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Highlands Today

County Schedules First Lakes Symposium For Dec. 13

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By JIM KONKOLY

Highlands Today

Published: November 30, 2008

SEBRING - The Highlands Soil and Water Conservation District will hold its first symposium on the county's lakes on Saturday, Dec. 13.

The event will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Bert J. Harris, Jr., Agricultural Center (formerly the Agri-Civic Center) on George Boulevard.

Erin McCarta, assistant lakes manager, said the event will feature speakers from local and state agencies, including the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Topics will include water quality, regulations and permitting, boating safety and wildlife encounters.

McCarta will speak about the county's lakes programs, as will Clell Ford, county lakes manager.

Erica Van Horn, a plant biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, will provide information on lakefront vegetation and dealing with invasive species in the lakes.

"We'll be talking about watersheds and what you can do to improve the water quality," McCarta said.

"One of the messages we're going to try to push home is that when you're doing landscaping, try to use Florida friendly plants that don't require a lot of water and a lot of fertilizer," she said. "The less fertilizer you put on your lawn, the less that gets into the ground water and the less that gets into our water bodies."

The symposium is geared to answer the questions asked most frequently of the Soil & Conservation District staff about lakes, McCarta said.

"One of the questions that we do field more often than anything is about our water levels," McCarta said. "People ask why does one lake have more water in it than another. We'll explain the watersheds and how water flows in the county. Our lakes are not serving as reservoirs, so they are naturally fluctuating."

McCarta said she hopes the lakes symposium becomes an annual event and future sessions will not only provide general information but also focus on specific concerns.

"Hopefully in the future, we'll be giving the same basic information every year but focus on topics that come up, like hydrilla management or the use of grass carp for hydrilla, or public access issues like on lake Denton," she said.

Jim Konkoly can be reached at 863-386-5855 or e-mail jkonkoly@highlandstoday.com

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