the block South of the rail bed. All of the area that was site prepared last Summer has now been planted.
There were also issues with the harvesting that was done along the road reserve in the Bassfin lake area last Fall. Residual basal area was a bit too low and MNRF asked for the area to be planted. A total of 13,000 Jack pine have been planted in that area.
If any plans change we will let you know.
We are looking to schedule a summer date for a field trip into the clearcut areas along Kukagami Road, sometime in the middle of August. Contact KEWatch@gmail.com if you are interested. Let us know which dates work best for you.
There has been some tree planting done in the block South of the rail bed. All of the area that was site prepared last Summer has now been planted.
There were also issues with the harvesting that was done along the road reserve in the Bassfin lake area last Fall. Residual basal area was a bit too low and MNRF asked for the area to be planted. A total of 13,000 Jack pine have been planted in that area.
If any plans change we will let you know.
We are looking to schedule a summer date for a field trip into the clearcut areas along Kukagami Road, sometime in the middle of August. Contact KEWatch@gmail.com if you are interested. Let us know which dates work best for you.
Citizens on Patrol
The Kukagami Unit
of COPS are like the crows....we leave late Fall, return early
Spring.
Some people may have noticed our return,
driving a white cruiser with the COPS logo on the side panel and
wondered who we are and what we are doing. We are part of the Greater Sudbury
Police Citizens on Patrol program with our unit specifically patrolling the 5
lakes in our vicinity and surrounding areas while following a random
schedule.
The program itself is a unique and
innovative crime prevention program that involves trained volunteers who
conduct mobile observations of their areas while on patrol. We drive a
specifically marked vehicle and report suspicious or concerning behaviour to Sudbury
Regional Police for follow-up via mobile radio. It is like a Neighbourhood
Watch on wheels and it allows for an extra set of eyes and ears in our area.
Who
Can Volunteer ? Our volunteer base consists of people from various ages
and occupations, ranging from students to married couples to retirees. The Program
is looking for community-minded individuals who are 18 years of age or older,
will pass a police background check and who can commit to 12 hours per month to
the program. If you are interested in the Program, please call the Volunteer
Co-ordinator of the Greater Sudbury Police Services at 705-675-9171, ext 2335.
Geography
Lessons
Here is a very cool website with geotours
of Sudbury and other northern places, including our area. http://www.mndm.gov.on.ca/en/mines-and-minerals/geology/geoscience-topics/geotours-northern-ontario
Graffiti
“This past week we enjoyed several boat trips on Kukagami Lake. We were
disappointed at two different locations where paint graffiti has recently been applied
to rocks. Is there any way we as a group can express our dissatisfaction with
this type of behavior?”
The paint will soon be removed from the bare rocks, with great effort
from volunteers. Care must be taken to prevent the paint and paint remover from
entering the lake.
As a community, we are fortunate to have the beauty of nature all around
us. Learn about the rocks and their natural beauty. Respect the land that
nurtures us.
Please continue to report environmental degradation to Kukagami
Environment Watch. We will follow up on all correspondence.
Road
Clean-up.
Thanks to the many neighbours
who took extra time to pick up litter from our roadsides this spring. For
many people this is not just a twice a year event. The busy parts of the
road are tended to frequently.
Summer is a good time to clean up lakeshores too! If you are out and
about in a boat, take a few minutes to gather in the junk that's washed up on
shore.
A Quick Guide to Tree Cavities
The most prolific cavity-makers in the woods are pileated woodpeckers,
since they are the only woodpecker in the region that excavates sizeable
cavities for feeding. These large birds generally make large oblong or
rectangular cavities, looking for carpenter ants or wood-boring beetles deep in
the wood. They also excavate deep cavities for their nests which are re-used by
many owls, ducks, and other animals. Pileated woodpeckers reached very low
numbers a few decades ago as many of the remaining old forests were logged or
cleared for other reasons. Lately their numbers have been rebounding somewhat,
and they may be adapting to younger forests.
Although they don’t make cavities for feeding, hairy and downy
woodpeckers, and sapsuckers excavate small, deep, perfectly round cavities for
their nests. Active nests show very fresh wood. Older cavities may be taken
over by a variety of other creatures, such as wrens, nuthatches, or flying
squirrels.
Medium-sized cavities 5-10 cm in diameter are excavated by northern
flickers, and three-toed, black-backed, or red-headed woodpeckers. These can be
re-used by wood ducks, and a variety of owls, among others.
If your favourite tree has a woodpecker poking holes in it, the tree is
already bug infested. These birds are simply the messenger!
Life at the Lake by
Vicki Thurlow
Grab a beverage & a comfy seat.....this could take a while & has
a surprise ending....
Returning home from our winter sojourn
in sunny Florida started off very promising with that wonderful feeling of
relief experienced when you successfully cross the border & are once again
back on home soil. So pleased to arrive back at Kukagami & find our home
had been well taken care of by super neighbors with no issues to contend with...at
first glance anyway.
Don't mice have sweet little faces? & I mean literally! The
first cupboard I opened was full of mouse poop! (They had escaped the
dreaded sticky traps that hubby loves to set out but which I think should be
banned as they are so cruel. I think the house was so cold that the sticky
stuff gelled hard enough for mice to walk on without getting stuck.) Mice
had chewed through a plastic container lid to get at some semi-sweet chocolate
chips & you would think they would die of "Death by Chocolate"
but no, they weren't finished yet. They found an unopened bag of Twistos on a
shelf at the back of the cupboard & nestled under it was a handful of rice
in a plastic bag. They cleverly opened up the Twistos & then filled the bag
up with the rice. Nowhere was there any evidence that any of the chocolate had
survived their onslaught & gone into storage.
I have now cleaned all kitchen cupboards as well as bedroom closets
& the linen closet so it is obvious that chocolate Easter Bunnies now have
some competition...chocolate mice!
Anyone who knows me well knows that I
love mice & in fact collect Xmas mice but my "mice love" was
certainly tested to the max as I emptied & scrubbed each drawer &
cupboard & washed the contents.
I guess the theme here is the letter "M" as my next complaint
is the dreaded MOSQUITOES! This year's plague is certainly out to surpass last
year's infestation, & I'm just talking about the ones that make it into the
house. Did I say "ones"? I meant thousands! And how do
they get in? Boy can I answer that!
Our dog, Winston, constantly wants to go out. He spends hours on the
front deck & hates to come in except to eat or drink. Hubby insists that
Winston is the one bringing in the army of buzzing bug#*^s on his fur every
time he comes in & out. Of course the worse the mosquitoes get, the more
often Winston comes in for relief from the relentless bloodsuckers. I hotly
dispute his role in this as I totally smother him in a towel as he comes
charging through the door.
On the other hand...hubby is a whole different story. His daily routine
is get up, put the coffee pot on & then head outside for a smoke. Once
that's done, come back in to get the coffee & go back out. Half hour later
it's back in for cup of java #2 & then right back out to work. A little
while later it's back in for breakfast then back out until it's time for a
potty break. Back out again until it's time to come in & check out the
stock market. Out the door again & before you know it...lunch time. Back
out after lunch, in for a drink of something cold & back out, in again to
check the stock market & have a short nap before heading out again. Back in
again for potty breaks, check BNN stock market ticker, & finally time to
knock off the outside work for the day. Several smoke breaks later it's finally
time for bed. You do the math!
I don't smother him in a towel every time he comes in but I sure do get
my exercise running around the house zapping thousands mosquitoes all my waking
hours. I'm sure I can now be officially classified as a mass murderer!
The floors are littered with dead carcasses & I go to bed with the
sounds of buzzing & zapping in my head. Sleep is constantly interrupted
with a well-placed but useless slap at the ones that get away. If they get so
annoying that my sanity is threatened then the lights go on. The hunt is on to
the death.
All's well that ends well, right? Well I'm now eating my words!
Winston also has a daily routine. He awakens, yawns, stretches &
whines to get off the bed & head outside to relieve himself...about 6:00
a.m.! I'm a night owl, often up until 1:00 a.m. or later &
so consequently I'm not at my best that early in the a.m. Following his morning
ritual (I had been up late writing this story), I let him out, smothered him in
a towel when he came back in & he ran back to the bedroom, anxious to get
back to the business of sleeping. I was right behind him.
Hubby quietly gets up about an
hour later, closes the bedroom door & is off to start his day. Seconds
later I hear bellowing & the air turns blue with words suitable for a men's
locker room. He's back in the bedroom with the question "Did you let
Winston out this a.m. & if so when?"
I answered in the affirmative & said "About an hour ago."
to which he replied (are you sitting down?) "Well the back was wide open
when I got up & there are thousands of mosquitoes in the house!"
Never moved so fast in all my life!!! We spent an hour & a half
zapping & vacuuming up mosquitoes while madly slapping ourselves silly. I've
done the math & now have to reluctantly claim dubious "bragging"
rights as to the number of mosquitoes I let in the house. Hubby & Winston
are off the hook!
Have
a Super Summer!
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