Report - SFWMD WRAC Lake Okeechobee Workshop

[Converted]

UWF was represented By Newton Cook and Myself.
Delta was represented by Jeff Allen.

Many other stakeholder groups were in attendance as well including Agriculture (ranching, sugar + citrus) Tribal representatives, Audubon, surrounding counties and others.

The issue is well known.... the struggle between the low lake levels of 12.5 to 15.5 feet wanted by most and higher water levels wanted by the "supply" lobby. The most vocal supply folks are of course big sugar. They want lake levels high enough to allow irrigation in the event of a 10 year drought. The Calossahatchee river and estuary also needs fresh water delivery for proper health of that river system.

Paul Gray of Audubon pointed out the even at a level of 14.5 only 5% of the lake is at 6" or less. This level is vital to nesting success on the lake.

The majority opinion is to have a goal of holding the lake between 13.5 and 15.5 feet. SFWMD will not commit to that goal until father modeling studies are completed. Additionally the Corp. is not required to follow SFWMD proposals.

UWF will formulate a position paper over the next couple weeks. Public comment is required to be submitted to the Corp by May 8th.

I have copies of the Audubon, St. Lucie river coalition and some other position papers. If any UWF members have strong opinions on this subject please get with me. I will draw up a draft paper and post it here for comment before anything is sent north.

One point that I feel strongly about having in that paper is a statement that all stakeholders need to bear a portion of the "risk". I believe that current lake regulation is weighted in favor of irrigation interests. Basically they are protected against a 10 year drought. It may be that a lower lake level will benefit the estuaries and the health of the lake but only insure against a 20 year drought index. This sharing of the load is only fair.

We need to pick this fight carefully however. These folks are well represented, vocal, and have almost limitless funding.

On a positive note, we met a new friend, the audubon representative is a duck hunter:D He only went out twice last season but you can bet he'll have an invite aboard my marsh boat this coming season.

Additionally, SFWMD staff reported to us after the meeting that the new Recreational Advisory Committee is being formed.:cool: There will be an update at the next full WRAC meeting on May 6th. UWF will be there!

[N. Cook]

Great report.....two things for me to note.....I will be in Ohio turkey hunting May 6. That important SFWMD full WRAC meeting is in Kissimmee at a hotel I believe is listed on the SFWMD site. I hope one or more of our group will be able to attend. There will be public response allowed.

Next meeting of the Lake O "levels" workshop is now scheduled for June 7 at the SFWMD offices on Gun Club Rd.

David is exactly right about the powerful folks at this meeting, we seem to have allies in the conservation side, but the cities and agricultural groups want high, high, higher water. Some really heavy duty lifting has already been done by the large segment of protestors from the ST. Lucie River area some time ago and got the current meeting ball rolling with a new bias of LOWER LEVELS. Probably for the first time the HIGH WATER people are on the defense. The Audobon guy said the spring water needed to be at 14 1/2 feet for nesting success. Don't see how we cannot support them on that and look for a little help on a reasonal fall level good for migratory waterfowl. As David said, now is the time to weigh in with your ideas. Newton

[Kevin Hall]

David,

Just so you know ... Paul Gray ... That's Dr. Paul Gray ... wrote the thesis "The Biology of a Southern Mallard: Florida's Mottled Duck" (1993).

That's what FWC has been using as the "bible" for mottled duck conservation ... it's about the only complete scientific research that has been done on Mottled ducks.

I have a copy of the thesis ... I can loan it to you, if you would like ... or, you can request a copy from Diane Eggeman, she can send you one (free - it's a state publication).

:D

[Raul G]

My question is this: with the higher level mark, in the event of a hurricane hit, will a breach of the dike system be more likely and what does the possible scenario of this imply? Has any discussion of additional water holding areas(reservoirs) being developed taken place? This may offset dependancy of lake water during drought cycles and provide more insurance during such periods.

[Converted]

I'd love to borrow that piece Kevin. Dr. Gray did mention that he knew Dianne. They were in some common college courses. He mentioned the research on the Mottled and expressed satisfaction that FWC had finally banned Mallards. We gave him a copy of the latest newsletter and an application. He would be a great help to UW-F and we hope to have him as a member.

[Converted]

Raul,

The current Lake management plan calls for a level of about 13.5' at the end of the dry season in preparation for the wet season. There is a complicated decision tree built into the regulations. The water managers look at the average weather patterns over the past 36 years, they also look at long range climate models to determine when and how much water to discharge. When the lake gets to very high levels (+17') continuous large discharges are called for to prevent a hurricane from breaching the Hoover dike. These high level discharges are what is so damaging to the estuaries. We hope future lake management plans will take more proactive steps to keep the water in the more healthy 13.5 to 15.5 range.

As for the long term goals, there is good news and bad news for duck hunters as I see it. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) calls for a lower lake level target of 12.5' Dr. Gray points out that 74% of the marsh would be dry. Then when the summer and fall rainy season hits the marsh would flood. This is a perfect management plan for ducks. Now for the bad news. This lower lake level will be possible because of much more water storage on private and SFWMD land. I'm afraid that even though the lake will likely be a duck magnet, the hunting pressure will force ducks to the new marshes around the lake. UW-F will fight hard to get public access to the SFWMD marshes and STA's but only a lucky few will be on Sugar, Citrus and Ranching marshes.