01-16-2011, 12:11 PM
Anyone interested in learning more about the recent hydrilla control on Lake Toho should plan to attend a public meeting in Kissimmee on Tuesday, December 14 from 7:15-8 p.m. at the Osceola County Commission Chambers in the Administrative Building at 1 Courthouse Square.
Staff from the FWC will present information on the recent hydrilla herbicide applications, their results and plans regarding the adaptive approach tohydrilla control on Lake Toho for the upcoming winter and spring. The FWC wants to hear the public's concerns and answer questions about how subsequent hydrilla herbicide applications will be conducted.
This adaptive approach was implemented to help protect the endangered Everglade snail kite by increasing the bird's access to its food source, namely apple snails. The kite has lost most of its historic nesting and feeding habitat in South Florida because of drought and floods, and in the past few years, many have moved north to Lake Toho.
Some local anglers, business owners and local officials, however, have raised questions about how the level of control being implemented to benefit the birds may affect the economic value of the lake and the surrounding areas.
This meeting is a follow-up to a Nov. 5 public meeting where FWC and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) biologists listened to those concerns and answered questions about the treatment plans. At that meeting, biologists detailed how hydrilla provides a food source and a structure for apple snails to use to come to the surface of the water, where they are eaten by the Everglade snail kite. The abundance of hydrilla and available apple snails makes Lake Toho one of the best areas in the state for snail kites to find plenty of food and to nest.
As a result, the FWC and the USFWS are taking extra precautions when controlling hydrilla in Lake Toho this winter and spring, to help the dwindling population of snail kites. These agencies are attempting to balance the needs of this endangered species with the needs of the people and businesses that use the lake or depend on it for their income.
The meeting is scheduled to immediately follow a 6-7:15 p.m. South Florida Water Management District meeting at the same location that will discuss pressing water-related issues on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. The public is encouraged to attend both meetings to gain a broader perspective on the entire chain of lakes.
For more information on the meeting, please contact Ed Harris at 407-858-6170.
Media Contact
Joy Hill, 352-258-3426
Staff from the FWC will present information on the recent hydrilla herbicide applications, their results and plans regarding the adaptive approach tohydrilla control on Lake Toho for the upcoming winter and spring. The FWC wants to hear the public's concerns and answer questions about how subsequent hydrilla herbicide applications will be conducted.
This adaptive approach was implemented to help protect the endangered Everglade snail kite by increasing the bird's access to its food source, namely apple snails. The kite has lost most of its historic nesting and feeding habitat in South Florida because of drought and floods, and in the past few years, many have moved north to Lake Toho.
Some local anglers, business owners and local officials, however, have raised questions about how the level of control being implemented to benefit the birds may affect the economic value of the lake and the surrounding areas.
This meeting is a follow-up to a Nov. 5 public meeting where FWC and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) biologists listened to those concerns and answered questions about the treatment plans. At that meeting, biologists detailed how hydrilla provides a food source and a structure for apple snails to use to come to the surface of the water, where they are eaten by the Everglade snail kite. The abundance of hydrilla and available apple snails makes Lake Toho one of the best areas in the state for snail kites to find plenty of food and to nest.
As a result, the FWC and the USFWS are taking extra precautions when controlling hydrilla in Lake Toho this winter and spring, to help the dwindling population of snail kites. These agencies are attempting to balance the needs of this endangered species with the needs of the people and businesses that use the lake or depend on it for their income.
The meeting is scheduled to immediately follow a 6-7:15 p.m. South Florida Water Management District meeting at the same location that will discuss pressing water-related issues on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. The public is encouraged to attend both meetings to gain a broader perspective on the entire chain of lakes.
For more information on the meeting, please contact Ed Harris at 407-858-6170.
Media Contact
Joy Hill, 352-258-3426