Brought to you by one hundred point: nine canoe, fm community radio from the halliburton highlands visit, canoe, fm dot, com for more work of the planet, halliburton short takes where we take a quick look at current environmental issues within the county. Today we focus unhealthy shorelines and the counties draft shoreline preservation, vile healthy shorelines, are essential to healthy lakes and celebrating shorelines are in trouble. A massive for your assessment of the status of shoreline surrounding sixty oliver, he got in late was carried up with members of the coalition of haliburton property owners, association, also known as the sea, a choice between two thousand and fourteen and two thousand and eighteen, and it concluded that less than half of our shorelines, forty six percent or so remains in a natural or undisturbed state league ecologists. On the other hand, caution that seventy five percent of every lake shore line needs to have a naturally intact, vegetative buffer, extending thirty metres inland from the high water mark. In order to protect the health of the lake. The ecological health shorelines directly impacts halliburton tourist based economy with the shoreline residential property class alone, representing some. Seventy percent of the entire assess value of all property within the county is widely recognised that the economy of halliburton county, as we know it, floats on healthy legs and the shorelines that are central to keeping them that way in response to this age, a sobering love, your leg, shoreline assessment result. All four townships across the county agreement join together in an effort to protect healthy shorelines by developing a uniform county, wide shoreline preservation by law. The first draft that bilateral was tabled on february, the twelve meaning of county council. Some of the initial public response to the draft ilo has contain at best misleading information about the scope of future limitations on shoreline development and the methods to be used to put those limitations and put in place to help sort out some of the confusion around the proposed shoreline preservation. Bioenergy, rejoined on this episode of planet. Halliburton short takes by two people, uniquely qualified to add more light than heat to the community conversation paul mcguinness, chair of the sea, a j and john smith, ward for counselor on dies or township, council and chair of desert environment and climate change committee is a real pleasure to welcome both you back the planet, elevated staring like it much so when discussing a proposed byline always seems sensible to start with the problem and the proposed action. Is this what the proposed actions designed to address policy a chase been focused exclusively on keeping our legs healthy and protecting shorelines and the need for effective legal framework for healthy shorelines, and then the discussion about the need, for maybe mingle, protects rarely shrines is not new to the membership of the sea, a j which includes above fifty or so like associations across the county. How would you summarize the state of shorelines in the county and what do you think a county wide by low? Why do you think a county why bile is necessary? So let's talk a little bit about why this is so important. I mean she see. J has one mission and one mission only, and that is protecting our lakes. So many of us are here because we love the environment in halliburton. County would love the call of the loon. We love our kids, be enabled to swim and play in the in the water. We love being able to catch fish in the water, and we know that if we do not protect natural shorelines and in fact restore the shoreline that we ve lost, we will lose what we value so much in this community, so they're singing j has and its member lake associations have been extremely active. Since the love, your lake shoreline assessment programme, i mean number one. Every one of those twelve thousand properties that was assess got an individual report on what they could do to improve their property and thus keep their lake healthier number two. We ve been on a campaign ever since that to make people aware of the connection between healthy shorelines and healthy lakes. It's been videos, speeches tools on our website shoreline renationalization demo, so we ve done over thirty five properties tree sales plant sales, han chinese to slake, for instance, has has over a number of years, has put out over ten thousand plants for planting on conies to slake. They ve had numerous seminars with their property owners to get the message out that not only how important this is, but what to do about it and then how to do it? Ok, so not only has the cia j them been interested in talking about the problem, you been actively trying to figure out how to how to move the the level of natural shorelines back from from where it is now me around forty six percent or so back up toward the seventy five percent standard. Absolutely- and we don't you know, our philosophy is of we don't go to government for help until we have done absolutely everything that we possibly can to address the problem. Ok, so the some five thousand properties roughly give or take nine hundred kilometers is revered africa here to chicago that are in need of of of being brought closer to two of the seventy five percent natural standard, ok and anne. But you mean you been concentrating on trying to get that done on a voluntary basis by directing a lot of effort to try to get shoreline property owners and lake associations to two took to voluntarily move in that direction. So why the need for a boiler we're? How does the soya, so our focus is thus no five thousand properties in getting those people to renationalize, but keep in mind that we that the goal is to have seventy five percent of our shoreline natural. We only have forty six forty, seven percent natural and every day, new people move into the area that have no connection to all of the efforts that we have made over the past. Don't understand what's happening and they go out and destroy even more shoreline. So our focus in asking for help from the county has been will work hard to get people to re naturalised. But could you make sure that we don't lose the little bit of natural shore line that we have left right? So that's where the dialogue is absolutely ok, sir john, you sit on not dies or council and, as i said in the introduction near it, the chair of the environment and climate change committee are for that township. You ve also been active for quite some time in your own, like association. So do you think people whether or not their members of lake associations understand the urgency of the need for action to protect natural shorelines and in that connection, what are the main concerns at your hearing? As a politician from your constituents and others are both about the draft shoreline preservation, mila y? Think at first i say: i'm, i'm speaking as an individual here. This is a azalea, a matter this before county council as opposed to the desert. But you know i go back my experiences, the lake association and things i hear from people lest in sir, i become a counselor, i'm really put people in three categories: there are those that are passionate about looking after the lake. They ve got themselves educated, very informed and are doing all they can. There are. Rather, there are some people who are at the lake for a good time and dam and selfishly put their own interests first and then there's a lot of people, probably though the biggest portion or in the middle, and they would like to do the right thing, but they're not sure they look at some of the things. The launch of a growing raked out of the lake front, that they see people fertilizing, applying pesticides too and so forth, and say why i guess there any real ready, any rules here. It's like people talking about china and climate change. Why should i do anything if china is doing all the harm they are and dad? And so young people and in most respects are looking for some leadership, some guidance in some rules, just like speeding on our roads. If we didn't have any rules out fast, when people go, but most people want to follow the rules, and so somebody lays out a clear, comprehensive, understandable set of rules for them so ear political leader within the county, emmi, yes, within the town champion on county council, but you're out. Nevertheless, a leader you're, the chair of the us, the of the local environment committee and desert in your also chair of the of the cross cross, townships environment committee, votes at a rotating chairmanship. Yet bell got inculcate. Are you currently the chair that, right now? No it's it's in minitel smoking, but as a political leader within the county. What are the key messages you want to convey to those interested in the proposed by le its potential impact on individual property owners, as well as those working in sectors of the of the economy that are active on shoreline work? Why things? First it, sir, is this policy said an answer me here this nobody. We need to recognise that the economy of haliburton county depends upon healthy lakes, a great environment, ill, that's our natural resource of other places. We got other natural resources, always got our lakes and if we screw them up will be like some of the places, the united states that towns and villages had just been abandoned. So we need to look after it. I think we all recognise that, and so then it becomes establishing a clear and comprehensive set of rules that address the issues that exists today and prepared to go forward ill. We heard this morning a county council that there is a great deal of interest and commitment in terms of hearing from all parties, but also we need to be able to have a set of rules that can be shared and understood by everyone, because right now, there's a lot of confusion, people or to making statements that frankly, aren't true. That initial aren't any rules or the rules that have been established for years and people were unaware of the agenda, and so we need. We need to get that clarity i in place. We need to give people a chance to have their say, and then we need some decisions made decisions that not only address those short term problems, but also maybe go back and address some of the ones that are are i'll call legacy issues. What about those people that have long ago right down to the water that are applying fertilizer today, putting chemical pesticides to keep that looking now fresh and green? When people see that and if they say that things have to be done to correct that the credibility of the whole process starts. Do why be diminished capable of coming back to you for a second you? You were at the meeting this morning and you ve heard some other the community comments that have been those circulating since the draft, while i was was put out there on february, the twelfth or so there's been some concern expressed by businesses. Doing shoreline work that the proposed by allah will reduce demand for their services. On the other hand, with so many shoreline properties having been assessed as ornamental and being a long way from the seventy five percent natural that this is what ecologist tell us, is necessary to protect your two to protect shoreline, l and lake water quality. What's your take on on the on the the the the business reaction, the reaction from some of the folks at the builders association of halliburton county about about the proposed by law? Is it really a jobs versus the environment kind of situation, or is there a huge potential involved here in india in shoreline restoration? First of all, whenever people feel that their livelihoods threatened they're going to stand up and react- and i understand that and i'm pathetic to that in our family- that need needs the financial wherewithal to support themselves and their kids. So we have to be very cognisant of the fact that jobs are critically important, but let's just take a step back, as both john and i have said, without healthy lakes in haliburton county, we don't have an economy. So it's not a question of threatening a few jobs. If, if we don't have healthy lakes, almost every job in halliburton county is threatened. Couple years ago, the former warden stood up in front of two hundred business people and challenge them to name a job and haliburton county that wouldn't be adversely affected. If the health of our lakes went south, nobody could so that's number one but number two there's a tremendous opportunity here with those five thousand two hundred and twenty eight properties that rien need re naturalisation. As you said, we're talkin about the distance from where we're setting to chicago that needs. Re naturalisation at an absolute minimum, conservative number to re naturalised parts of those property were talkin about an economic opportunity of twenty five million dollars when this comanche, so we may have to reorient our ourselves in some of the businesses may have to change their focus a little bit, but we need to protect our lakes if we're gonna, protect our economy and there is a tremendous opportunity to capture a new economic opportunities for jobs and do the and protect our legs at the same time. So, with new been talking about this by law for a little while they asked for years their ears and john, you been involved from the link associations i before he became a politicians as well. Is it obvious marsala deja vu all over again in some respects to you guys have been through this before with things like this epic, gatt and accusations with we got through it and we'll get through this will get through this one. But so there's a lot of talk this morning about about renewed consultation processes sounds to me like this is at least another year and in some people's minds before we actually move toward a bonny lobbying been being put in place. So what do you think about that, and i mean i mean we're here. We are three years down. The road were still talking about the fundamentals. Some people are still raising potential jobs versus the environment, issues where, where do we stand and how fast you think we can actually make some serious gains on on on this issue as well as counselor carom off it said this morning there actually have been over twenty meetings on this issue already public meetings, soul, its unfortunate that some people weren't paying attention- and i do understand- the council needs to go back and consult with those people, but our focus sea, hey j is is going to be: let's do those cons, consultation, but let's do it as quickly as we can and get a by law in place. We can't afford to go from forty six percent down to even forty five were desperate now and the threats to our lakes are increasing in a. We can't take the health of our legs for granted. This is the inaugural episode of our planet, halliburton, short tags. We normally take long takes, but this is the first one that we're confining to a much shorter period of time. We wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for rejoining me today and i hope will come back. Ok you're talking about this as we go down the room thanks. Very good luck! Reformat! Ok! Thank you! Even listened a planet, halliburton shortage which can be strained off the canoe with em website or downloaded from all major podcast platforms, brought to you by one hundred point: nine canoe, fm community radio from the halliburton highlands visit, canoe, fm, dot, com for more