Save Shebandowan Lake

Hi, my name is Larry Richard, my family has had a camp on Three Mile Bay on Shebandowan Lake since 1963. Hydro One intends to construct a transmission line corridor along the north shore of Three Mile Bay on the slope to the lake with little or no riparian buffer between the corridor and the lake. Three Mile Bay is a very natural area with no septic systems or grass to fertilize, yet on October 11, 2024, a blue-green algae bloom was discovered in Three Mile Bay. Hydro One has defined the east end of Three Mile Bay as an environmentally sensitive area, yet they continue to ignore this sensitivity. This violates the Ontario Crown Land Use Policy Atlas and the Shebandowan Lake Management Plan. These are MNRF documents designed to protect the indigenous lake trout species, walleye and northern pike, as well as protect the aesthetics for the campers along the lake. Three Mile Bay is also home to numerous at-risk species, including snapping turtles, blue herons and the eastern whip-poor-will. Due to the lack of the required riparian barrier, runoff and phosphorus loading from the excavation and decaying organic materials will exacerbate cyanobacteria blooms (deadly blue-green algae) and pose potentially lower dissolved oxygen concentrations, putting the already at-risk lake trout population at a greater risk. Cyanobacteria experts agree that this could have devastating effects on the aquatic life, as well as the beaver and otters that make this area their home in the lake. We have provided alternative routes that would have much less impact on the ecosystem, however, Hydro One is applying for a variance of the Shebandowan Lake Management Plan with the MNRF to allow the transmission line to proceed as a condition of Environmental Assessment approval. I have secured the services of legal counsel to intervene in the variance request, which would force Hydro One to relocate the transmission line to the north side of the existing corridor to avoid Three Mile Bay. The purpose of this GoFundMe is to help fund this legal fight. If there are any funds left at the end of this fight, they will be refunded proportionately to the donated value. Also note that the approval of a variance of the Shebandowan Lake Management Plan sets a dangerous precedent for the acceptance of future commercial and industrial developments along the lake, such as mining and forestry operations which the Shebandowan Lake Management Plan was designed to protect against. Please forward this GoFundMe to anyone who cares about the future of Shebandowan Lake.