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The beginning of this message is for all who have supported our EWM Program, either by donating, by volunteering before, during or after Dive Week, or by being a year-round member of the Working Group. Thank you for supporting our journey with Eurasian Watermilfoil and our program to manage the identification, monitoring and selective control of this uninvited invasive aquatic plant. As we approach our seventh annual diver assisted control week, we remain dedicated to using a combination of biodegradable benthic mat deployment and hand harvesting to control the EWM growth that presents the greatest risk to property owners and visitors to our two lakes.
Last year a few property owners asked questions about aquatic herbicides, many because they had viewed infomercials about the use of ProcellaCOR. In order to provide our community additional information about these herbicides, we commissioned U-Links to conduct a review of independent research, supplier materials and anecdotal evidence about the two herbicides currently approved for use in Canada. Our Working Group has received the final report of this review and has decided to continue avoiding the use of herbicides as a control measure. We will be sharing the complete report with our property owner community prior to the July 12 DSLPOA AGM. Please visit the DSLPOA website or Facebook group closer to that date to view the report. We believe that the information it contains will help you understand and support our decision to avoid using aquatic herbicides as a control measure.
Final thoughts for our supporters:
- If you’ve made a donation this year, thank you. If you haven’t yet, visit https://www.dragandsprucelakes.ca/donate/ to help us continue our control activities.
- If you are available to help between July 10 and 17, contact Dominique Binckly by email at dslpoavolunteer@gmail.com to indicate your availability.
Our divers will be joining us on starting on July 13. Follow the daily reports on Facebook at Our Community of Drag and Spruce Lakes starting on July 2.
The final word is for the more than 50% of our property owners who have not shown their support for our efforts to identify, monitor and control EWM growth in Drag and Spruce Lakes. If you need to inform yourself about Eurasian Watermilfoil and its presence in Drag Lake, visit the EWM menu of our website. If you have questions, send them to dslpoaewm@gmail.com. If, on the other hand, you know about our program and have chosen to not lend your support, we accept your choice but don’t understand it.
From the Drag and Spruce Lakes EWM Working Group
We’re excited to announce our brand-new Event Calendar on the Lake Association website!
Stay in the loop with all upcoming community events—from meetings and social gatherings. The calendar includes full details, dates, times, and locations for every event.
Special Feature:
Subscribe to the calendar with just one click, and all events will be automatically added to your personal calendar. Any new events we add will auto-populate into your calendar – no manual updates needed!
To subscribe, when in the Event Calendar available from our home page, scroll down past all the events until you see ‘Subscribe to Calendar’. Then select your personal calendar (Google, Apple, Outlook, etc.). Try it here: https://www.dragandsprucelakes.ca/events/
We hope this makes it even easier for everyone to stay connected and involved in our lake community. Mark your calendars and we’ll see you at the next event!
Great news!
We’ve added a new “Let’s Get The Lead Out” section to our website.
This area is dedicated to protecting our lakes by reducing lead from fishing tackle and other sources. Ontario’s Common Loon face may threats, lead poisoning is one we can fix quickly through simple tackle swaps, drop-offs, and awareness.
2026 is our year to make a real difference on Drag and Spruce Lakes!
Inside you’ll find safe tackle alternatives, why lead harms our fish and wildlife, local sponsors, drop-off locations, easy ways to get involved and videos showing the impacts.
Check it out here: https://www.dragandsprucelakes.ca and navigate on the top to LGTLO
Let’s work together to keep our lakes healthy for generations to come!
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Land Acknowledgement
We respectfully acknowledge that the County of Haliburton is located on Treaty 20 Michi Saagiig territory, and in the traditional territory of the Michi Saagiig and Chippewa Nations, collectively known as the Williams Treaties First Nations, which are Curve Lake, Rama, Hiawatha, Alderville, Scugog Island, Beausoleil and Georgina Island First Nations.
We acknowledge a shared presence of Indigenous nations throughout the area, and recognize its original, Indigenous inhabitants as the stewards of its lands and waters since time immemorial.