Rodman Reservoir

What to think about the Rodman Reservoir?  The question comes down to do we destroy habitat for one set of animals to create for another?  Not an easily answered question. Some would see the reservoir teeming with life saved for future generations. Others would rather see future generations have a healthier Ocklawaha River. Let's jump into that question.

Here's the background. As far back as 1935 the US Congress allocated money to build the Cross Florida Barge Canal. It would link the Atlantic Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico saving barges the expense of going around the tip of Florida. The final proposed path was to take the St John's River from Jacksonville to Palatka and then go up the Ocklawaha River for a while before exiting for a newly constructed canal. The canal would join the Withlacoochee River which runs to the gulf.

Progress stalled during World War II and President Kennedy got congress to allocate money in the early 1960's to restart construction. It continued off and on with considerable environmental opposition until 1971 when President Nixon killed the project.

Florida Barge Canal Map

In the end it was an estimated 28% complete when killed. Most of the work was dredging projects on the St John's River and raising several bridges over the route.

One thing that was completed was the Kirkpatrick Dam (also called the Rodman Dam) on the Ocklawaha River creating Rodman Reservoir. So why is a dam needed on the Ocklawaha at that point? As far as normal dam functions it's pretty useless. It's not useful for flood control since the Ocklawaha River opens onto the much larger St John's River just below the dam. The dam has no electrical generating capacity. So there's an environmental controversy today about the dam:  To breach or not to breach. That's what I want to discuss today.

Kirkpatrick Dam

I'll give my opinion right at the end, but my goal here is present both the save the reservoir and breach the dam arguments in the best light possible. If anybody thinks I missed part of one side's argument let me know.

The breach-the-dam argument is that the Ocklawaha and the St John's rivers would be healthier without the dam on the Ocklawaha. The St John's River is different than most rivers because of the number of saltwater species that live there. It's common to see rays or mullets much further upstream than the Ocklawaha because there's enough dissolved minerals in the water to support them. The Kirkpatrick Dam stops most migratory fish from going upstream into the Ocklawaha. Mullets are sometimes found upstream of the dam, but not in great numbers.

Another benefit of getting rid of the dam would be for manatees. Each winter thousands of manatees seek refuge from the cold by coming up the St John's river. It's common to see nearly 400 manatees at once at Blue Springs State Park on very cold mornings. Although technically manatees can go through a lock to venture into the Ocklawaha less than 10 per year make that trip. A 2008 survey of the springs on the Ocklawaha show several other springs that could provide cold weather refuge for the manatees if they had better access to the Ocklawaha.

Blue Springs Manatees

The reason for keeping the dam is that the Rodman Reservoir, no matter why it was created is a unique part of Florida now. It's extremely rare in Florida to find freshwater bodies of water that are 30 feet deep like the Rodman Reservoir. The sheer amount of animal life supported in the few miles of Rodman Reservoir is huge. Bassmaster recently rated it the 8th best bass fishing area in the US and the #1 in Florida. And it's not only bass. Where the waters spread out of traditional channel thousands of acres of wetlands have been created. There's no chance that the naturally flowing river would support the sheer number of water creatures that live in the reservoir now. Spreading, slow flowing, and shallow described most Florida rivers prior to dredging for boat traffic. The reservoir come closer to this description than a dredged free-flowing river.

Largemouth Bass

Another reason to keep the dam is that it stops a portion of fertilizer load from upriver. Here's a study by the St John's Water Management District that says removing the dam would increase the phosphorus (fertilizer) load in the St John's River and therefore increase the probability of algae blooms and fish kills near Jacksonville. The increases aren't that big, but with the algae problems in South Florida fertilizer load has gotten lots of attention lately.

So here's my opinion. I probably would be considered a lukewarm breach-the-dam advocate. Giving fish better access to upstream would be a good thing. Giving manatees access to the springs on the Ocklawaha would be a great thing. But at the same time the destruction of a unique and very productive reservoir ecosystem is hard to be a part of. On balance the good that could be done for the entire river slightly outweighs the destruction of the reservoir and its local wetlands. I'd back removal of the dam, but it wouldn't take much more evidence like the fertilizer loads it stops to change my mind. And that's only the environmental arguments and not considering local area economic activity which would probably favor leaving it in place.

Which is why this is a good case where the precautionary principle should prevail, at least for now. As various scientific disciplines weigh in over the next few decades keeping or breaching the dam should be evaluated. It's probably too soon to make an irreversible decision. But that time may come, and the balance is tilted to breaching the dam.

Dog Fennel

Note:  This was originally posted to facebook. I'm copying it here to make it more accessible.

How can anybody say anything good about dog fennel?

Dog fennel is a weed that grows from Pennsylvania to Florida and west to Texas. If you're a Southerner you've seen dog fennel. It's frequently the first plant that grows in disturbed ground. Don't replant last year's garden and dog fennel will likely take it over. A member of the sunflower family, dog fennel grows in areas where other plants just can't survive like on the edges of roads and near recent excavations. Many articles have been written by agricultural universities and government organizations about the best ways of ridding land of dog fennel.

Dog Fennel

In the first couple of years we after we moved to Florida in 2010 we were in the midst of a pretty severe drought. A lake near us, Lake Prevatt, completely dried up. It was a very shallow lake, roughly 100 acres in area but only about 3 feet deep. When it dried up dog fennel completely took over the lake bed, choking out anything else that tried to take root. It's speed of conquest of the lake bed was something to behold as the lake receded and finally disappeared.

So how can anybody say anything good about dog fennel? To understand its use you have to look at where the name came from. Many hundreds of years ago Native Americans living in the South learned that putting dog fennel in their dog pens kept their animals largely free of fleas and ticks. European settlers learned this trick and named it dog fennel -- the 'fennel' coming from an unrelated but similar looking European plant. Early Europeans also cultivated dog fennel alongside garden plants to keep the insects out of the garden.

Dog fennel keeps the insects away because of an alkaloid compound it exudes. Break a stalk and you can smell a mediciney odor. This alkaloid odor keeps away most insects. It's not quite as good as a DEET spray, but for natural compounds it's pretty effective.

I use dog fennel as a insect repellent any time I don't think the bugs will be too bad -- most daytime walks that aren't in the swamp. It's usually pretty easy to find and is always easy to apply. I put together a video of what dog fennel looks like and me applying it during a walk. The last few seconds are a picture of dog fennel in bloom (later in the year) and a range map for the weed.

So next time you forget your OFF spray and feel the mosquitos hovering reach for a stalk of dog fennel. It's probably nearby, DEET free, and will definitely deter the mosquitoes.

Hiking at Menard May Park

Menard-May Park is located in Edgewater in Volusia County. It's just a small city park with a boat ramp and some playground equipment. However its position on the North Indian River makes it a pretty nice start to a brackish water hiking trip.

The nice thing about Menard-May is the number of paddling trails nearby. A kayak is needed to cross over to the paddling trails, but most of the paddling trails just go around an island or 2. It's pretty easy to hike either on the beach or in the water and go around the island.

The navigation channel is only a few hundred feet wide. I took my kayak across and decided to circumnavigate an island and check out the mangrove species.

The main issue I had was the wind. It was blowing from the east at about 20 mph. That left the sediment in the water a little stirred up on even on the leeward side of the island, the side sheltered from the wind. At that point I decided that instead of braving the winds I'd just walk on the leeward side and forget the windy side.

There are 4 types of mangrove in Florida -- red, white, black, and button. I spotted the red and black mangroves on the island. I saw a bush a little back that could have been a white mangrove. I didn't see the button mangrove at all. Although they're all called mangroves my understanding is that the 4 types of mangroves aren't closely related.

Red Mangrove at Menard-May

I liked this picture because you can see both ways that the red mangrove spreads. One is the red branching roots. It gradually spreads in all directions by putting down new roots. Also notice the seed pod hanging above the water. That seed pod drops into the water and floats away looking for some shallow water. The seed pod is also a preferred manatee food. Sometimes you can tell how far manatees can come out of the water by looking at how high the remaining red mangrove seeds are above it.

There was also lots of black mangrove on the island. Black mangrove are the ones that come up from shoots underwater. I was there near high tide so usually these shoots would be sticking out of the water several inches.

Black Mangrove

They also have a small seed pod but I didn't see any. Maybe wrong time of year. You can also tell a black mangrove by licking the leaf. It tastes like salt because the plant sweats out the salt.

There were lots of hermit crabs out and about. I thought this one was interesting as while I was filming one hermit crab a smaller one came over to see what the commotion was about.

I also saw lots of blue crabs. It always startles me when I step a blue crab. The water was cloudy enough that when it was over about 1 foot high I couldn't see where I was putting my feet. Once in a while I would feel a blue crab trapped under my foot. That scared me enough each time that I jumped back when I felt him. I also had one that attacked my camera. The attacks were really fast. I slowed down the attacks to half speed for the video.

I saw a few horseshoe crabs. But they seemed to be only at the ends of the island and the water was too murky there to get a good picture.

Horseshoe crab through the murky water

But overall it was a very nice hike. I went 2 miles in water that ranged from mid-calf to mid-thigh in depth. The footing was very soft in places. I've taken a couple of brackish water hikes recently and really enjoyed them. The wildlife is very different than dry land hikes. I'll probably keep doing these occasionally, especially at Menard-May where there are lots of little islands to wander around.

Kayak trails. Or hiking trails.

Lake Apopka, Part 3

Part of a continuing series on Florida's Lakes. I've written previous pieces on the history and the current environmental challenges of Lake Apopka.

This is the final article on Lake apopka. This will be about the ecotourism opportunities near the lake. Specifically hiking, biking, kayaking and other outdoor activities that are available. 

To look at the major ecotourism activities around Lake Apopka you have to start on the North Shore. There are over 30 miles of gravel roads trails open to hikers and bikers including an 18 mile trail from Lake Magnolia to the Green Mountain Scenic Overlook. There are also several mowed grass roads.

So, who's up for a swim? Photo by Tina Pruitt

During wintertime the North Shore becomes a prime birdwatching area. There are several entries onto the trail system, Magnolia Park, Jones Stormwater Park, North Shore Trailhead, Clay Island, and Green Mountain Scenic Overlook. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday cars are allowed to go on a 9 mile trek through North Shore beginning on Lust Road and exiting on Jones Avenue.

The longest trail near lake Apopka is the West Orange Trail. It covers 22 miles from Apopka to Oakland. It's a paved trail that passes through the communities near the lake. It doesn't have nearly as good of lake views as the North Shore trails, but it makes for a peaceful bike ride around the east and southern parts of the lake.

West Orange Trail

The overall goal is to eventually connect trails that completely loop Lake Apopka. Current the only missing links are a 4 mile link from Magnolia Park to the West Orange Trail and a 10 mile section from the Green Mountain Scenic Overlook to the Killarney Station trailhead of the West Orange Trail.

Ferndale Preserve sits on the western edge of Lake Apopka. It boasts an area with an elevation of 162 feet above sea level, the highest point in the Florida peninsula. So be sure to take your high altitude equipment if you hike there. It's a scrub habitat on the top so look for the scrub species -- gopher tortoise, 5 line skink, etc.

Ferndale Preserve

Oakland Nature Preserve is on the southern edge of Lake Apopka. They have lots of nature programs for kids as well as several hiking trails. The most used trail is a boardwalk that walks over the flooded swamp and then out on to Lake Apopka. They also have lots of interesting native animals in the visitor center.

Gopher Tortoise at Oakland Nature Preserve

Magnolia Park is the Eastern Trailhead for the Lake Apopka Trails. It also has a butterfly garden and picnic areas. It has 1 of only 2 boat ramps on the entire lake. The sunsets from Magnolia Park are sometimes stunning.

Sunset on Lake Apopka

Newton Park in Winter Garden has the other boat ramp on Lake Apopka. It also has a very nice playground and a fishing pier. Newton Park is the place to watch 4th of July fireworks on Lake Apopka. 

Newton Park

Unfortunately there don't seem to be any kayak rental businesses serving Lake Apopka. But you can launch your kayak at either Newton Park or Magnolia Park. A 3rd boat launch is currently being built in North Shore. 

In Winter Garden West Orange Bikes and Blades rents bikes for the West Orange trail as does Winter Garden Wheel Works. Spin City Cycles rents bikes on the Apopka end of the trail.

So, that's most of the ecotourism activities available around Lake Apopka. I say most because I'm sure I've missed a few. Despite the history of the lake there are still lots of ways to get active around the lake. Few of them involve going out on the lake, but the trails and wildlife viewing around Lake Apopka are great.