Spring 2011
Dear SLSA Member,
We wanted to give you a quick update on some of the initiatives that SLSA has been involved in over the winter.
PUMPING PROJECT
We have applied to Alberta Environment for a diversion license to pump only the surplus water currently overflowing the banks of Crickett Lake into Skeleton Lake and we are currently working through the feedback we have received from Alberta Environment, Sustainable Resources and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans on that application. We have set up a sub-committee of the board to focus solely on this initiative. If you want to help out with this initiative or have any expertise in government relations or technical skills in water management or are a biologist or water scientist and can help us deal with the government on our application to divert water please contact Brian Curial at brian@skeletonlake.com
KRAZY CREEK
We continue to believe that a portion of the water that is in the creek and wetlands at the West end of the lake should be flowing to Skeleton Lake but is being impeded by Rodeo Road and other developments that have occurred at the West end of the lake. We retained an aerial photography company to fly the entire lake watershed during the spring melt this year and photographically record all areas of standing water that is impounded and prevented from flowing to the lake through historic channels. We are using that data to supplement the other data we have collected on this issue over the past couple of years and will once again approach the County and Alberta Environment respecting this problem. We have set up a sub-committee of the board to focus solely on this initiative. This committee is looking at all of the various traditional inflow points around the lake with an eye to restoring the traditional inflows to the lake. If you want to help with this initiative or have any background or information about the wetlands at the West end of the lake before and after Rodeo Road was built please get in touch with Rick Tiedemann at rick@skeletonlake.com
DEVELOPMENT
The County is currently undertaking a review of land use planning issues in the Skeleton Lake watershed and SLSA has asked to be included in that initiative. We feel that Skeleton Lake is currently overdeveloped and we have compiled some very compelling information and arguments to prove our point. As well, we have done extensive work developing a proposal on appropriate development around lakes that we feel could be a template for development around all lakes in Alberta. We plan to present our data and report to the county as they go through this process.
Part of the problem with the lower lake level results from the development around the lake impeding natural water courses and wetlands that feed the lake. This occurs through people developing their lots in ways that alter or interferes with run-off getting to the lake. When roads are built they inevitably effect natural water courses and wetlands. As well we are concerned with any development in wetland areas and are alarmed with recent development approvals at the west end of the lake. We may need your support in a letter writing campaign on this issue if the County won't listen to our concerns and will contact you if we need that sort of assistance. We have set up a sub-committee of the board to focus solely on this initiative. If you have any expertise in land use planning or can help out with this committee please contact us at info@skeletonlake.com
BE A LAKE AMBASSADOR Please speak to your neighbours at the lake and ask them to become SLSA members. If they are not members yet please send them a link to our website and ask them to go on the SLSA website and join SLSA. Or download our membership form from the website, then print it and hand it out to those people that are not yet members. We need as many of the people on the lake to be members as possible. There is no charge and they will start receiving our updates and information on the lake. The more members we have the more credible we are in the eyes of the government and funding agencies we regularly deal with. Everyone can pitch in with this effort. Please do your part. VOLUNTEER
TOWN HALL MEETINGS
The board was too busy on other initiatives over the past few months to put together a town hall meeting presentation this spring. There is generally about a two month process of working over evenings and a number of weekends to prepare for our annual town hall meetings and our volunteers simply never had the time to prepare properly for public presentations this spring. We hope to hold a town hall meeting during the summer or fall this year instead. One area that seems to end up slipping through the cracks from time to time is communications with our members. We are often so busy working on initiatives to help the lake that we sometimes just don't have any spare time to keep you up to date. We recognize we could use some help with this. If you have any communication skills and could help us with putting out regular newsletters or organizing and running our public meetings we'd love to hear from you. If you can lend a hand in this area please contact Hugh Harper at hugh@skeletonlake.com
WEBSITE
Here's a link to the SLSA website - please take a minute and check it out:
www.skeletonlake.com
Let us know what you think, and ... don't forget to bookmark it.
If you have any feedback on the website please let us know at info@skeletonlake.com
THANKS
As always, we love to hear from our members and if you ever have a question or comment please do not hesitate to contact us at info@skeletonlake.com
We always want feedback from the most important people involved in Skeleton Lake and that is you, the SLSA member. The SLSA Board Of Directors
