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Lake's ecological value
unappreciated
April 16, 2000---Ft.
Lauderdale, FL.
by Steve Waters, Sports
Columnist.
Do the math, and the solution to the problem of high water in Lake Okeechobee is
easy.
On the one hand, you have South Florida agricultural
interests, which stand to lose $22 million if water levels are kept between 13.5
and 15.5 feet.
On the other hand, you have the lake's recreational-based
interests, including fishing guides, marinas, tackle shops, motels, restaurants
and gas stations, which stand to lose at least $100 million if water levels are
kept above 15.5 feet.
A no-brainer, right? But agriculture is well organized and
puts its money and lobbyists where the politicians are. Meanwhile, the silent
majority who appreciate the lake's fish and wildlife go unseen and unheard.
Things might finally be changing thanks to the Florida Fish
and Wildlife Conservation Commission. For years, the FWC's conservation efforts
have been stymied by the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which control the lake's water level. Last week,
the FWC finally stood up to those agencies and demanded that they address the
loss of most of the lake's aquatic vegetation because of abnormally high water
levels over the past five years.
The turning point came when the SFWMD proposed lowering the
lake's level, then reversed itself when farmers and water utilities cried that
they needed high water in the lake in case of a drought. Don Fox, an FWC
fisheries biologist who has worked at Okeechobee for almost 18 years, then let
it be known that the lake's renowned bass and speckled perch fisheries are in
danger of collapsing if the water is not lowered.
On Thursday the SFWMD agreed to lower the water after all. The
key now, according to Clewiston-based bass guide Walt Reynolds, is to make sure
it stays low.
"There's nothing in writing to keep the water level
down," Reynolds said.
Fox said the lake level cannot exceed 15.5 feet. Over the past
five years, the level has exceeded that height 72 percent of the time, causing a
loss of 50,000 acres of vegetation such as bulrushes, eel grass and peppergrass.
The reason for the loss of that critical habitat is wave
action caused by the excess water. As Fox explained, when the lake level tops
15.5 feet, the additional water is not increasing the lake's surface area -- it
is merely being stacked up. When the wind blows, waves roll across the lake and
tear up vegetation and dirty the water. The turbidity prevents sunlight from
penetrating the water and promoting new growth. The silt also settles on fish
eggs and kills them.
"Even though catch-and-release pretty much prevails on
this lake, loss of habitat is killing us," said Reynolds, who has guided on
the lake for 20 years.
The vegetation also is an integral link in the food chain for
everything from grass shrimp, specks, bluegills and bass to waterfowl, wading
birds and manatees. Bulrushes, which have been reduced from 10,000 acres to 700
acres, are preferred habitat not only for bass but also for apple snails, which
are eaten by snail kites.
"From a fisheries standpoint, the value of the lost
vegetation is $420 million," Fox said. "Just the bulrush community had
a value of $175 million. A 10-pound bass has an economic value of $2,500."
Fox added that the biggest agricultural loser if the lake
level is lowered would be golf courses, which could have brown fairways if there
is a drought. Farmers aren't happy because they have to pump water into their
fields if the lake level falls below 15 feet.
A public meeting on the issue will be held from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Wednesday at SFWMD headquarters in West Palm Beach. (Visit the www.sfwmd.gov
Web site or call 1-800-432-2045.) Fox urged anglers and birders to let the
district know how much a healthy lake is worth to them.
"There's never any economic value given to the fishery of
the lake or the vegetation that supports that fishery," Fox said.
"They'll put a dollar value on water to grow sugar cane, but not on the
ecological value for fish, wading birds or manatees. The more people who stand
up and are counted, the better the chances of saving the lake before it's too
late."
Steve Waters can be reached at swaters@sun-sentinel.com
or at 954-356-4648.
Thanks to
Steve Waters and the Sun-Sentinel for allowing a reprint of this column.
Read Steve
Waters columns at the Sun-Sentinel
web by: Walt
Reynolds, BASS Touring Pro
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