The Lake of the Woods District Property Owners Association held its first ever summer general membership meeting Wednesday afternoon. Dubbed "At The Lake", the focus of the session was to draw attention to environmental issues affecting cottage and homeowners on the Lake of the Woods and surrounding areas.  The decision to hold a summer meeting came when the association realized a number of their members who come to Sunset Country from other provinces, and north from the United States, were unable to attend the annual general meeting in the spring. Association president Sue Bruning asked how many members were not able to attend the May meeting, and the majority of audience members raised their hands, showing the importance of the summer meeting.

Presentations by the Experimental Lakes Area and the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation both noted the excellent condition of the water and shorelines on the lake. They warned, however, of potential losses if conservation and preservation efforts aren't strengthened.

"We have an opportunity now to head off the kinds of problems we've seen, before it's too little, too late. Our objective is to create a plan for water sustainability," said Tony Stephens, of the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation.  Stephens' colleague Anna DeSellas gave a brief update on the State of the Basin Report, a major project to assess the water quality in all parts of Lake of the Woods and its drainage basins. The report is expected to be completed in December 2008. Issues discussed in the report include excessive algae blooms, erosion and shoreline loss, drinking water protection and the impact of changes to the Lake of the Woods' water quality to Lake Winnipeg.

Presentations during the meeting were focused on environmental conservation and research championed by the association, including a quick overview of the DockTalk program from environmental programs director Kelli Saunders, who is also an environmental consultant.  DockTalk is a program initiated by the Federation of Ontario Cottagers' Associations where members of associations meet with property owners to discuss what they can do to protect the shoreline and the water near their cottages.  Saunders mentioned some of the common issues brought up at DockTalk sessions.

"One of the biggest interest points with people is pollution prevention or reducing the toxins that leave your cottage. Anything that leaves your cottage gets into your septic system and some of that gets out. What we try to promote is the use of non-toxic products," said Saunders.  Due to popular demand, the association published a list of stores in the area that sells environmentally friendly cleaning products, soaps and shampoos and a number of other household products. 

Meeting attendees met with the presenters after the formal portion of the meeting, as well as officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Northwestern Health Unit, all of whom had booths set up with information packages, ranging from E. coli to bear trouble.