Every five years, the Ministry of Environment asks permission to access Michael Lake from our property. Each time they visit, I receive an update on the health of the lake. It’s not good news – the lake is gradually collecting sediment and getting shallower. The lake is slowly dying.
Meanwhile, the farms on the lake that have water licenses draw for irrigation during the summer months, lowering the level of the lake.
On top of this, we have, and will continue to have, warmer summers….
But every year the beavers dam up the only creek exiting the lake, that happens to run through our farm. The beaver dams hold the water back to such an extent that the farm fields remain flooded into the summer and can’t be used. Each year, I wait later and later to remove the beaver dam.
The climate crisis, water management, and nature are all impacting the sustainability of the lake and food production. Maybe it would be a good for the farmers on Michael Lake to meet together, to discuss what good stewardship of the lake would look like?
