I had similar feelings when we camped one night out in the glades. Not as many mosquitos as places in Alaska but they are 5x as mean and hungry. National parks and interstate highways are some of the greatest accomplishments of our government. Congress letting San Francisco damn up Hetch Hetchy in Yellowstone was criminal though. for a different thread.
One day it will happen. Love that river - canoed it often. Field work in Flamingo during mosquito season = Hell on earth
I dunno about Alaska "skitters" (the videos I have seen are just plain NASTY) - but don't discount Central Florida's type. I used to dive Jenny Springs like crazy back in the day and the damn skitters could literally bite through a wet suit! Obviously you don't feel it as much but it used to amaze me that a stinger could actualy penetrate my wet suit!
G8trGr8t- I live here in Stuart so am very aware of the issues surrounding releases. Our delegation to state legislature is terrible. Capt for Clean Water had an event here over summer and not one showed up. I try to support CCW because they seem to be only ones that keep trying to work solutions. What do you think they could be doing in terms of dealing with the governor?
The lake needs to be managed at a lower level. The BMP'S that are optional for ag need to be mandatory and installation and maintenance vigorously enforced. Land application of sewer sludge needs to be stopped or much more closely monitored. They need to implement a harvesting program to remove vegetation from the lake and the Kissimmee basin. New growth consumes nutrients, mature systems reach an equilibrium where nutrient in = nutrient out. State just agreed to buy thousands of acres of land but agreed to let owners continue to farm and raise cattle with no requirements for stormwater improvements to cut nutrient runoff. Set up real time monitoring stations to continuously test runoff for nitrogen and phosphorus to identify the largest polluters. Require septic system inspections. Too many never pumped or upgraded when houses got much bigger or tanks filled with biosolids. That would be a good start. Sadly it seems that CCW has decided to go along to get along, or at least on the west coast.
They are big and dumb and so thick you have to wear nets to keep them out of your nose and eyes. But that's just in certain areas and they don’t feed nearly as aggressively. They were that thick on the UP of Michigan too. Never realized how much of the UP is a big swamp. Taqhuaniman Falls area was like driving thru swarms of love bugs they were so thick.
and here it comes, pollutant loaded discharges from the lake are required because the ACOE kept it too high after summer. I expect this to generate red tide and algae blooms, but hey, the sugar cane is safe so the taxpayers can continue to subsidize it... Army Corps increasing Lake Okeechobee releases to Fort Myers-Sanibel area (msn.com) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Saturday will begin large-scale Lake Okeechobee releases to the Caloosahatchee River due to high lake levels and continued El Nino conditions. "Releases are being made now to lower the lake level as much as possible before the wet season and to avoid high-volume releases, if possible, during oyster-spawning season or peak algal-bloom months," an Army Corps press release says. The Army Corps is targeting 4,000 cubic feet per second as measured from the Julian Keen Jr. Lock and Dam near Moore Haven. That water flows west into the Caloosahatchee River, which then leads to the W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam in Alva, the structure that separates the freshwater upper portion of the river from the estuary.
flooding the estuaries and nearshore coasts with nutrient rich waters a month away from rising water temperatures. what do you think is going to happen after all that freshwater kills off the seagrasses in the estuaries due to low salinity and the naturally occurring red tide comes in and hits that nutrient rich water? the acoe held the lake o water high for ag irrigation and for east coast water supply going into the dry season and we never had a dry season. now they are going to flush the toilet out to the coasts..smdh.. Corps: Lake O water will be sent west, east and south to lower lake level (news-press.com) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Saturday will begin large-scale Lake Okeechobee releases to the Caloosahatchee River due to high lake levels and continued El Nino conditions. "Releases are being made now to lower the lake level as much as possible before the wet season and to avoid high-volume releases, if possible, during oyster-spawning season or peak algal-bloom months," an Army Corps press release says. The Army Corps is targeting 4,000 cubic feet per second as measured from the Julian Keen Jr. Lock and Dam near Moore Haven. ................. "If we continue to receive additional rainfall, flow rates could increase higher if (the schedule) recommends a higher maximum allowable flow based on conditions," the press release says. Calusa Waterkeeper Codty Pierce said he's concerned for the Caloosahatchee River's estuary as 4,000 cubic feet per second from the lake will overwhelm the natural brackish conditions with freshwater from Okeechobee. 2.1 billion gallons of water per day being released from Lake Okeechobee (msn.com) 2.1 billion gallons of water per day being released from Lake Okeechobee©CRYSTAL VANDER WEIT/TCPALM / USA TODAY NETWORK Thirty-three hundred cubic feet per second (cfs) or 2.1 billion gallons of water from Lake Okeechobee is discharged through the St. Lucie Lock and Dam on Monday, Feb. 19, 2024, in Martin County. The discharges, which began Feb. 17, will continue until March 1, according to Army Corps of Engineers officials. The overall average is 1.2 billion gallons per day according to the release schedule.The Army Corps wants to lower the lake level, which is 16 feet 4 inches, in time for summer rains.
My first introduction to the glades was as a kid riding from the gulf coast in Sarasota to watch Dolphins games in the Orange Bowl in the mid 80's. I remember it seeming so vast and the number of Gators along Aligator Alley was insane. My dad and I could count over 100 one way. I have been fascinated ever since. YouTube is full of amazing docs about the glades. I soak up all that I can. Thanks for the OP Tampa.
Flushing lake O is like flushing a toilet full of crap. Sad. I sold my condo on the beach for 2 reasons, hurricanes (flooding) and red tide. Best decision I’ve made in a long long while.
This is the south end of Sanibel where Lake O flush is meeting Gulf of Mexico. The entire bay is flooded with the polluted water cutting light to all the seagrass which will kill it off or stunt it's spring growth. All because Lake O is being mismanaged and kept too high to benefit ag and east coast utilities that refuse to change to wells and desal instead of surface water withdrawal so they can keep their utility bills low. Makes me angry
So the ACOE built large reservoirs to take excess runoff to the south using taxpayer money and then proceeded to give 90% of the capacity to big sugar. Result - cane fields are at optimum growing conditions while Lake O nutrient loading gets pushed to the coasts. I mean with Deep Dive: If the STAs were reserved for lake water, Lake O might be below 13 feet now - VoteWater.org
