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About the lake

Lake Simcoe is the largest inland lake in southern Ontario. It is home to a natural heritage that includes wetlands, woodlands, wildlife and fish habitats, and approximately 350,000 people.

The lake supports a wide variety of aquatic animals including:

• coldwater fish such as lake trout and lake whitefish
• warmwater fish such as bass and perch
• invertebrates including crayfish, insects, snails and clams
• amphibians and reptiles
• benthos (organisms that live on, in or near the bottom of the lake) and plankton.

Sixty-five species within the watershed ecosystem are rare and 33 of these are species at risk, including the Jefferson salamander and the spotted turtle.

Forty-seven per cent of the Lake Simcoe watershed's land area (approximately 2800 square kilometres) is currently agricultural. Agriculture contributes at least $300 million per year to the provincial economy. 

Protecting the lake

There are many groups and individuals who are working hard to protect and restore the Lake Simcoe watershed.

To help bring their projects together and build upon their many successful initiatives, our government developed the Lake Simcoe Protection Act which was passed by the Ontario Legislature in December 2008, and the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan, which became effective on June 2, 2009.

They were significant accomplishments — the act was the first legislation in Canada to focus on a watershed and the plan was the first of its kind in Ontario to address identified threats to the Lake Simcoe watershed.

Building on consultation with citizens and expert advice from scientists, the plan sets a new standard for environmental protection of a watershed and provides a roadmap for helping to restore and protect the health of Lake Simcoe.