The Importance of Wetlands for You and for Muskoka

By Dan Vanclieaf   In a region renowned for its lakes and rivers, the importance of wetlands in maintaining a healthy and functioning ecosystem is often forgotten. In the recent…

Healthy Watersheds are Biodiverse and Resilient

  ‘Biodiverse’, ‘Resilient’, words like these don’t mean a lot to the average Muskokan, but we all understand the idea of a healthy environment occupied by the kinds of plants…

Muskoka’s Lakes Should Offer Good Homes for Fish

  We all know fish live in water. Anglers know that fish, just like us, have their real estate preferences, and don’t hang out just anywhere in a lake. The…

When Algae Go Bad

By Dr. Norman Yan   In a previous article I argued that “we’d be stupid, hungry, and dead without algae” in the waters of the world, because every other breath…

We Owe Our Lives to Algae

By Dr. Norman Yan   The 2014 Muskoka Watershed Report Card was released in May and presents the results of monitoring the health of our watersheds. For the first time…

Muskoka’s Aquatic Invaders

by Norman Yan   Olympic medals aren’t the only things that have recently come to Muskoka from the Socchi area. It’s also given us some of our most problematic invading…

Interior Forests: More Important Than You Realize

  Natural forests play a large role in maintaining the natural beauty found within Muskoka. We know they convert CO2 into useable oxygen for us to breathe, filter surface and…

Muskoka’s Biodiversity – Part 3: Managing for the conservation of biodiversity

    The previous two articles in this series have talked about the importance of biodiversity and how Muskoka’s biodiversity has changed and will continue to change. What can we,…

Muskoka’s Biodiversity – Part 2: A changing environment

    Last week’s article talked about biodiversity in Muskoka and why it is important for our environment and economy. Is Muskoka’s biodiversity getting better or worse?   A historical…

Muskoka’s Biodiversity – Part 1: Why is it important?

  Biological diversity - or biodiversity - is a term used to describe the variety of life on Earth. It refers to the wide variety of ecosystems and living organisms:…

Lakes Part 4: Gloeotrichia

By Dylan Moesker   Over the last few weeks in this four part article series, we have been discussing a number of topics that all revolve around lakes. We have…

Lakes Part 3: Why Are Some Lakes Tea-stained?

By Dylan Moesker   As we continue to learn more about the types of lakes found in Muskoka, tea-stained lakes still remain a misunderstood topic. These lakes are misunderstood since…