Another day another adventure with Audubon's Dr. Paul Gray, who recently spent the day with the US Army Corps of Engineers' Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Greco and others exploring sites on Lake Okeechobee. There never seems to be a dull moment with Dr. Gray! Enjoy:

Lt. Col. Thomas Greco is the new Deputy District Commander for the US Army Corps of Engineers in West Palm Beach, and Audubon Florida welcomed him by taking him and John Kilpatrick, Chief of the Corps’ Multi-Projects Branch, on an airboat tour of Lake Okeechobee in conjunction with Don Fox of the  Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Also accompanying us from the Corps’ South Florida Operations Office was Chief Steve Dunham, and Assistant Chief Rob Schnell.  Last but not least, Terrie Bates, SFWMD’s Director of Water Resources, and Jane Graham and Julie Hill-Gabriel of Audubon came along.

We went on the north end of the Lake near the Kissimmee River and were able to see many Everglade Snail Kites working the marshes. Okeechobee has had more Kite nests than any place in Florida this year. We were able to discuss the impact that recent very high, and very low, water levels have had on Kites and the lake’s marshes and biota.  We also inspected some of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission restoration sites where organic material was removed and healthy sand-bottomed plant communities have returned.

Along with recovering plant communities, there has been a remarkable recovery of the Large-mouth Bass fishery. Unfortunately, the Black Crappie fishery still has not recovered from the 2004 and 2005 hurricane/high water seasons.

On our return, we drove the boat to the Corps’ Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) test well along the Kissimmee.  There are many concerns about the use of this technology, but Audubon supports studies to determine the possible advantages and disadvantages to their use, before forming an official position.

The Corps of Engineers has a controversial history on environmental issues, but with recent efforts to restore the Everglades and other South Florida ecosystems, we have found them to be very cooperative in trying to do the best they can for natural system management, considering the significant limitations of our aged water management system.

We appreciate the time the Colonel and his staff, and that SFWMD and FWC took, to see the lake and discuss the issues surrounding it.