Invasive Plant Treatments Planned for Florida’s Lake Fairview
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) invasive plant managers plan to treat Lake Fairview in Orange County during the first week of June for the invasive, exotic plants hydrilla and Nymphoides cristata, commonly known as floating heart.
It’s important to control these aquatic invasives in order to help maintain the health of Florida’s waters and to enable continued recreational boating and other aquatic activities.
The FWC will treat the hydrilla in select areas with Aquathol™, and the Nymphoides cristata with Aquathol™ , Hydrothol™ and Diquat™. Turf and ornamental vegetation could be sensitive to these treatments, so the FWC recommends that lakefront residents do not use the treated water for irrigation for five days.
There are no restrictions for fishing and swimming; however, livestock and humans should not drink treated water within five days of the treatment. All three herbicides are approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for use in lakes.
The FWC’s Invasive Plant Management Section will post notification at the lake’s public boat ramps on the day of treatments.
For questions about this treatment, contact Alicia Knecht, FWC invasive plant management regional biologist, at 321-246-0682.
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.
