FINAL REPORT - International Joint Commission

FINAL REPORT
5. People living along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River need to be educated and informed with
respect to the basic hydrology of the Great Lakes System. Some type of education program needs to
be established or misconceptions will continue to persist. A shoreline management (public safety,
public use, and natural heritage) strategy should be developed for certain reaches of the shoreline
utilizing the data and information gathered by the Technical Work Groups. This review would also help
define options (i.e., acquisition, planning policy and guidelines and shoreline protection) for existing
structures within the shoreline hazard zone or area.
6. A way should be sought to engage municipal governments, students and researchers and maintain
interest and involvement as years go by.
7. The time dedicated to the Study by the Public Interest Advisory Group volunteer membership was
much more than initially expected. It is suggested that the Commission establish some sort of stipend
to offset financial losses associated with time away from jobs or make a donation to participants’
favorite charities. The organizers of future studies should encourage prospective members to plan
ahead of time and be prepared to devote time when joining an advisory group. However, the
Commission must give prospective members a more realistic idea of the time commitment expected.
8. Public Interest Advisory Group members should be appointed on the basis of their expertise and ability
to reach out to local interest groups and this appears to have worked well. It is very important for
members to have networking capability as this promotes public participation. Active and dedicated
liaison officers will help maintain continuous communications.
9. Also with regard to networking, it is important to reach out to the all of the interests, including First
Nations, from the beginning.
10. At the beginning of a study, it is important to have a website running that is accessible by all study
participants including the communication team. A website needs to be created to store and if possible
maintain the information collected.
11. When deciding on scientific research, care must be taken as there is some tendency for scientists to
focus on what they view as a topic of concern. A study must look at what Commission questions are
asked before deciding on what science is needed. The study should drive the science.
12. Publication of the results of the research work should be encouraged and supported by the
Commission and governments to the extent funding may be secured. Any publications resulting could
be referenced on the Commission’s website in order to broaden public awareness.
13. For transparency, all reports should be available as soon as possible, even if only initially in language
of the person writing the report. Care must be taken to ensure that early and preliminary drafts are
identified as such.
14. The turnout at some public meetings was very low, even though they were held in large cities.
Efforts need to be made to get the word out. For example, make announcements on radio stations,
local television stations, make follow-up telephone calls (this likely helps the most) to marina and
riparian interests, send ready-to-post announcements and engage community shoreline interests
and organizations.
15. On the St. Lawrence River, recreational boating is a water-related issue as are fishing and hunting
on Lake St. Louis and Lake St. Pierre. Invite people who are experts in these areas to provide advice
and ideas.
16. One observation based on experience with public meetings is that people may not understand the
process being described at initial meetings, but their understanding evolves from year-to-year, as they
go to additional public meetings. Conversely, those that attend later meetings do not always
understand the process because they’ve missed earlier events. It is important therefore to effectively
link participants throughout the Study process.
92 Options for Managing Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River Water Levels and Flows