Public access is coming to Sherbrooke Lake in Lunenburg County.
A committee was appointed by the Municipality of Lunenburg to discover what the community wants and what it would take to get it done.
Their final report was presented to council this morning.
Trudy Payne, Director of Recreation, says the public was concerned about environmental impact
“That’s really what this report was trying to do,” she says, “it’s that balance between resource management and resource enjoyment. Understanding that the lake is there for everybody but if we enable people to use it how can we manage it appropriately.”
The committee suggested restricting motorized boats above 16 feet long.
They recommended regular water quality testing to ensure the lake isn’t being damaged.
Meanwhile, the controversy surrounding lake access continues.
Greg Stokes has been vocal about not allowing a boat launch to be installed on the lake.
He says once the public is given access it won’t be enough to restrict the length of the boat.
“Nobody wants to keep you away from a public lake, but we do want to keep you from bringing your 200 horse power bass boat onto it, roaring around, and polluting the hell out of it.”
Stokes says the lake can handle the small number of pleasure crafts used by property owners living near Sherbrooke Lake.
However, he says allowing more and more boats on to the water unchecked would ruin the lake for generations to come.
No decision on where and what kind of access will be approved is expected until council returns from summer break
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story said Stokes wanted a ban of all motorized boats.
