Sauble Beach may be at risk of losing the Blue Flag designation it's had for ten years.
That's the message from the Blue Flag Co-ordinator for Canada, Brett Tryon.
He told a public meeting in Sauble Beach Saturday that if the Town of South Bruce Peninsula allows additional raking of the beach and the removal of natural debris, Sauble Beach will likely lose its Blue Flag status.
Provincial Management Biologist, Suzanne Robinson, also told the seminar that the habitats of the nesting Piping Plovers are not to be disturbed, and the beach cannot be raked for some distance around their nests. There are at least three nests of the endangered species this year at Sauble.
South Bruce Peninsula Council is expected to discuss a by-law to change the beach management policy on Tuesday.
Saturday's seminar was jointly sponsored by Friends of Sauble Beach and Friends of Oliphant Coastal Environments, and featured presentations on the unique and fragile local beach and dune ecosystems.
Those attending heard that Blue Flag criteria and Ontario's Endangered Species Act both trump beach raking for aesthetic purposes.