Lake Tohopekaliga Hydrilla Treatments: 4/21/08 – 4/24/08
By Ed Harris
FDEP Bureau of Invasive Plant Management
5882 S. Semoran Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32822
407-275-4004
In early 2008, Lake Tohopekaliga (an 18,810 acre lake in Osceola County) was infested with nearly 13,000 acres of hydrilla. Discussions had been occurring during the regular meetings of the Kissimmee Aquatic Plant Management Interagency Group since the fall of 2007 regarding plans to manage hydrilla in critical flood control and public navigation areas. Previous treatments of this scope have been reviewed and implemented by the Interagency Group for many years. Effective management of hydrilla and the expansion of desirable native plants, especially eelgrass, have been the overall result of these management efforts.
Several months of planning were needed to coordinate the treatment of nearly 4200 acres of hydrilla in Lake Toho. Staff from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and the University of Florida (UF) met on more than a few occasions and participated in several teleconferences to arrive at mutually agreeable management goals and to delineate treatment boundaries that would maximize treatment efficacy and minimize impacts to snail kites. In addition, it was agreed that treatments in several areas would be postponed to allow time for fledglings to leave their nests.
The applications were carried out by three helicopters and associated ground support at two staging sites. These staging sites were chosen to eliminate disturbances to active kite nests and to ensure that fully loaded aircraft would not pass over houses or roads. It took nearly four days to complete applications to all treatment zones, including three plots where experimental herbicide rates are being evaluated by researchers from UF and the USACE. The FDEP regional biologist contacted anglers in and around the treatment zones throughout the application. Of the 30 + anglers that were contacted, all but one were extremely positive about hydrilla management and most suggested additional areas that should be addressed before the end of the year. There were no complaints received about the helicopter operations in and around the lake.
Staff from USFWS attended a portion of the application in Goblet’s Cove on 4/23/08. Several kites were observed during that period and none appeared disturbed by the helicopter activities or the normal boat operations in the area.
There will be another Interagency Meeting on May 13, 2008, to make an initial evaluation of this treatment and to discuss additional treatments that have been postponed until late May or early June.