Lake O is in “recovery” mode with the goal to keep the lake level below 12 feet for 90 days or below 11.5 feet for 60 days ...
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Lake Okeechobee is in “recovery” mode with the goal to keep the lake level below 12 feet for 90 days or below 11.5 feet for 60 days to allow sunlight to reach the lake bottom and encourage submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) to grow.
Once new vegetation grows, area anglers are concerned it could be damaged by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's use of chemical herbicides sprayed into the water to control non-native plants.
“I spent the weekend out there on the water. This fishing was really good. We had a lot of good bass weighed in,” Scott Martin of Anglers for Lake Okeechobee shared in a video posted on Facebook on May 13.
“One of the things I noticed, that I am encouraged about, is the water has finally gotten to that crystal clear state. The whole west side of the lake and the north shore, that water, you can see to the bottom everywhere.”
He said he saw a lot of Bluegill beds.
“Be careful out there, the lake is low and that is dangerous,” he continued. “If you know the lake and you stop way out and idle in, you will be fine.
“The water is finally in that crystal clear state in a lot of places. To me, that marks the beginning of light penetration to the bottom where we can hopefully get some of this SAV to start popping off.
He said he had not yet seen any new SAV on the lake.
“The bass fishing is really good. We’re seeing a lot of bass in the shallows,” he continued.
“We’ve got to get this lake back. We’ve got to keep the water down for as long as we can to let that grass rebound. Once it starts growing, it will start creating a nice filter. It will create a barrier for that muddy water when the water does come up.
“Business is a little slow right now because of the water being down. I know the communities around the lake are suffering economically because of it, but it’s all in hopes that we can gain back what we’ve lost,” he said.
“We’ve had zero acres of submerged vegetation.
“How much do we need? We need 40,000 to 50,000 of submerged vegetation in this lake. That is what we used to have. That’s what we need and we have a long ways to go.
“I am asking everyone to give us some support on this thing.
He said they need two things to help Lake O: Stop the spraying and manage the water levels better.
“The water levels being low is very helpful for light penetration. Them spraying the same areas over and over again for water hyacinths and non-native vegetation is not a good idea.
“Mechanical harvesting is the only way to go,” he said. “Leave this lake alone. If it’s in recovery mode, we shouldn’t be spraying any chemicals on it, anywhere at all.
“Let this lake recover. Leave it alone. Let’s get this grass back,” he said.
“We need support,” he said, asking those who watch the video to email the South Florida Water Management District, the Governor’s Office, Florida Legislators and local officials.
“Let them know that you care about Lake Okeechobee and we have to fix this lake,” Martin said. “When we fix the lake, we can fix the water in the lake. Then when water is discharged east, west and south, it’s better water.
In response to the video, other anglers also criticized FWC’s use of aquatic herbicides in Lake O.
“With a $25 million research grant for Lake Okeechobee recovery, it seems like someone would have foresight to take sediment samples from around the lake to test for salt and phosphorus. These are the two original elements that most herbicides eventually break down to. Add to this the use of Diquat di-bromide that never breaks down after bonding with organic suspended sediment in freshwater,” stated Scott Wilson.
“We have to stop the Chemical Cartel and the needless spraying,” agreed Porter Walker.
“ Lake Okeechobee is the back up water supply for all of South Florida in a severe drought and I’m sure the people of South Florida won’t appreciate all the chemicals in their water,” added Larry Crossman.
“FWC sprays lakes all the time that doesn’t need sprayed and when they do it always turns the water nasty and ruins the fishing. Mechanical harvesting is being used on the chains at Inverness and these lakes have the best water quality of any lakes I fish! Water is clear! Lake Panasoffkee will be beautiful and clear until they spray then the water turns green and the fishing drops way off! Please stop poisoning OUR lakes,” stated Woody Wirtz.
Lake Okeechobee has been at or below 12 feet since April 15 and at or below 11.5 feet since April 26.
To contact FWC officials, go online to:
https://myfwc.com/contact/fwc-office/senior-staff/commissioners/
To contact the governor’s office, go online to https://www.flgov.com/eog/leadership/people/ron-desantis/contact
To contact the South Florida Water Management District Governing Board, mail to: SFWMD Governing Board, 3301 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, FL 33406
Or contact SFWMD governing board members:
Email: cgoss@sfwmd.gov
Email: swagner@sfwmd.gov
Email: rbergeron@sfwmd.gov
Email: bbutler@sfwmd.gov
Email: cmartinez@sfwmd.gov
Email: croman@sfwmd.gov
Florida House of Representatives
To find your representative, go online to flhouse.gov, click on “Find your Representative.”
District 29 (Glades, Hardee, Highlands and Okeechobee Counties) representative is Kaylee Tuck, 209 House Office Building, 402 South Monroe Street Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300
Phone: 850-717-5083
District 82 (Hendry County and part of Collier County) represenative is Lauren Melo, 209 House Office Building, 402 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300
Phone: 850-717-5082
To email a Florida Senator, go online to flsenate.gov/senators, click on a senator’s name and choose the “email this senator” option from the menu on the left.
District 29 (Glades, Highlands, Indian River, Okeechobee counties and part of St. Lucie) senator is Erin Grall, 3209 Virginia Avenue
Suite A149, Fort Pierce, FL 34981
Phone: 772- 595-1398
District 28 (Collier, Hendry and parts of Lee County) senator is Kathleen Passidomo, 3299 East Tamiami Trail
Suite 203, Naples, FL 34112
Phone: 239-417-6205
Contact information for FWC commissioners is online at myfwc.com.
