The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is planning to treat hydrilla on Lake Lawne on March 7, weather permitting.
The FWC’s Invasive Plant Management Section will treat 146 acres of hydrilla on the Orange County lake, where this invasive plant species is encroaching on beneficial native submersed aquatic plants and may impact access to navigation and flood protection.
The herbicides used for this treatment are approved for use in lakes by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
There will be no restrictions on fishing and swimming in the lake during or after the treatment. However, there will be a 14-day restriction on using the treated water for irrigation. Turf, ornamental and newly seeded crops may be susceptible to waters irrigated from Lake Lawne, therefore it is recommended that home and property owners not irrigate from this waterbody for 14 days after treatment.
Hydrilla is an invasive aquatic plant spread easily by boats throughout the state’s lakes and rivers. It clogs waterways, making recreational activities difficult or impossible, and chokes out beneficial native plants. Managing and treating it is necessary for the health of Florida’s waters and to enable continued recreational boating and other aquatic activities.
The FWC is aware that hydrilla can provide some benefit for recreational anglers and waterfowl hunters and tries to balance those benefits with the economic and environmental cost this plant has on our native plant communities.
FWC staff currently is moving forward with implementing a variety of enhancements to the agency’s Aquatic Plant Management Program, based on input from recent public listening sessions. Go to MyFWC.com/WildlifeHabitats and click on Invasive Plants to find out more about invasive plant management.
For questions about the treatment, contact Kristine Campbell, FWC invasive plant management biologist, at 407-858-6170.
Contact: Greg Workman, 352-620-7335; Diane Hirth, 850-251-2130