March 1999, Vol XII, No 1
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Dear LCCC Members
The last year of this century started off at a reasonable pace, then revved up and is now zooming along at breakneck speed. Not a day goes by that we of the environmental community don't learn about some new stress pressing upon our beautiful Lake County -- all of which we much keep up with to protect the quality of our life here. We've just gone through workshops and hearings on a site-sign ordinance and a billboard ordinance aimed at trying to keep our roads and commercial areas safe and scenic. There's an application for the expansion of a sand mine in south Lake County now before the Board of County Commissioners. Application has also been made before the Planning and Zoning Board and the Board of County Commissioners to operate a peat mine on 221 acres in the Emeralda Marsh Area.
We probably all are aware that Emeralda has been cited as environmentally sensitive and a concern of the St Johns River Water Management District. In addition, members of WAV (Watershed Action Volunteers), under the able leadership of Barbara Newman, and high school students are assisting in the restoration of the marsh to its pristine condition. Peat mining would interfere with and disturb this ongoing process.
On Sunday, February 28, five of us, all members of the LCCC: Bernie Yokel, Lynn Abbey, Ann Griffin and I, with Will Dave and the superintendent of the peat mining company guiding us, spent six hours visiting peat mine sites near Groveland and Haines City in Polk County, ending up with a visit to Emeralda. We learned a great deal about peat mining and, surprisingly, came away with a positive attitude toward the restorative work the Sunshine Peat Co. had done in Haines City. Emeralda Marsh, however, because of its fragile nature and ecological significance, should not suffer anything that will retard the restorative process.
No doubt, LCCC members, you've read about the proposed power plant to be constructed in the Okahumpka area. It too is a project we environmentalists should educate ourselves about. We must watch what government is doing, in permitting such an operation, to make sure it is acting in the public interest.
One housekeeping detail for us members. When I first became active in LCCC approximately four years ago, about 80 people attended an annual luncheon. This past February, 54 guests showed up at Silver Lake. What's the reason? We've changed the meeting place of our programs several times, lately convening in Tavares because it seemed like a more central location. Yet attendance has not increased. It might actually have decreased a little. So if any of you who read this electronic version newsletter have any comments on why this is happening, please e-mail us at president@conservationcouncil.org
Ruth Gray, LCCC president
On the Agenda
Saturday, April 24th 9AM
Earth Day at Wooton Park, Tavares. LCCC Picnic at Noon. Bring a dish to share; beverages provided. Short meeting after lunch
Thursday, May 20th 7:30PM
Tavares Civic Center, Tavares. LCCC General Meeting. Guest speaker will be Beth Morris with a program on owls.
The Tavares Civic Center is located on the North side of Alfred St. (Old Hwy 441) behind the Tavares library. Once in town, follow green and white signs to Tavares Civic Center, not
City Hall. In May we will meet in the smaller room on the Rockingham side by the shuffleboard courts.
LCCC Water Issues Committee Report
by Ann Griffin, Chairman
(note: all links in the article below are external links; use your browser's "back" button to return to this page)
Congratulations ot Nadine Foley for receiving the Lake County Community Service Award for Public Service which was awarded by the Lake Sentinel and the League of Cities. Nadine has been an active and very knowledgeable participant in the SJRWMD Water 2020 Regional Water Supply Planning Workshops and is the Chairman of the PEAR Committee -- both important water issues.
While the Lake Lowery Administrative Hearing is on hold, Joe Branham is resularly inspecting and measuring culverts, levels, and flows in the Lake Lowery area, and we are certainly grateful for his scientific expertise.
Dick and Melba Seron attended the Firth Annual Public Interest Environmental Law Conference at the University of Florida and brought back some valuable technical information on Minimum Flows and Levels which is crucial in protecting water resources from "significant" harm. I attended a St. Johns River Watershed Conference at the University which was sponsored by the Florida Defenders of the Environment. As water problems become more critical, it is common for environmental groups to be involved in legal proceedings.
The tragic Lake Apopka bird deaths stunned and saddened us all. We should not lose faith in the restoration projects on Lake Apopka, but should use this as a lesson about the dangers of pesticides -- including pesticides sprayed on lwans next to lakes. Pollution is rampant! Call the Department of Environmental Protection at (407) 893-3310 or (407) 894-7555 to report anything that even looks suspicious.
The Emeralda Marsh Peat Mine hearings have been postponed by the mining company in order for the company to try to address serious environmental concerns. The site is labeled a Lake County "Environmentally Sensitive Baseline 85" land, and it is also a State CARL (Conservation and Recreation Land) site. The mining site is right next to the SJRWMD restoration area and it also has two federal designations. The site was designated a Florida Natural Area Inventory Land and a Federal Natural Landmark by the US Department of the Interior. This issue will come up next month before the Planning and Zoning Board and the County Commission. We need LCCC members at these meetings.
We need to write Governor Jeb Bush at: The Capitol, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001 to (1) veto a possible bill making the Lake County Water Authority Board elected instead of appointed by the Governor, (2) to support the PEAR project, and (3) to support the moving forward with the permitting porcess to remove the Rodman Dam.
An issue we will face the the "feasible alternative water source" of Lake Giffin which should be coming out in the draft document which is being written by contractors for the SJRWMD for the District's Water 2020 Water Supply Plan which will receive public comment before going to the Governing Board. The Lake Griffin possibility take millions of gallons of water a day out of the lake for drinking water for various municipalities in Lake County and one plan pipes Lake Griffin's water to Winter Garden! The "Local Sources First" priority was not used and no studies were conducted about the effects of surface water withdrawals on surrounding wetlands. The plan was drawn up without the Minimum Flows and Levels being set for the lake. At the last Water 2020 meeting, we were told that Lake County's water demand could be met by either ground or surface water, so why risk the health of Lake Griffin?
There will be a Water Conservation Ordinance Workshop by the County Commission on May 11, 1999 Dorrie Hostettler was a big help in this.
The LCCC Annual Meeting was held at the Silver Lake Country Club on February 6, 1999. Members enjoyed a delicious lunch and drawings for prizes were held to benefit the Enviro-Grant fund. President Donna Morris presided at the meeting. She introduced Vice President Sheila Schneider who presented the guest speaker, Vivian Garfein, Central District Director, Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Ms Garfein gave a lively talk on programs DEP has developed to aid industry in preventing pollution and solving problems before enforcement becomes necessary. She answered questions from the members following her talk.
In the business meeting, Treasurer John Benton gave the summaries. Donna surprised Ann Griffin win awarding her the LCCC Award of Merit for her outstanding work in heading up the Water Issues Committee. Ann has been tireless and courageous in her effort to keep LCCC members and the general public informed on the care and protection of Lake County's waters. Donna next asked for the Nominating Committee's report and Cathy Benton announced the slate of Officers and Directors for the next two years. Donna asked for nominations from the floor. There being none, the nominated slate was elected. the new LCCC board is as follows:
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Lake County's Legislative Delegation
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To see what the legislature is up to day by day, wathc "Capitol Update" at 6:00PM, Mon - Fri on WMFE, Channel 24. The web address for the Florida Legislature is http://www.leg.state.fl.us For information on a specific bill call the Legislature Information hotline at (800) 342-1827 or (850) 488-4371 or search the database at the web site.
Ocklawaha River Restoration
by Yvonne Rice
Governor Bush has not yet take a public position on Oclawaha restoration. There is a very real possibility that he may instruct the new DEP Secretary to reverse the State's position on restoration! Please write or call Gov. Bush and express your support for removing the Rodman Dam and restoring the Ocklawaha River! The legislative session began March 2nd; please act today. Write, call, or fax Gov. Bush. Copy your letter or fax to DEP Secretary David Struhs (3900 Commonwealth Blvd. MS 10, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100; phone: (850) 488-1554, fax: (850) 922-1432).
In Lake County, the SJRWMD has set Minimum Flows and Levels (MFL Project) on the Wekiva River at SR 46 and Blackwater Creek at SR 44 and at eight springs in the Wekiva
River Basin. The District has announced the priority list and schedule for establishing MFL's on the following water bodies in Lake County: Lakes Apshawa, Flat, and Louisa in 1999; on
Lakes Boggy Marsh and Mineola in 2000; and on Lakes Apshawa South, Cherry, and Griffin in 2001.
The County Commissioners will begin consideration of a Water Conservation Ordinance at a workshop on May 11, 1999. The Conservation Element of the Comprehensive Plan Policy
7-2.3 has provisions for water conservation, some of which are summarised below, along with some other guidelines
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By Ann Griffin, Chairman
LCCC Water Issues Comm.
Regular County Government Meeting Days
The Board of County Commissioners meets at 9AM on the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Tuesdays of the month. Zoning hearings are on the 4th.
The Planning and Zoning Board mmets at 9AM on the 1st Wednesday of the month.
Lake County Water Authority meets at 4:30PM on the 3rd Wednesday of the month.
The BCC, P&Z, LCWA all hold their meeting in the BCC chambers, 2nd floor of the County Administration Building, 315 W Main St. Tavares.
Lake Apopka Bird Deaths a Tragedy
As a wildlife rehabilitator, Donna Morris is used to helping injured birds and animals, but she reports she has never seen anything like this. They sick, dying, and dead birds coming in began late last year and just kept coming. The word spread fast among the wildlife rehabilitation community. Big birds were in big trouble! The count of dead birds in late February was 391 White Pelicans, 22 Wood Storks, 6 Great Blue Herons, 16 American Egrets, and 4 Bald Eagles. By now we know from reports by the US Fish and Wildlife Service that as many as 800 birds have died. Worse yet, as the migratory White Pelicans metabolize fate on their flight to the northwestern US, many more may succumb to the toxin stored in their fat.
Donna credits the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey, the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary and many of her wildlife rehabilitation conlleagues with working above and beyond the call of duty
. She says animal control agencies have cooperated and so have veterinarians. The frozen bodies of birds have been turned over the the US Fish and Wildlife Service for their criminal investigation. Everyone awaits the report which will likely point to the flooded ex-farm land at Lake Apopka. More to come on this
The Sanibel / Captiva Conservation Foundation has an interesting website. They show photos of butterflies and their host plants with information about both. The address is http://www.sccf.org/butterfly.htm. Planting to support butterflies is fun gardening, can be
done in relatively small space and helps provide the diversity needed to support all pollinators. (The rest of the SCCF website is also informative).
Forever Florida, the successor program to Preservation 2000, is working its way through the Legislature. Known as Senate Bill 908
and House Bill 641, the legislation would create a 10 year, $3 billion program. The distribution of funds would be:
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Let our Lake County legislators know of your support for Forever Florida and also the sponsors of the legislation: Senator Jack Latvala (850) 487-5062, and Representative Lori
Edwards at (850) 488-2721
Several LCCC members are Watershed Action Volunteers for SJRWMD and are welcoming the pbulic to the Blue House on Sunday afternoons at the Sunnyhill Restoration area. Come
and visit between 1PM and 4PM, hear about the history of the house and farm, the Ocklawaha River Basin and the restoration in the area. You can pick up good resource
materials and then head out for a nice hike or bike ride on the levee. Or just sit on the front porch and rest awhile. The Sunnyhill Restoration area is just east of the Ocklawaha bridge on Hwy 42.
Eric Holt gave an interesting slide presentation to LCCC members at the January 1999 meeting. His program was titled "Warm Hearted About the Cold Blooded: Reptile Rescue" Just 30 years old, Eric has kept turtles for 27 years. He is a biology major and presently keeps about fifty species. His slide show gave information on the species of turtles and tortoises found in Florida with descriptions of their habits and habitat needs. Eric has permist for the turntles he keeps and for assisting injured reptiles. He has learned how to repair the shells of the injured. And, remarkably, he often rescues the eggs from females killed along the road and he incubates them to hatching, later releasing the young. Eric had brought several turtles from his collection and after the meeting he showed them to the members and further described each one.
Upcoming Events
Two of the LCCC member groups will be having their annual meetings with election of officers. The Ocklawaha Valley Audubon Society will have their annual pot-luck supper and meeting at the Trout Lake Nature Cetner on March 30, 1999 at 6PM. Bring your own table service and a dish for 8-10 to share. The guest speaker will be Gian Basili, an ornithologist with the Florida Audubon Society. And, although not scheduled as yet, the Lake County Rails/Trails group will hold their annual meeting to coincide with the official opening of the Minneola-Clermont Trail. This even is likely to be in April.
For more information about these events consult your printed newsletter for the appropriate phone numbers or e-mail Lynn Abbey
Tavares Nature Park
The City of Tavares is developing a low-impact Nature Park which fronts on Lake Dora's south shore and is enter off Hwy. 561 about 1/4 mile south of the Hwy. 19 and Hwy 561 intersection. Plans are set for a work morning on March 27th beginning at 9AM to play a mulch trail and install three kiosk signs. Lunch will be served to the volunteers. If you can held with this project, please consult your printed newsletter for the appropriate phone numbers or e-mail Lynn Abbey .
Should LCCC Change Its General Meeting Date?
The LCCC Board is giving consideration to changing the schedule of the General LCCC meetings from the third Thursday of the month to the second Thursday in September, October, November, January, March and May. This schedule would begin in September 1999. Members should give their input to President Ruth Gray before the May meeting.
P.E.A.R -- Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
The P.E.A.R. Committee has arranged an interesting program reflecting on the history of the Central Florida Research and Education Center and a look at the present site. It is hoped that this land and river front will be preserved for public use in the future as the Palatlakaha Environmental and Agricultural Reserve. Come on Saturday, March 27 from 10AM to Noon. Light Refreshments, learn about the land and the river, walk along the Palatlakaha, enjoy a Spring day, and support the preservation effort. Directions: two miles south of Highway 48 on US Hwy 27, then right on University Avenue. See you there!
This is an on-line transcription of the quarterly newsletter of the
Lake County Conservation Council
1118 Old Mt. Dora Road
Eustis, FL 32726
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Lake County,
FL
