On January 2, 2004, a catastrophic event took place on our lake which fueled 11 years of court struggles and the birth of what is to become LSFX Environmental Fund. That event is the Thurston Lake Ecological disaster and here is our story.

It was just was one day after New Year’s and most residents had either returned to the city or were huddled inside recovering from the holidays and sheltering from the brutal cold at tempratures close to -40 C. On that day, a developer nearby decided to use explosives on lake Thurston with the intention of expanding his territory. In the space of an hour or so all of Thurston Lake’s swampy water, aquatic life, decaying biomass and nutrient rich sediments rushed down a small stream and were deposited in the pristine waters of our lake. It would have gone unnoticed had a resident not looked out his window just around dusk and noticed a large, brown, steamy mass of water covering the ice in the big bay in Newaygo. As a result of this developer’s actions, our lake suffered irreversible andcatastrophic consequences.

To give definition to the magnitude of what occurred, consider the following facts:

• The trees in the little valley containing the stream the deluge followed had debris caught 8 ft high in their branches;

• Lac St Francois Xavier had a swampy smell for 3 years;

• The lake water acquired a brown tinge which remains to this day;

• Transparency dropped by almost 50% and although it has improved has never returned to pre-Thurston Lake levels.

• Everything sank to the bottom, now invisible but sitting quietly on the lake bottom releasing its nutrients into the water and accelerating the aging of Lake St Francois Xavier, our pristine lake.

As a result of this developer’s actions, our lake suffered irreversible and catastrophic consequences which lead to Thurston Lake Class Action. Dave Clark became the “Head of the Class” and the creation of the Lac St Francois Xavier Environmental Fund was born. It turned into an 11-year legal battle involving many court appearances. It had an unnerving rhythm. Long periods of no action punctuated by episodes of frantic activity. The final Court hearing in September 2014 went well and the battle was won. Finally, The creation of the Fund was approved along with its Constitution, governing laws and by-laws and activity schedule to make it a legal entity. Although the creation of the Fund was now approved there was still no money released. That only happen after the annual general meeting and the election of a Board of Directors, a year later.

After all the hard work, lead mainly by Dave Clark, we now have the ability to protect our lake from potential future ecological disasters as per the fund’s mandate. His vision was to create the fund for the protection of the lake and not for the community. It is the community’s responsibility to ensure its proper use and be actively involved in projects aimed at the lake’s protection.

Closing thoughts by Dave Clark 2024:

“The Lac St Francois Xavier Environmental Fund was a gift, the result of a grand synchronicity. It was made possible by relationships, friendships, and a deep belief in our role as humans, to protect the natural environment and guide it though natural evolution into a sustainable future. It was successful due to the vision courage, commitment, and perseverance of a few. The chances of creating it again are very slim and probably zero. That makes the Fund very precious indeed. The spirit of the Fund is built on inclusion, participation, education, awareness, and environmental stewardship. It was not created for the community. It was created for the Lake and belongs to the Lake. Our role is to ensure it reaches its full potential as a powerful tool to protect and sustain it into the future. The community must play a vital role in how it will be used as we are the membership tasked with guiding it. The board of Directors is there to execute the vision of the community. That means we must all participate so they have a clear direction to follow. Our participation must take us individually and as a community beyond our personal self-interests and desires and focus on the future of the lake. We must be uncompromising in our goal of natural evolution but flexible on our approach. The most powerful aspect of the Fund is simply its presence as a message to all who would exploit the lake that, we as a community can respond. If we are to maintain that capability to respond, the Fund must remain healthy going into the future and must grow to meet the threats that are already materializing. That will take strong leadership from the Board of Directors and the commitment and participation of the entire community,”

“I believe the Lac St Francois Xavier Environmental Fund is now in good hands and if the community remains active and involved as members this will continue. I am now at peace but will remain ever vigilant as should the community at large”,

“I hope you have enjoyed this not so brief history and benefited from its lessons. More importantly I hope you are now aware of the value of this very rare gift and the importance of ensuring its longevity and proper use in the future.”

(Dave Clark, 2024)