Orange Lake Basin Stakeholder's Meeting

[Esteban]

There will be an Orange Lake stakeholder's meeting in mid-March to discuss the overall habitat management plan for the lakes within the Orange Lake basin which include Newnan's Lake, Orange Lake, and Lake Lochloosa. Part of this meeting will be to gather input from each of the specific stakeholder groups using these lakes to get their ideas as to what they would specifically like to see in the way of long-term habitat management on these lakes. I will be representing the duck hunters in this area, and one of the main topics will be how to address the increasing amounts of hydrilla on Orange Lake in the immediate future. As of last fall, hydrilla coverage of the lake was well over 50%, which is not healthy for the lake or ecosystem, and that will need to be brought down to something much lower and sustainable.

What I would like is input from those that people that utilize these lakes on a regular basis as opposed to those that don't use these lakes and really have no knowledge of what's best for this area. If you have comments that you'd like to forward on to me, you can PM me on this forum and I'll make sure to respond so you know your comments are noted.

[N. Cook]

Re: Orange Lake Basin Stakeholder's Meeting

Thanks for representing UW-F. Regarding Aquatic Plant Management the UW-F Position Paper is in the Stickies above....Our goal is a minimum of 30% SAV in water bodies. Natural SAV if possible, but hydrilla if that is the prevailing SAV. Experience shows that spraying out the hydrilla does not mean natural SAV will follow. In fact, floating exotics and tussocks will appear.

[Esteban]

Re: Orange Lake Basin Stakeholder's Meeting

With over 50% of Orange Lake now covered by hydrilla something needs to be done soon, and the most cost effective way to deal with it would be chemical treatment. As for increasing the amount of floating exotic plants and tussocks, that lake has had floating tussocks for well over 100 years, long before there were any invasive or exotic plants, so it's nothing new here. As I said, this is strictly about the Orange Lake Basin and not something to be seen as being applicable to the rest of the state.

I can assure you that all options will be discussed including chemical treatment, shredding, and mechanical harvesting, so everything is on the table. This is a unique watershed and the FWC is trying to maintain a balance of addressing the serious issues posed to the ecosystem by the invasive plants while also acknowledging the needs and desires of the stakeholders, with the fundamental focus being the long term health of these lakes. It's a fine line to walk.