Lake O Level Workshop June 7 Sfwmd Offices

[N. Cook]

I will be attending the SFWMD workshop established to recommend Lake O level maintenance for the future at 10 am on June 7 at the SFWMD offices on Gun Club Rd. in WPB representing UW-F. UW-F has submitted a document to the CORPS on the issue. Our position is for bias toward lower levels to protect vegetation, maintain feeding areas for wintering waterfowl, maintain proper levels for nesting spring waterfowl and preventing excess fresh water dumps into the ST. Lucie river. Our position is very close to the AUDUBON SOCIETY and we have a good ally in Dr. Paul Gray. This is not a"turn out" meeting, just one of those grunt work deals for now.....Newton

[Converted]

Thanks for covering this one Newton. As you know this subject is very important to me. Unfortunately work calls and I can't break away tomorrow. Post up on the activity.

[Mehrenfl]

Thanks Newton. I can't make this one either. Let me know how it goes!!

[N. Cook]

I have about 13 pages of graphs and diagrams from a number of "models' created by the SFWMD engineers.......to make a very long and tedious days story short......Kevin Henderson, the advocate for the ST. Lucie river, Dr. Paul Gray, AUDUBON, and the advocate for lower water level bias for the wading and nesting birds, and UW-F, agreeing with both of these positions, and a number of other groups are very close to a "consensus". The flexibility that SFWMD staff were given last year to react to changing conditions on a more spontaneos basis versus just blindly following the old model has worked and they want some similar system encoded in a document. One of the models seemed to address all the issues and we may be able to take it to the full WRAC after the next meeting. The trick is to get the statement documented without triggering regulations that require an Enviromental Impact Study and a god awful mess of other red tape. THE FACT THAT SFWMD STAFF SUPPORTS BIAS TOWARD MORE PROTECTION OF THE ECOSYSTEM VERSUS AGRICULTURE'S FEAR OF A ONCE IN 30 YEAR DRY SPELL IS NEW AND A VICTORY. Again, these meetings do not require a large turnout, but are definitely the grunt work UW-F must do all across the state. Newton