The Enviro Lac Gauvreau (ELG) community gathered on Saturday, July 5, 2025, for our Annual General Meeting (AGM) — an inspiring morning of updates, collaboration, and shared commitment to protecting our lake.

We were pleased to welcome FYTO, a company specializing in Eurasian Milfoil management, who delivered an insightful presentation on innovative strategies to control this invasive species.

We were also pleased to welcome La Pêche Mayor, Guillaume Lamoureux, who expressed his strong support for ELG’s Parent Creek Project and reaffirmed his commitment to our mission and strategic priorities.

The event drew an estimated forty guests in person, along with several participants who joined us online — a wonderful turnout that reflects our community’s growing engagement.

No elections for new board members were held as all candidates were elected by acclamation. We are pleased to introduce this year’s Board of Directors:

• Rink de Lange
• Tom Booth
• Samuel Breau
• David Giannandrea
• John Leech
• Paul Loeven
• Nik Parent
• Bora Plumtre
• André Poliquin
• Bruce Stockfish
• Emma Thom.

Thank you to everyone who attended, volunteered, and contributed to another successful AGM. Together, we continue to make progress toward a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable Lac Gauvreau.

📄 > Detailed draft minutes can be found here

Late this summer we learned that the Municipality of La Pêche was negotiating the purchase of land near our lake for the purpose of building a Municipal garage. This decision was taken without consultation nor warning.

After expressions of concerns from Enviro Lac Gauvreau and direct representation by several individuals at two regular Council meetings, the Municipality has abandoned this plan.

It seems that the Municipality agreed with us that traffic safety would be in jeopardy and that the necessary rezoning would meet strong resistance. They also determined than an environmental assessment of the site would be too expensive in
time and money. An alternate site will be sought.

We are pleased: after all the effort we and the Municipality have undertaken to protect our lake over the years, the construction of a semi-industrial site near our shores would have been a step in the wrong direction.

Many thanks to all who intervened to reinforce this position.

Our testing program this past summer had two parts: testing for E.coli and testing to determine the rate at which our lake is ageing.

The E.coli tests indicate that, in general, our lake obtained an excellent ranking from a swimming safety perspective, except in the Parent Creek. > The results are accessible here.

Regular ageing tests, which were traditionally carried out under the Québec’s provincial Réseau de surveillance volontaire des lacs (RSVL) program were suspended this year. These important tests we mandated to be conducted by local labs this year. The results indicate comparable values from past years. A clearer picture will be provided once the RSVL program resumes in 2026.

We all owe a vote of thanks to Emma Doorly and her team of volunteers for their diligence in this program. Together, we continue to make progress toward a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable Lac Gauvreau.

Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) continues to pose a serious threat to the Lac Gauvreau ecosystem. This invasive aquatic plant spreads rapidly, primarily through fragmentation and by hitchhiking on boats and trailers. Since its arrival in Quebec in 1958, it has invaded over 200 lakes. Encouragingly, this year we’ve observed a slight reduction in some areas of the lake compared to previous years!

Thanks to financial support from the municipality, we’ve partnered with FYTO—a company specializing in milfoil management—to investigate the spread of milfoil in Lac Gauvreau and develop a strategic plan to control and reduce its presence.

In July, FYTO conducted an Aquatic Plant Characterization. Their team mapped and identified aquatic plant beds, focusing on milfoil clusters and assessing the extent to which milfoil has displaced native lake vegetation. This baseline data is essential for designing targeted interventions.

Just last weekend, FYTO returned to collect samples for DNA testing to determine the specific subspecies of milfoil present. This step is crucial for selecting the most effective control strategy.

By the end of the year, we expect to receive FYTO’s strategic plan outlining our options and estimated costs. Once the plan is ready, we’ll organize a webinar to present the findings and discuss potential paths forward.

One challenge we will face is funding. Subsidies for milfoil removal are limited, so we’ll likely need to raise funds within our own community—those of us who use and enjoy Lac Gauvreau. Fundraising will be a key next step, and we welcome ideas and support from all lake users.

> Visit our "Eurasian Watermilfoil" webpage for more…

Water quality test results for June and July, 2025, are now available. Please visit our Water Quality Monitoring webpage for details.

We have been informed that the Municipality is considering the construction of a Municipal garage on land adjacent to the lake along Rte 366. We have expressed our concerns about the potential of polluting runoff into the lake, construction on or adjacent to a stream or wetland, and the traffic hazard of vehicles entering and exiting Rte 366.

One of our members is going to ask a question at the next Municipal Council Meeting on 18 August in order to clarify the intent of the Municipality in this matter.

If you are available, your presence ( in-person or on Zoom) at the meeting would be valuable; this would allow you to hear the information first-hand.

Details can be found at https://www.villelapeche.qc.ca/municipalite/vie-democratique/seances-du-conseil/

Water quality test results for June and July, 2025, are now available. Please visit our Water Quality Monitoring webpage for details.

AGM - July 5, 2025 / 10:00AM EST
Complexe sportif La Pêche, Salle Desjardin, 20 chemin Raphaël

Go in person or see our latest email for details on how to join the Zoom Meeting.

Do you want to join the Board?
The Board of Directors of Enviro Lac Gauvreau is recruiting new members. Interested? Send an email stating your intention to join to enviro.gauvreau@gmail.com

Voting will happen at the AGM.

Get your membership to Enviro Lac Gauvreau by e-transfering $20 to enviro.gauvreau@gmail.com. Please mention in the e-transfer comments your name(s) and the address of your lakeside residence. Only members can get free plants!

New Strategic Vision: 2025-2030
Our Vision: A clean, healthy, sustainable Lac Gauvreau within a flourishing ecosystem.

Our Strategic Priorities:

• Research: Collect water quality data and study watershed health
• Awareness: Share information with members, partners and governments 
• Partnerships: Collaborate with other lake associations
• Protection: Improve ecological integrity and control invasive species
• Leadership: Strengthen governance, increase membership, and secure funding

> Read the full version here. 

Members will be asked to vote to adopt this strategic plan at the AGM.

E.coli testing for swimming safety (Summer 2025
> Click here to see the E.coli test results for June, 2025.

Door-to-door, here we come
Expect a friendly face to show up at your door over the next few weeks. Members of the Board, and friends of the Association, will visit each house or cottage around the lake to share information about what we do.

Plant giveaway a success
Thanks to everyone who requested and picked up their trees and shrubs! Nearly 30 households are increasing the local biodiversity and providing natural habitat for birds, bees & butterflies.

Naturalizing your shoreline is one of the most impactful things you can do for the health of the lake, as it soaks up nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus before they reach the water. Unfortunately, there was a mix-up with the distributor for the flowers, apologies to anyone who was waiting on those.

> Click here for more information, including shoreline designs.

New Strategic Vision: 2025-2030
Our Vision: A clean, healthy, sustainable Lac Gauvreau within a flourishing ecosystem.

Our Strategic Priorities:

• Research: Collect water quality data and study watershed health
• Awareness: Share information with members, partners and governments 
• Partnerships: Collaborate with other lake associations
• Protection: Improve ecological integrity and control invasive species
• Leadership: Strengthen governance, increase membership, and secure funding

> Read the full version here. 

Members will be asked to vote to adopt this strategic plan at the AGM.

Join the Board; give back to the lake
If the lake has given you much joy, perhaps you want to give back by joining the Board? We are currently recruiting new members. Volunteering to work towards the health of the lake requires as little as 2-3 hours a month, which includes a meeting and any committee work that you want to lead or join. 

Interested? Send an email stating your intention to join to enviro.gauvreau@gmail.com.  Voting will happen at the AGM. 

2025 Annual General Meeting (AGM)
July 5, 2025 / 10:00AM EST / Complexe sportif La Pêche, Salle Desjardin, 20 chemin Raphaël

A zoom link will also be provided for those who cannot make it in person. The mayor and other officials have been invited. See you there!

Get your membership to Enviro Lac Gauvreau by e-transfering $20 to enviro.gauvreau@gmail.com. Please mention in the e-transfer comments your name(s) and the address of your lakeside residence. Only members can get free plants!

Building on the success of previous years, Enviro Lac Gauvreau is giving away free plants!
We’ve got trees, shrubs and plants. And, for the first time — willow. Willow is a low growth shrub that prevents erosion. Also new this year, we’ve got two types of flowering plants that you can plant on your septic bed. These flowers have shallow roots and can withstand wet conditions.

You can request plants by adding your name to a spreadsheet that was included in our April newsletter. Since these plants are bare root, they need to be put in the ground within five days of receiving them. Plan to plant between May 9-12 (Mother’s Day weekend).

Get your membership to Enviro Lac Gauvreau by e-transfering $20 to enviro.gauvreau@gmail.com. Please mention in the e-transfer comments your name(s) and the address of your lakeside residence. Only members can get free plants!

Enviro Lac Gauvreau’s Strategic Plan 
The Board of your Enviro Lac Gauvreau Association has been hard at work defining priorities and advancing projects. Read our Strategic Plan 2025-2030 here.

We would love to hear your thoughts. Once you’ve read it, please take 10 minutes to share your thoughts with us via this survey.

Members will vote to adopt the Strategic plan at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in July. Don’t forget to pay your dues by e-transfering $20 to enviro.gauvreau@gmail.com.

Complete the survey and pay your membership fee in time for our AGM on July 5th
Only members can vote! The AGM will take place on July 5 between 10 am and noon online or in-person at Desjardins Hall, La Pêche Sports Complex, 20 Chemin Raphaël, Sainte-Cécile-de-Masham.

If your New Year’s Resolution was to contribute to your community, here’s a simple way to meet that commitment. 

Get your membership to Enviro Lac Gauvreau by e-transfering $20 to enviro.gauvreau@gmail.com. Please mention in the e-transfer comments your name(s) and the address of your lakeside residence.