Kissimmee Chain of Lakes Long Term Management Plan (KCOL LTMP)

1. Kissimmee Chain of LakesLong Term Management Plan(KCOL LTMP)

2. Background • Initiated in April 2003 through a SFWMD Governing Board resolution • Resolution in response to the controversy surrounding the 2003 Lake Tohopekaliga Extreme Drawdown for Habitat Preservation and Enhancement

3. Step # 1: (Aug ’03 – April ’04) • Identify goals and objectives • Scope & Goal Document

4. Step # 2: (April ’04 – August ’07) • Build consensus among stakeholders on what lake ecosystem health means • Establish the technical and scientific basis for assessing lake ecosystem health • Annotated Bibliography • Stakeholder Value Survey • Conceptual Ecosystem Model • Assessment Performance Measures • 2007 Peer Review

5. Step # 3: (Sept ’07 – Aug ’08) • Defined Management Objectives, Targets, and Priorities • Developed the Plan

6. Partner Organizations • South Florida Water Management District • Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission • Florida Department of Environmental Protection • Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers • Osceola County • Interested Stakeholders

7. Geographic Scope Kissimmee Chain of Lakes and lands hydrologically connected to the lakes

8. Purpose Enhance and/or sustain lake ecosystem health while balancing impacts across ecosystems including the Kissimmee River and Lake Okeechobee

9. Plan Goals • Ecological: Enhance and/or sustain healthy lake ecosystems so that they are capable of supporting the full array of biological communities that are currently dependent upon the KCOL for life cycle requirements. • Societal: Define strategies to accommodate human activities that minimize the adverse effects of those activities on native ecosystems (Grumbine, 1994; Carr et al, 2007). This includes both watershed management and lake management activities. • Agency Coordination: Coordinate lake management activities between plan stakeholders through a partnership effort and a management framework designed to monitor, assess, respond, and adapt to management needs. • Assessment: Assess lake ecosystem health through routine monitoring and system assessment, modify and identify new management targets as needed, and determine success of management actions.

10. Plan Principles • Modify lake regulation schedules to promote plant diversity, quality lake substrate, and fish and wildlife productivity within lake littoral zones. • Manage lake inflows to maintain desired lake trophic state and fish and wildlife habitat. • Manage hydrilla at lowest feasible level on lakes where eradication is no longer possible and for eradication where still possible • Minimize the cumulative impact of development on lake water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, flood protection levels, and recreational uses through application of smart growth and storm water best management practices. • Preserve/protect lakeshore marshes from development-related filling. • Reduce discharge and/or runoff volumes from existing and future land development by providing additional storage within the KCOL watershed. • Address emerging issues and concerns through the IAT using adaptive management principles and the proposed management framework • Implement the Agency Action Plan presented in Chapter 8.

11. Hydrologic Management Objectives • Promote plant diversity, quality lake littoral substrate, and fish and wildlife productivity within lake littoral zones. • Maintain current levels of flood protection. • Provide flow releases necessary to meet Kissimmee River Restoration hydrologic criteria. • Reduce undesirable inflows to Lake Okeechobee.

12. KBMOS Evaluation Performance Measures • High and low stage events • Recessions, ascensions, and reversals • Intra-annual and inter-annual variability

13. Water Quality Mgmt Objectives • Meet or maintain state water quality standards including existing and future total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) in lakes and tributaries to the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. • Reduce phosphorus runoff from properties exceeding phosphorus discharge limitations (Lake Okeechobee Works of the District). • Reduce municipal storm water nutrient inputs to lakes. • Reduce non-nutrient contaminant inputs to lakes. • Protect/enhance water clarity and lake swimmability. • Investigate sediment nutrient fluxes in Lake Tohopekaliga

14. Fish & Wildlife Mgmt Objectives • Support the life cycle requirements of KCOL dependent fish and wildlife resources. • Conserve and/or enhance aquatic and littoral habitats. • Protect lake-associated listed species. • Minimize development encroachment on lakeshore habitats.

15. Aquatic Plant Mgmt Objectives • Maintain hydrilla at minimal feasible levels on those lakes where eradication is not possible and eradicate hydrilla where feasible. • Allow multiple uses and protect natural functions of water bodies. • Restore natural lakeshore plant communities.

16. Water Supply Mgmt Objectives • Ensure that water supply withdrawals do not cause harm to the water resources of the are and the related natural resources. • Identify surface water withdrawals from the KCOL. • Operate reservoirs/STAs to improve current levels of flood protection. • Operate reservoirs/STAs to reduce nutrient loads to downstream water bodies. • Operate reservoirs/STAs to provide recharge opportunities for groundwater resources.

17. Recreation and Public Use Mgmt Objectives • Sustain existing recreational opportunities and land uses without increasing conflicts between lakefront owners and recreational users. • Establish public use opportunities compatible with protection of natural resources. • Manage airboat, ATV, mud truck, and boat traffic to reduce ecological and noise impacts.

18. LMA Priorities • Lake Tohopekaliga • East Lake Tohopekaliga • Alligator Chain of Lakes and Lake Gentry • Lakes Kissimmee, Hatchineha, and Cypress • Lakes Hart and Mary Jane • Lakes Preston, Myrtle, and Joel

19. Aquatic Plant Management Water Quality Development Pressure Recreational User Conflicts Habitat Quality Fish and Wildlife Species and Habitat Issues / Concerns Flooding Navigation Water Supply Development Prioritization Considerations(with respect to level of difficulty for future management)

20. LMA Goals • Lake Tohopekaliga - Enhance • East Lake Tohopekaliga - Enhance • Alligator Chain of Lakes and Lake Gentry - Enhance • Lakes Kissimmee, Hatchineha, and Cypress - Enhance • Lakes Hart and Mary Jane - Enhance • Lakes Preston, Myrtle, and Joel - Sustain

21. Long-Term Monitoring to Assess Conditions Routine Reporting on Condition Monitoring to Assess Mgmt. Effectiveness Reporting on Effectiveness of Management Monitoring to Improve Understanding of Ecosystem Processes and Functions Recommendations to Revise Targets or Establish New Targets Monitoring & Assessment Program Mgmt Objectives for Lake Management Areas • Targets for Defining • Ecosystem Health • Hydrology • F&W and Habitat • Aquatic Plant Mgmt. • Water Quality Decision to Take an Agency Action Implementation of Management Tools Integrated Data Collection & Monitoring Data Analysis & Assessment

22. Phased Implementation • Initial Planning (May 2004 – Sept 2008) • Initial Implementation (Oct 2008 – 2013) • Identification of additional assessment performance measures to address all management objectives • Aligning assessment performance measures with Conceptual Ecosystem Model • Formal identification of ecosystem and management uncertainties • Coordination, streamlining, and enhancement of monitoring and assessment activities • Development of first series of annual assessment reports • Implement adaptive management • Full implementation (2014 - …)

23. Progress Made Since 2007 Peer Review • Consolidated guild habitat measures into single PM for “Fish & Wildlife Habitat in Lake Littoral Zones” • Combined upland wetlands and near-lake wetlands into a single “Palustrine Wetland” measure • Revised and updated other measures, including Snail Kite and Bald Eagle (updated data and targets) • Reorganized information within measures for better readability • Identified targets specific to certain lakes or LMAs, where possible • Reduced number of measures from 33 to 26

24. Watershed Management Tools • Comprehensive and Water Supply Planning • Environmental Regulation and Permitting • Programs • TMDL • FDACS Agricultural Best Management Practices Program • NEEPP • Projects • Habitat Preservation and Storm Water Treatment • Watershed Management Best Management Practices

25. Watershed Management Tool Gaps • Regulatory Gap # 1: Existing regulations do not regulate development of existing platted properties less than 10-acres in size. • Regulatory Gap # 2: Standards need to be developed for MS4 exempt developments, municipalities, and individually owned properties to align storm water management facilities with basin restoration/enhancement goals. • Urban BMP Program Gap • Land Acquisition • Regional Storm Water Retention and Treatment Facilities

26. Lake Management Tools • Environmental Regulations and Permitting • Programs • Aquatic Plant Management Program • Lake Restoration 2020 Program • Largemouth Bass Population Management • Alligator Population Management • Enforcement • Projects • Kissimmee Basin Modeling and Operations Study • EIS for Modification of Kissimmee Basin Structure Operating Criteria

27. Lake Management Challenges • Hydrilla management • Optimizing conditions for snail kite foraging and nesting while not jeopardizing other lake management needs such as lake drawdowns, flood attenuation, etc. • Managing competing boating interests such as jet skis, sailing, air-boating, hunting, fishing with other lake uses, such as passive lake recreation • Determining the maximum number of boats per lake given the differing desires of the above-listed boating interests (this will be increasingly difficult in the coming years) • Balancing shoreline and littoral aquatic vegetation habitat needs with shoreline resident desires to remove aquatic vegetation or fill shoreline wetlands

28. Stakeholders Decision Makers Agency Representatives Planning Policy Makers DCA, County, Municipalities, DEP, Utilities, WMD Coordination and Adaptive Management ERP Regulatory Team Inter-Agency-Team Agency Implementers USACE, WMD, DEP, Counties Assessment and Monitoring Resource Advocates Compliance Officers Science Team Lake Associations, Audubon, etc. Proposed Management Framework

29. Identify Problem Adjust Design Assess Implement Monitor Adaptive Management Process

31. Proposed Agency Actions • Part 1: Become a Plan Partner • Allocate agency staff to serve on the IAT and Science Teams • Adopt KCOL LTMP management objectives • Allocate resources and/or realign current resources to support implementation of the KCOL LTMP Monitoring and Assessment Program • Part 2: Fill Management Gaps • Part 3: Near-Term Coordination • Part 4: Develop an Integrated Watershed Management Plan specific to the KCOL

32. Proposed Agency Actions • Part 1: Become a Plan Partner • Part 2: Fill Management Gaps • Existing regulations do not regulate development of existing platted properties less than 10-acres in size • Standards need to be developed for MS4 exempt developments, municipalities, and individually owned properties to align storm water management facilities with basin restoration/enhancement goals • Urban BMP Program Gap • Part 3: Near-Term Coordination • Part 4: Develop an Integrated Watershed Management Plan specific to the KCOL

33. Proposed Agency Actions • Part 1: Become a Plan Partner • Part 2: Fill Management Gaps • Part 3: Near-Term Coordination • TMDL Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP) • Basin Rule • Statewide Unified Storm Water Rule • Kissimmee Basin Water Reservation • Part 4: Develop an Integrated Watershed Management Plan specific to the KCOL

34. Proposed Agency Actions • Part 1: Become a Plan Partner • Part 2: Fill Management Gaps • Part 3: Near-Term Coordination • Part 4: Develop an Integrated Watershed Management Plan specific to the KCOL • Reauthorization of the S-64 Structure • Construction of regional storm water retention facilities • Add Off-line Storage to the C&SF System • Land Acquisition