Slocan Lake Habitat Atlas

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The Slocan Lake Stewardship Society (SLSS) was formed in 2007 with three goals: to support research about Slocan Lake in all areas (water quality, fish, foreshore health, endangered species, etc.); to provide education to the communities of the lake on sustainable use; and to facilitate the development and adoption of a Lake Management Plan for the care, protection and sustainable use of Slocan Lake.  This community-driven Lake Management Plan will encompass both foreshore and offshore waters of Slocan Lake, serving as a set of guidelines for land and water use in and around the lake, thereby directing and coordinating initiatives of local governments and local residents, as well as any development or tourism interests.   The geographic scope of concern for the SLSS begins at Summit Lake, which empties into Slocan Lake, and includes the creeks of the Slocan Lake watershed, the lake and the foreshore, up to its outlet into the Slocan River.  It is bordered on either side by the Valhalla and Selkirk Mountain Ranges.   To date the SLSS has completed a baseline study (2008) of water quality, which is complemented by a 2010 Slocan Lake Preliminary Water Quality Study that is part of a 3-year study of water quality trends and zooplankton data.  In 2010 the SLSS completed a Slocan Lake Foreshore Fish and Wildlife Habitat Assessment including Foreshore Inventory and Mapping (FIM) and an Aquatic Habitat Index (AHI). In 2011, SLSS worked to develop guidelines for a community values process that is slated to begin in summer 2012. SLSS also assisted in the 2011 filming of the entire foreshore of the lake, to provide a baseline for comparison.  These science and community values documents will feed into a Lake Management Plan slated for initiation in 2013.   The above reports and mapping are available on the Community Mapping Network as well as a shoreline video produced in conjunction with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.