Dear Friends of the Rideau Lakes,
Since 1991, the Rideau Lakes Environmental Foundation (RLEF) has protected and preserved the environment of the Rideau Lakes, in collaboration with the Big Rideau Lake Association (BRLA) and the Upper Rideau Lake Association (URLA). A registered Canadian charity, we support projects that
safeguard and enhance our lake environment.
This summer, we supported Carleton University’s Prof. Steven Cooke‘s study of the bass population in the Rideau Lakes. You may have seen his team tagging fish at one of the derbies, or even have caught a tagged fish yourself. Backing from community-based organizations like ours helped Dr. Cooke leverage more than $100,000 in funding from federal research programs.
RLEF also helped address a major threat to Rideau Lakes’ water quality, the failure of the village of Westport’s sewage treatment system. Construction of an improved replacement system is complete, but testing and monitoring of inflow continues. RLEF Director Jayne MacDonald was an active member of the Technical Steering Committee for the Environmental Assessment process associated with the improved system.
Other initiatives focused on water quality and testing, including the “Love your Lake” shoreline study and the “People, Aquatic Plants and Healthy Lakes” project, and water safety, including the placement of shoal markers and the administration of the Doug Good Shoal Marker Fund.
We also maintain a reserve fund that will enable RLEF to intervene should there be a future environmental threat to the Rideau Lakes.
We need your support to continue our work. Your donation is tax-deductible, and is easy to make online using the link at www.rlef.ca. Or you can mail your cheque to the address below.
RLEF is managed by a volunteer Board of Directors drawn from the Big and Upper Rideau Lake Associations. Our overheads are low, and we can assure you that the vast majority of your donation will flow directly to protecting the water and the lakes that we love.
Please remember the lake in your year-end tax planning, and give generously. Our lakes are worth the investment.
Yours truly,
Michael M. Peterson
Chair, RLEF