Florida’s Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Invasive Plant Management Meeting is June 26
Managing aquatic plants in the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes is the topic of a June 26 public meeting hosted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). The meeting, in Kissimmee, is from 6-8 p.m. in the fourth-floor County Commission Chambers, Osceola County Administration Building, 1 Courthouse Square.
“In this continuing series of public meetings, we want to know what business owners, property owners, anglers, hunters, bird watchers, airboaters and others who have a vested interest in the chain of lakes think,” said Ed Harris, FWC invasive plant management biologist. “We want people to get and stay involved.”
The goal of this meeting is to provide updates, answer questions and receive public input on current hydrilla management, emergent habitat management and snail kite nesting.
Public input from the wide variety of user groups on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, which includes lakes Kissimmee, Hatchineha, Cypress, Jackson, Tohopekaliga and East Lake Tohopekaliga, is critical to create a well-balanced approach to managing hydrilla and other invasive aquatic plants.
“This is part of our ongoing process that will maintain a regular dialogue with stakeholders about aquatic plant management on the Kissimmee Chain. We hope everyone interested in aquatic plant management efforts will attend this meeting and provide input,” Harris said.
For more details about the meeting, contact Ed Harris at 407-858-6170.
The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission came into existence on July 1, 1999 - the result of a constitutional amendment approved in the 1998 General Election as part of the package proposed by the Constitution Revision Commission.
In the implementation of the Constitutional Amendment, the Florida Legislature combined all of the staff and Commissioners of the former Marine Fisheries Commission, elements of the Divisions of Marine Resources and Law Enforcement of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and all of the employees and Commissioners of the former Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.
Five years later, after consulting stakeholders, employees and other interested parties, the FWC adopted a new internal structure to address complex conservation issues of the new century. The new structure focuses on programs, such as habitat management, that affect numerous species. It will focus on moving the decision-making process closer to the public and did not require any additional funding or additional positions.
