Muskoka Lakes Associations Leadership Forum 2026

The Muskoka Lakes Association (MLA) is hosting a Muskoka Lakes Associations Leadership Forum to be held on June 13, 2026, from 8:30 am to noon, at the Muskoka Lumber Community Center in Bracebridge.  We’d be delighted if representatives from your association would join us.  There is no charge for attendance.

The forum will be an opportunity to network and to share information and resources addressing key issues that impact waterfront residents across Muskoka. The program will include:

Our 2026 Forum Agenda will include three sessions for all to attend:

Session 1:  Protecting and Enhancing your Natural Shoreline to Promote Native Wildlife Habitats.  Presented by Scott Young, Executive Director of the Muskoka Conservancy, this session will focus on two different types of nature conservation critical to Muskoka – science-driven protection of large patches of ecologically sensitive land with species at risk, and waterfront development placing intense pressure on few remaining fragments of natural riparian area-littoral zones on our lakes. Protecting both are equally important and Muskoka Conservancy is experiencing strong demand in both areas.

Session 2:  Advocating for Responsible Development.  Presented by Ken Pearce, President of the MLA, this session will focus on the MLA‘s advocacy work which positively influenced development in Muskoka.  This includes defending the Township of Muskoka Lakes Official Plan from appeals before the Ontario Land Tribunal by a developer group and two aggregates industry players; the proposed Cliff Bay/Muskoka Regional Centre redevelopment in Muskoka Bay, Gravenhurst; Official Plan updates in Seguin and Bracebridge; the Comprehensive Zoning By-law update in the Township of Muskoka Lakes; and the update of the District Official Plan (in particular, concerning resorts, the environment and lake health). Attendees will have the opportunity to share any proposed developments of concern to them.

Session 3:     Boat Wakes on Inland Lakes: Impacts, Evidence, and Research Needs.    Presented by Chris Houser, Dean of Science, University of Waterloo, this session will provide an overview of recent research from the region and beyond, showing that in sheltered or confined environments, wake energy and impacts often exceed those of locally generated wind waves, making recreational boating a new source of high-energy, long-period waves in inland systems. As a result, wakes can resuspend sediments, accelerate shoreline erosion, increase turbidity, alter nutrient and contaminant fluxes, degrade aquatic habitat, and pose risks to safety and infrastructure.  The presentation concludes by outlining research priorities needed to better understand and manage boat wakes.

Each session will include a Q&A component where you will be encouraged to ask questions of the speaker, as well as share with participants, insights and actions your association can undertake to address these issues.