Current Concerns
FOLA Registers Concern Over North Shore Land Swap For Airport
February 16, 2012
Hans G. Tanzler, III
Executive Director
St. Johns River Water Management District
4049 Reid Street
Palatka, FL 32177-2529
Dear Mr. Tanzler,
On behalf of the Friends of
Lake Apopka I register this concern about the proposed airport on the North Shore of Lake Apopka. Our concern is
based on the on-going restoration of the lake and marshes utilizing taxpayer dollars, the tremendous increase in
wildlife habitat created, the potential for eco-tourism opportunities, and the proven dangers of aircraft in close
proximity to large bird populations.
St. Johns River Water
Management District has always attempted to comply with the state mandate to consider economic impacts and create
ways to provide economic opportunity to the region since the land purchase eliminated
farming in NW Orange County. The one constant in Florida’s economy is tourism, not construction, growth or
rapid development. This has been proven repeatedly over time.
The North Shore
Restoration Area can have a huge economic impact to this region of Central Florida as the restoration continues
without negative impacts on the environment. Lake Apopka, as the headwaters of the Harris Chain of Lakes and the
Oklawaha Valley, can have a huge negative impact on this region if not restored.
We ask that you
reject any land swap that would allow for an airport on the North Shore of Lake Apopka and that you continue to
support all restoration efforts.
Sincerely,
Mona Phipps
Vice President,
Friends of Lake Apopka
cc:
Governor Scott
DEP Secretary Herschel Vinyard Jr.
SJRWMD Governing Board
Robert Christianson, SJRWMD
David Walker, SJRWMD
FOLA Action
February 20, 2012
If this airport extention goes through and FAA (under its regulations) draws a 10,000 foot regulatory zone oval
around the runway it will begin pressuring SJRWMD to suppress wading bird use of Apopka North Shore lands. The bird
hazard exclusion zone will cover much of the North Shore restoration area. FOLA is preparing a position statement to
be discussed and ratified at our March 1st board meeting at the Oakland Nature Preserve. Concerned citizens are
welcome to attend. (See map in Events)
To all the Friends of Lake Apopka, THANK YOU!
January 25, 2012
There was no doubt at last night's FWC meeting that the overwhelming majority of the estimated 250 concerned citizens
packing Tanner Hall were solidly behind FOLA's efforts to continue destroying hydrilla in Lake Apopka. Speaker after
speaker commended FOLA and the St Johns River Water Management District for the steady progress being made in the
restoration using science based methods. We commend the FWC staff for providing this well managed assembly and look
forward to the same care in managing our lake.
They (FWC) want to encourage people to complete the Lake Apopka questionnaire online. They will receive these until
Feb. 24 at which time they will do the counting. If you have not already submitted your concerns to FWC, you
can fill out the form online at SurveyMonkey.
Friends of Lake Apopka Defend the Restoration Process
December
22, 2011
The Friends of Lake Apopka have once again been called to defend the on-going restoration of the lake. The group has
advocated for this process since incorporating in 1991 after years of frustration at the continuing abuse of the
lake.
After a lot of effort by this citizens advocacy group a legislative approval was obtained to begin a long-term
restoration by buying the 20,000 acres of polluting farmlands adjacent to the lake and initiating a number of
projects aimed at reduction of phosphorous, the main problem. After more than 15 years and a cost of approximately
189 million dollars, the lake is beginning to show signs of recovery as phosphorous levels drop, water clarity
continues to improve, native aquatic vegetation expands and fishing improves.
The process has had critics, most unaware of the unprecedented magnitude of this project and of the degree of
degradation. One of the most outspoken groups has been the Harris Chain of Lakes Restoration Council, created by the
legislature in 2001 as an advisory board. For the past several years they have included in their annual report to the
legislature a number of recommendations for changes in the restoration plan, experimental procedures in the lake and
requests for reallocation of funds and requests for large legislative appropriations. FOLA has been forced to draft
position papers each year to defend the existing program and oppose proposals that could compromise restoration
gains.
This year was no different. Among the recommendation were proposals to allow hydrilla to proliferate in the lake in
an attempt to clean the water, dump concrete rubble in the lake to provide habitat, reduce permitting for muck
de-watering which tests for contaminants, lower water levels in Apopka and other lakes in the chain to increase water
levels in Lake Griffith and to tear down the levee on the north shore to flood marshes to deeper levels. Please see
our complete
2011 FOLA position paper that refutes these and other issues.
The FOLA position on the restoration plan has not changed: the scientific team at SJRWMD is very competent, the
restoration plan that targets nutrient reduction in the lake and surrounding marshes is a sound one, it is working
and should be allowed to continue without interruption!
Stopping Hydrilla Control A New Threat to Lake Apopka
September
14, 2011
Dear Lake Apopka Stakeholders,
Attached is a petition addressing a potential problem in the on-going restoration of Lake Apopka. The Florida Fish and
Wildlife Commission (FWC) is reviewing the current management plan for hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata) which could
include halting all treatment, allowing it to grow. FWC will determine the level of hydrilla management on a waterbody
by waterbody basis “using a risk-based approach with input from resource management partners and local stakeholders”.
You, a taxpayer and a person interested in the restoration of Lake Apopka, are a stakeholder. A specific proposal has
been presented for consideration which will terminate treatment of hydrilla in Lake Apopka in an experiment to see if it
will improve habitat and help clean the water. The damage done by dense hydrilla and the lack of control treatments are
well documented so we should reject any possibility this project might proceed.
Taxpayers have more than $150 million invested in this restoration project which includes 20,000 acres of marsh on the
north shore that were destroyed by years of farming as well as the 31,000 acre lake polluted by fertilizers from the
farms and hundreds of acres of forested wetlands around the lake. We are now seeing great improvements with a steady decline in
the phosphorous levels. Water clarity and color are improving. Native eel grass has expanded around most of the
perimeter of the lake and will greatly add prime fish habitat in the lake. We are also experiencing an increase in
eco-tourism for birding and fishing and construction of a trail across the north shore, now in progress, will greatly
add to the recreation value of the lake.
I ask each of you to take this petition, make copies and get as many people involved as we can.
Take it to your neighborhood, church, club meeting, organization or any place else you can get interested people to sign.
This is our best hope to convince regulatory agencies that we do not want to take any chance on compromising this
restoration in progress. You may receive a questionnaire on the subject of hydrilla management. If you do, please make
sure you return it indicating you oppose any management plan that does not include eradication of hydrilla in Lake
Apopka.
Thank you very much for your immediate attention to this potential problem. Please return signed petitions as soon as
possible to FOLA, P.O.
Box 770355, Winter Garden, FL, 34777.
Jim Thomas, President
(407) 656-8277
Background Information for the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Position on Hydrilla Management
April 27, 2011
"Through rapid growth and expansion, hydrilla has routinely demonstrated its ability to impair ecologic functions and
human uses of some of Florida’s largest waterbodies, forming dense canopies across thousands of contiguous acres in
just 1-2 growing seasons after introduction or since the last control effort." With this quote in mind, please
read this FWC position background and
FWC Position and
consider your Lake Apopka in 2 growing seasons if the current hydrilla control effort is discontinued!
For even more technical information on the Hydrilla problem see this June 15, 2005 “Hydrilla Management in Florida: A Summary and Discussion of Issues Identified by Professionals with Future Management Recommendations”. "The purpose of this document is to summarize the current issues associated with hydrilla control, outline the pros and cons of current control technologies, and discuss issues that impact or are impacted by current management options. Recommendations will also be made for developing lake-specific management strategies and for future research needs."
NEW Lake Apopka Timeline
We have updated our Lake Apopka Timeline to include events that have occured through August 2011. See this
latest version at Timeline.
If you do not have a PDF file reader you may get the free Adobe reader by clicking the link below.
Why FOLA?
Our primary
purpose as a well-informed citizen group is to stay focused on the fundamental goal of restoring Lake Apopka to the
valuable resource it once was. If you share this goal, we welcome and need you to get involved and become an active
member.
You can start by clicking Membership
for more information.
Water, Water Everywhere ?
The concerns surrounding water conservation are important to every resident of West Orange County. For some good
information on this critical topic, see:
Water, Water, Everywhere?...
Plant Management in Florida Waters...
Floridan Aquifer...
Florida's Water...
Mirage, Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern U.S.
Oakland Nature Preserve
By the mid-1990’s, the restoration of the long polluted and endlessly abused Lake Apopka was under way. The Board of
Directors of the Friends of Lake Apopka, the main citizen advocacy group for the lake, realized that long-term citizen
support for the restoration process was necessary and also noted that, as the lake was restored, development pressures
in the basin would increase. This led to a search to find land now on the shoreline where the restoration could be
interpreted for the public, providing a window on this process with a boardwalk to the lake. The result became the
beautiful Oakland Nature Preserve.
Birding History
For an excellent article with a concise history of birding on the reclaimed North Shore of Lake Apopka, see Florida's Special Places: Lake Apopka on Audubon of Florida News. The author has been birding there since 1998 and includes some very nice pictures.
WaterWatch
Keep up with what's happening at the St Johns River Water Management District with the latest Water News.
Lake County Parks & Trails
Read about upcoming nature hikes and bird surveys in the current issue of the
Lake County Parks & Trails
Newsletter .
Green Mountain Scenic Byway
Yes,
Florida does have hills! Beginning at the Howey Crossroads (the intersection of Lake County Roads 455 and 561), the
Green Mountain Scenic Byway winds southeast along Lake County Roads 455 and Old Highway 50 for 12 ½ miles through some
of the highest hills of the Lake Wales Ridge. See the Green Mountain Scenic Byway Master Plan at this new Green Mountain Scenic Byway Project Website.