Find us on Social Media
Volume 17 No. 18
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
It looks as though PaB will have a white Christmas and is on target to have a great winter! That’s a gift right there!
Although you haven’t heard from us in a while, your Board has been busy in the background on issues relating to our beloved PaB. And we are looking ahead to the new year – membership renewal, event planning for Summer ’26, Yearbook: pictures, stories, reports, events. Perhaps someone in your family (yourself, kids, grandkids) enjoys working with Social Media and would like to join PaBIA’s efforts to spread the good word. Please forward this eBlast to them for consideration!
We hope you will enjoy the holiday season with friends and family however and wherever you are!!
Table of Contents In this eBlast:
PaBIA
- PaBIA Membership Dues Again ONLINE in January
- Yearbook Photograghs and Short Stories
- Sharings for Yearbook ’26 (100 words + picture)
- Installation of more PaBIA Markers
- Volunteer Opportunity with PaBIA’s Social Media
- Yearbook Updates December 9, 2025
- In Memoriam – Rosalind Bradford; Tam Fairlie
OF INTEREST
- GBA Update November 2025
- GBB Update November 2025
- Georgian Bay Vision 2050 Project
- Lake Michigan-Huron Water Levels – December 4, 2025
PaBIA
PaBIA 2026 Membership Dues Coming ONLINE in January
As we approach the end of 2025 and begin dreaming of cottage days ahead, we’d like to remind everyone that membership renewal opens in January. We’ll send out our first ONLINE reminder early in the new year, since early renewals help us reduce mailing costs and ensure more of your dues go directly toward PaBIA programs and services. So many of you did that last year, and it was extremely helpful! Thank you!
This year, we will continue using our online membership renewal platform and will be accepting online payments only. If online payment is a challenge for you, please reach out—exceptions can be made, and we’re happy to assist.
Please also note that the cost of extra cottage patrol tags for primary members will be increasing to $49 per additional tag to reflect the rising costs of our new patrol contract.
Wishing you a warm, joyful December and a wonderful holiday season,
Elise Findlay
PaBIA Secretary-Treasurer
Help make Yearbook 2026 the Best Yet!
Wanted:
Photographs of Summer ’25
Short Stories
&
Sharings for 2026 Yearbook
Please send in your high-res photos with titles that you’d like to share from the ’25 summer to Hilde. It’s such fun to see all the pictures as we reminisce the fun we’ve enjoyed.
Or perhaps you have a story to share that you feel others would enjoy/benefit from. The hope is to fill the book with memories as space is available. Wonder about a story you are thinking of? Feel free to reach out to Hilde
NEW FOR 2026 – What brings you back to our island paradise year after year? Perhaps one of your photos is a place or view from your island or item in your cottage that represents what resonates with your spirit and uplifts your soul. If so, please send us that PaB picture along with a short description (100 words) describing how that particular photo ‘speaks’ to you. Is it a special location or hobby, an old wooden haul, your grandchild’s creation or something else? We’d love to share your heartfelt submissions in the 2026 yearbook.
All submissions need to be into Hilde by the end of January 2026.
PaBIA Markers
Did you notice that during the beginning of September, many NEW PaBIA markers were put in place by Desmasdon Construction whom PaBIA hires to do the heavy lifting and placement?
And did you also notice that Andy and his crew also got both the flasher in the S-turn and at Chingwauk back in operation and they are working well.
We have been fortunate that with the excess dollars donated to PaBIA (thank you to so many of you), we were able to purchase another dozen of these very expensive markers and Desmasdon Construction has now had the time with decent weather to place them for the winter.
Aside from the huge benefit of being much better able to see the markers – day or night, these markers are permanent and therefore do not have to be removed at the end of the season and re-placed in the spring of every year – a HUGE savings for PaBIA!
Tom Cavers, PaBIA’s Maps & Markers Chair, has already ordered more markers to be delivered next spring for placement, hopefully before the beginning of the ’26 season, weather dependent of course.
PaBIA Social Media Coordinator
After many years, our esteemed Soc Media chair is hanging up her hat to be a full time mom. Margaret Berton (seen here to the right) has grown this outreach in so many ways; and we want to thank her for her time, effort and skill sets!
Know a young person who loves social media and wants to make a difference? PABIA is looking for a volunteer Social Media Coordinator to help share stories, promote summer events, and connect our community online. It’s a flexible, seasonal role that builds real‑world skills in digital communication while offering the chance to collaborate with community leaders and contribute to the place we all cherish. Parents and grandparents—please pass this along. Your encouragement could spark a rewarding opportunity!
Margaret has offered to work with those who step up to the plate and want to expand their skills in this fun endeavor!
Of Interest
.GBB’s Website Has a New Look!
We are thrilled to share our updated website georgianbaybiosphere.com! It has new content and is simple to navigate, making it easier to learn about our programs and impact, and find the information and resources you are seeking.
Explore the site to learn about our programs like turtle egg rescue and simple actions you can take to help support local biodiversity.
Outer Islands Project: This Year’s ImpactThis summer, our staff spent 8 days across 14 islands, caring for over 60 campsites!
Garbage was removed, signage was replaced, and paths were trimmed. To manage human waste, new holes were dug for full thunderboxes (outdoor toilets), while others received brand new thrones or a quick repair.
Alongside cleanup efforts, we also mapped each campsite we visited this year! A new map can be found…
Exploring Georgian Bay by Boat: We were so excited to be on the water this summer with our new boat! Our staff were out researching, cleaning up campsites, mapping habitats, and transporting volunteers to help manage invasive species! When the boat was not in use, we were delighted to offer custom tours to visitors wanting to explore the islands and channels of Georgian Bay. Georgian Bay Tours visited over 15 different locations! We would love to see you aboard next season! Check out the fun you will have: georgianbaytours.com
Fall Bird Migration Forecast: Calling all bird lovers—migration season is here!
According to this year’s migratory forecast, crops in the boreal forest are not great, meaning it should be a big year for birds heading south to the region to find food.
Read more to find out what birds we can expect to see this winter…
GBA eUpdate November 2025
In this edition:
- Award-winning firm tapped to write Vision 2050 Discussion Paper**
- What our members said in the 2025 Your Lakes, Your Views survey
- Vision 2050 survey shows stronger than expected backing for enhanced protection of the Bay
- Budget 2025 scraps the Underused Housing Tax and Luxury Tax
- 2025 Presidents’ Forum recap
- The fall Issue of UPDATE is now online
- Ontario’s wildfire season wraps up with 597,654 hectares burned
- Learn more about the Indigenous story of Georgian Bay
- Fuel community resilience: apply for a $500 wildfire‑prevention grant
- Help stop the spread: Invasive Species Action Fund grants available
- Water levels report
**Georgian Bay Vision 2050 Project
The Need for a Regional Conservation Framework
Ontario’s population is projected to increase by 50% between 2019 and 2050, intensifying development pressures around Georgian Bay.
Ontario lacks a regional policy framework that promotes conservation and environmental protection, unlike the Niagara Escarpment and the Greenbelt for example. A patchwork of provincial policies, park regulations, divergent municipal by-laws, NGO projects and First Nations governance is in place on the Bay today. This fragmented approach fails to provide adequate protection for the future of Georgian Bay. We need a new regional approach to ensure the long-term protection of this world-class natural asset.
Project Overview
The Georgian Bay Vision 2050 Project aims to develop a vision and concept proposal for the eastern and northern Georgian Bay coastal area. Our mission is to conserve and protect the unique natural environment, ecosystems and biodiversity of the eastern and northern coasts of Georgian Bay in perpetuity, while supporting sustainable communities. In response to development pressures and other threats, the project will set out the rationale, policies and actions to achieve this objective.
Key Objectives
- Preserve the region’s natural and cultural heritage.
- Develop a discussion paper to identify the current state of conservation plans and programs, the threats, gaps and opportunities to improve protection of the area.
- Identify the important principles that should guide conservation plans, environmental protection and initiatives in the region.
- The paper will frame broad-based discussions among stakeholders including governments, First Nations and communities on developing a consensus on a regional vision, plan and actions for enhanced protection.
- Expand natural and environmentally valuable protected areas and enhance their protection through stronger actions and policies.
Coastal protection is at the heart of GBA’s mandate, and the Vision 2050 project aims to fill a recognized gap in Ontario’s planning framework. Our discussion paper will serve as a catalyst for bringing stakeholders together to ensure the protection of Georgian Bay for future generations.
Vision 2050 Project Governance
This project is overseen by the GBA Board of Directors, which appointed a Vision 2050 Steering Committee to organize and carry out the project’s activities. The Steering Committee [including PaBIA’s own Tom Scoon] appointed an Advisory Council comprised of experts who represent key stakeholders or provide independent expertise to the project. Learn more here.
In Memoriam
Tam (Thomas) Fairlie, A317 – 10 Fairwood Is., husband of Alison, stepfather of Mavis, brother of David, Matt (Heather), and the late Peter Saegert, October 27, 2025.
Rosalind Bradford, A46 – 11 & A46 – 13 Lookout Is., mother of Jamie Bradford and Susie Bradford Vree, December 4, 2025
Yearbook Update
With each eBlast, we will provide you a list of names of those members who have provided updated contact information. The details of all the changes since the 2023 yearbook came out in early May are provided in THIS printable format for you to print out and insert into your own Yearbook! Changes as of June 23 are below.
For reporting Markers’ problems
contact Tom Cavers by cell (pg. 267 in yearbook) or email
For contacting Secretary-Treasurer and Asst. Sec. Treas.
Nancy Rogers and Elise Findlay: contact.pabia@gmail-com)
Water Levels
Lakes Michigan/Huron Water Levels December 9, 2025.
To better read the charts, please click on the chart for the Daily or Six Month Forecast Water level chart and the corresponding websites
Please support PaBIA’s Yearbook Advertisers 2025
This site’s advertising feature was created to provide assistance for special local information & events for existing Yearbook advertisers only.
Emergency
• PaB Nursing Station
• Canadian Coast Guard
Search and Rescue
800-267-7270
• PaBIA Emergency info