One of the great benefits of this meeting is the option to ask questions of presenters and Board members. The 2019 AGM was no exception, with some great questions and suggestions. See below for some answers and follow-up to the questions.

• Pursue the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry to conduct fish stocking.
  • Ministry is focusing on Broad-Scale Monitoring
  • Nothing to stock to compete with smelt that won’t compete with other species
    • Spring smelt runs are a great fishing activity. More information on this will follow soon.
  • Lake trout are an option, but there is no guarantee they could survive
  • Five species of fish, newly identified in Skootamatta, were caught in a recent sampling
    • Blacknose Shiner (Notropis heterolepis)
    • Hornyhead Chub (Nocomis biguttatus)
    • Iowa Darter (Etheostoma exile)
    • Banded Killifish (Fundulus diaphanus)
      • This is the furthest inland this species has been discovered
    • Central Mudminnow (Umbra limi)

• Walleye were never a native species to Skootamatta
  • Ministry stopped stocking walleye in 2007, so they are past their breeding years
  • Skootamatta has a sustainable large and smallmouth bass fishery

• Purple loosestrife has been spotted on the lake, an invasive species. How should we pull/handle/dispose of it?
  • Mark Boone, of Quinte Conservation sent a follow-up response
  • In 1992 the Canadian Government successfully released European leaf-eating beetles as a means of biological control of purple loosestrife
  • If there are still nuisance populations of this plant they can be dug up before they go to seed (i.e. June, July, August) sealed in plastic bags and disposed of in the garbage.  To help the sterilization process leave the sealed plastic bags in the sun for a couple of weeks before disposing. It is also helpful if the tap root can be dug up without breaking.
  • The SDRA will be posting an invasive species page on the website with information on local invasives and links to further information.

• A member voiced concerns about the abandoning of docks, and there is styrofoam as the docks are decaying. Are people allowed to just abandon their docks?
  • Mark Boone, sent a follow-up response
  • Owners are responsible for their docks and should be required to recover any of their property and properly dispose of it

• A member asked us to put some information together as a reminder for members to create evacuation plans in case of an emergency
  • FOCA provides some great information here
  • FOCA recommends that each waterfront home have a handy and visible list of emergency phone numbers posted somewhere prominent, near a telephone if possible.