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In the fall of 2023, the Muskoka Watershed Council released the Muskoka Watershed Report Card. This document summarizes the most pressing issues for our local lakes, rivers and wetlands, and suggests several bioindicators for Muskoka. Bioindicators provide a way of documenting firsthand the effects of climate change on our ecosystems. These include the state of our forest and wildlife populations, the presence of algal blooms, the distribution of invasive species and diseases, and the concentrations of calcium, phosphorus and chloride in our lakes, amongst many other environmental cues.
There are a variety of ways to participate in citizen science volunteer programs in Muskoka and contribute to monitoring and tracking bioindicators. The District Municipality of Muskoka runs its Biological Monitoring Program every summer to track benthic macroinvertebrate populations (bottom-dwelling aquatic organisms). You can request a free benthic sampling event at your lake by contacting biotech@muskoka.on.ca. Another program for monitoring lake health is the Ontario Lake Partner Program (LPP). It is run by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) in partnership with the Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations (FOCA). To get involved, you can download the LPP Volunteer Registration Form. You can also check in with your local lake association to see if they already have an event scheduled for either of these programs. Reports on the nutrient concentrations of specific lakes are available at Muskoka Water Web, and additional information for Muskoka concentrations can be found in the Watershed Report Card.
If you notice invasive species or diseases, you can report these sightings on EDDMapS. The Invasive Species Centre has material to help you with the proper identification of the species, including distribution maps that will indicate if they have reached your area. You can report plant and animal sightings to iNaturalist, which runs the Ontario Turtle Tally, the Adopt-a-Pond program, and BioBlitz events. There are many monitoring programs for birds available at Birds Canada, including Project FeederWatch, the Great Backyard and Christmas Bird Counts, the Marsh Monitoring Program and the Canadian Lakes Loon Survey. Finally, you can submit data to Global Forest Watch or simply browse their data maps. Hopefully something here has piqued your interest as a citizen scientist! Remember, every observation counts!
Resources:
https://www.muskokawatershed.org/2023reportcard/
https://www.muskoka.on.ca/en/environment/lake-water-monitoring.aspx#Biological-Monitoring-Program
https://foca.on.ca/lake-partner-program/
http://muskokawaterweb.ca/lake-data/muskoka-data/lake-data-sheets
https://www.eddmaps.org/
https://www.invasivespeciescentre.ca/
https://www.inaturalist.org/
https://www.birdscanada.org/
https://www.globalforestwatch.org/
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