News/Reports

Mahoney Lake Image Gallery October, 2012

Posted October 15, 2012 | Categories : 130,Climate change,Issues,Photos |

On  October 9, 2012, the Mahoney Lake Ecological Reserve Warden Kathryn McCourt met with Garry Fletcher, Friends of Ecological Reserves Board member  and Niran Lella to talk about the reserve, its problems and its special features.

On October 8, 2012, Niran Lella and Garry Fletcher took the images below while on a trip to the Mahoney lake Ecological Reserve with warden Kathryn McCourt .  Kathryn commented on the fragility of the lake, a rare meromictic or non-mixing lake which has unique chemical properties.  She sent some images taken at various times in previous years to compare colour and water levels in the lake. She also pointed out the invasive Dalmatian knapweed in the higher forested area at the south.  Efforts at control are always ongoing.

The main threat comes from the open access to the public. It is near a public road and BC Parks have provided an easy entry gate.  A sign inside the reserve relates the details of why the lake is so unique, but there is no way to control activities. While there, we encountered a group of three young men coming into the reserve with a bag of chips, a bottle of wine and a cigarette.  Someone has also been building a number of small meter-high inukshuks with rocks on a knoll near the path.  Moving rocks has disturbed organisms and vegetation. Deep footprints in the mud on the lake shore indicate the level of ignorance of a few individuals. The threat from 4 wheel drive off-road vehicles is also significant for the future. Of course the lowering of the levels in recent years and the extreme lowering this year could indicate the onset of Climate change and this could  impact the integrity of the Lake.

Also see the panoramic pictures taken by Niran: