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Our February meeting is a luncheon and Bernie has put together a tremendous program that you won’t want to miss. The County is putting on a traveling program about the new Comprehensive Plan, (2025 Planning Horizon) The Florida Legislature is preparing to go into session. The U. S. Congress is in session. This is your call to action!
Reserve your place at the luncheon, pay your 2005 LCCC annual dues, attend planning info meetings, stay up to date on what our state legislators are planning for us, and monitor Congress. Fit all this into your normal life and you earn the title activist. We are an organization of activists so read your newsletter and take action!
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Thursday, March 17, 2005 7:30PM
LCCC General Meeting
Mr. Mike Snyder, Executive Director of the Orlando Orange County Expressway Authority, will present an update on the status of the proposed Wekiva Parkway and associated land acquisition efforts.
Location: The larger room at the Eustis Community Center, 601 Northshore Drive (enter from Bay Street)
Thursday, April 21, 2005 7:30PM
LCCC General Meeting
Mr. Kirby Green, Executive Director of the St. Johns River Water Management District, will provide an update on the condition of water resources in the District noting the earlier prediction of possible shortages in 2006.
Location: The larger room at the Eustis Community Center, 601 Northshore Drive, (enter from Bay Street)
LCCC Board Meetings are normally held the first Monday of the month in the meeting room at the Lake County Water Authority starting at 6:00 PM. All members are invited to attend the board meetings, but the date sometimes changes. Please contact Egor Emery to confirm the date and time.
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Special LCCC Meeting on March 31, 2005
There will be a special meeting for all LCCC members on March 31, 2005 at 7:00 pm to lay out plans for the future. Our constitution requires that election of officers and board members take place by April 30 of each year. Normally, we hold the election during the annual luncheon. However, after much work by the nominating committee, the slate of nominees is still incomplete. Therefore, the election must be delayed. The Board needs input from the membership to proceed and has scheduled this meeting to focus on issues critical to LCCC. Members will have this opportunity to discuss future priorities, activities and leaders for LCCC. Additional information about this special meeting will be provided in a separate mail-out in March.
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Highlights from the January Meeting
Our speaker was Gregg Welstead, Lake County Deputy County Manager. Mr. Welstead introduced the County’s multimedia presentation about our community’s planning issues. Mr Welstead then outlined the timetable for writing the next comprehensive plan. The first step is a series of informational meetings held around the county. These meetings are intended to educate the public about the issues faced by the communities of Lake County, and the mechanism of the planning process. The actual production of a plan is centered around the Lake County Land Planning Agency.
Mr. Welstead spent considerable time answering questions from an experienced audience. There were many veterans of the previous planning process in attendance and they were willing to offer considerable feedback. Mr Welstead stressed the importance of being involved in each step of the process in order to insure the best plan possible.
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February 19-20, 2005 Come for Field Trips, Parties, and Tree Planting!
By Karen Ahlers
The Rally for the Ocklawaha River, sponsored by the Putnam County Environmental Council, Inc. (PCEC).The Rally is a weekend full of great field trips, a big party, and the beginning of “The People’s Restoration.” In short, it’s an opportunity for you, your friends and family to have fun and make a difference in the ongoing struggle to help restore the Ocklawaha River.
To make this successful, we need you! We’ve created 50+ outings to satisfy a wide variety of interests and have enlisted the help of some of the best trip leaders in north central Florida including Gian Basili, Joyce King, Marc Minno, Rex Rowan, Bob Simons, and Lars Anderson. Great birders, botanists, naturalists, outfitters, and artists will be on hand to show you what makes this area so special. Come and enjoy the field trips and tours and please, spend a little money! We’re asking participants to buy gas, eat at local restaurants, do a little shopping, or stay a night or two. We’re asking you to be obvious: strap your canoes to the roof, wear your binocs ‘round your neck, in other words, be conspicuous eco-tourists. PCEC will provide you with Ocklawaha restoration calling cards to leave everywhere you go and be sure to ask for and save your receipts.
Both Saturday and Sunday, you’ll have the opportunity to participate in the kick-off of PCEC’s “The People’s Restoration” by helping us plant trees. Almost one square mile of the Ocala National Forest is flooded by Rodman Reservoir. Those lands will be exposed during this time due to a periodic drawdown for aquatic plant control, and we’ve arranged with the US Forest Service to take this opportunity to begin the reforestation process. We’ll provide the native trees and tools.
On Saturday night at 7:00 pm, join us at Ravine Gardens State Park in Palatka for a free, music- and fun-filled pep Rally for the River with live music by Florida’s Troubador Dale Crider and other well known Florida folk musicians. Renouned Florida author Al Burt will be our featured guest and cheerleaders from Florida’s leading conservation groups will be on stage to encourage efforts to remove Rodman Dam and restore the Ocklawaha River.
Remember those receipts you were asked to save? Bring them to the pep rally so we can tally them up for our report back to local officials. THIS IS A CRITICAL PART OF OUR STRATEGY! Concern over the local economy is one of the main reasons proponents of Rodman cite for keeping the Ocklawaha dammed. We need your help to demonstrate that there is more to nature -based tourism than bass fishing. Your participation will support restoration efforts by:
• demonstrating the economic impact of nature-based tourism on the local economy; dispelling the myth that this is a local issue and proving that the Ocklawaha River is an important resource for all Floridians;
• reinvigorating activists and thanking those who have fought this battle for decades;
• giving legislators the evidence of public support needed to fight this battle in Tallahassee and Washington;
• strengthening local supporters who have no representation in Tallahassee on this issue.
Reservations for field trips are required. We will gladly send you maps, calling cards, and other pertinent information.
For more information go to Florida Defenders of the Environment’s website or contact Karen Ahlers, Putnam County Environmental Council
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by Lance Lumbard
Mother Nature does not sit idle for long. She may be slow at times, but anyone who has lived in South Lake County during the past several years knows that she has the ability to spring into action at any moment.
Historically, the serene Palatlakaha flowed unimpeded from Lake Louisa to Lake Harris. This meant that the Clermont Chain normally experienced dramatic fluctuations in water level. Starting in the 1950’s, six dams were built along the river by the Ocklawaha Basin Recreation and Water Conservation and Control Authority (OBRWCCA) to retain water within the system for agricultural use. This ensured that lake levels on the Clermont Chain would stabilize to some degree and also had the advantage of providing residents and visitors more routine access to the lakefront. Since this time, the OBRWCCA, now known as the Lake County Water Authority (LCWA), has had the responsibility of operating these dams on the Clermont Chain.
Like the river itself, the LCWA also changes with time. The need for the dams has diminished along with the citrus industry. Therefore, LCWA is currently considering alternatives to the dams that may ultimately lead to habitat improvement and stabilization of river flow. The ultimate goal of the Palatlakaha River Restoration Project will be to return as much of the river as possible to its natural condition without adversely impacting local residents.
Today, water is plentiful within the Palatlakaha River. The recent hurricanes have dramatically altered the landscape along the Palatlakaha’s southern portion (known as the Crooked River), but it is still accessible by boat from Lake Louisa all the way to the first dam at Cherry Lake. Navigation of the river is also possible between the Cherry Lake dam and Lake Emma by way of a public boat launch off of State Road 19. For the adventurous, the rest of the river, all the way north to Lake Harris, is accessible by canoe or kayak. Be prepared, however, to navigate around multiple obstacles and potentially hazardous currents, especially after the recent hurricanes. If you are among the adventurous, be sure and contact the Lake County Water Authority at 352-343 -3777 to receive permission and directions to one of several access points.
If you decide to travel along the Palatlakaha River, you are bound to experience Florida as it was a century ago. You will pass cypress swamps and oak forests without a hint of encroaching civilization as the river slowly meanders its way north. You may even chance upon a bald eagle or a river otter. Regardless of what you see on the trip, you will undoubtedly become aware that the Palatlakaha River is one of Lake County’s greatest and most dynamic natural resources.
New Bird Survery
Lake Louise State Park
by Peggy Cox (pegcox@att.net)
Volunteers are needed for a new bird survey to be conducted once a month at Lake Louisa State Park, starting Saturday, February 12, 2005. Lake Louisa State Park is located in south Lake County, about 7 miles south of Clermont on US Hwy 27. The Park has a variety of habitats covering its 4,500 acres. The Park is part of the eastern boundary of the Green Swamp Area of Critical State Concern. Park biologists and rangers are looking forward to Audubon's volunteer help in conducting the much needed bird survey on Park lands. The surveys will be the second Saturday of each month, beginning at 7:30 am until approximately noon. Inexperienced birders will be paired with more knowledgeable birders on survey teams, so don't let inexperience stop you from enjoying doing this survey in the beautiful natural setting of Lake Louisa State Park
Please call or email me asap if you can be a volunteer for February 12th. You do not have to commit to the entire year of surveys on February 12th.
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Lake County,
FL
