Juniper Lake Conservancy newsletter

Although it may not look like it, much has transpired since the last JLC update. Your JLC officers and directors have met together twice, had meetings with various local officials, and have been in ongoing communication with representatives of both the DEP and the Fish and Wildlife Commission.

Of greatest concern to many members is the status of efforts to control weeds in the lakebed and particularly the Lemon Bacopa that appears to have proliferated during this drawdown. As many of you know, the problem with Lemon Bacopa is fairly unique to Juniper Lake. Up until recently, there was no herbicide shown to be effective in combating the weed. Unfortunately, tests of herbicides done at Cat Island Park last fall proved inconclusive as to which was cost effective against Lemon Bacopa. Tests were performed again in June and July with the result that the DEP selected an herbicide called renovate for use in controlling the Lemon Bacopa. Herbicidal treatment of the lake and its perimeter at current water levels and current high water temperature would be dangerous to the fish and other aquatic life in the lake. Noting the high levels of concern and frustration felt by many JLC members, your officers have recently requested that action be taken not later than October to begin to combat the Lemon Bacopa problem. We are pleased to report the following commitment from Jess Van Dyke at the DEP.

"In keeping with FWCC's recommendation, we will treat much of the periphery of Juniper Lake with Renovate via airboat in October. In the spring, we will expand the treatments to the new trails, if water levels allow."

This is good news!! What will ultimately be required to achieve adequate control of the Lemon Bacopa is an unknown, but the sooner a start is made the sooner it can be gotten under control.

Any have expressed concern about the weeds that hae rown tall around the perimeter of the lake. I asked both the Fish and Wildlife Commission and the DEP for their input on this development. Here are some excerpts of an e-mail I received from Bob DeMauro of the FWC:

"We see no developments or conditions occurring on Juniper Lake that concern us regarding the future health of the lake. Is there other future work that needs to and should be done? Absolutely there is. As we tried to convey to everyone in our meetings and conversations prior to the drawdown, there is no "quick fix" to the problems that have accumulated over the past 20+ years. This drawdown was a start to returning the lake to a healthy state, but additional work will need to be done in the future. Exposure of the lake bottom during the current drawdown has gone a long way in improving the health and habitat important to the fish populations by consolidating muck deposits that existed pre-drawdown. Additionally, much was learned about current conditions with in the lake that can be used in future projects to help restore and maintain the lake.

"Much of the vegetation currently growing on the exposed lakebed is terrestrial vegetation that will begin to die once it is flooded as the lake refills. "While it may not be pleasing to look at in the present, it is a short-term condition and will actually be beneficial to the fish population as the lake refills. Again, this situation is normal during a drawdown, especially when re-flood is slow, as we are experiencing currently on Juniper."

For those who want to know what they can do about the terrestrial weeds behind their properties, Jess Van Dyke of the DEP has provided the following official guidelines:

"DEP has o plans to treat the terrestrial plants that have taken advantage of the exposed bottom. Flooded terrestrial vegetation will eventually die and decompose. In the interim, it can provide excellent fish and wildlife habitat. However, anyone who wishes to physically remove an access corridor in front of his or her home may do so without a permit, as long as the width doesn't exceed 50 feet or 50 percent of the width of the lot (whichever is less)."

Many of you know that work on the outflow control structure and device at the dam is complete. The improvements made will help prevent problems during tropical rains once the lake has returned to its normal depth.

Since our last update, JLC officers met with City of DeFuniak Springs officials to investigate further the concerns of some JLC members that the DFS spray fields located north of Cat Island Road might be affecting the water quality in the lake. We left that meeting convinced that up to this time the monitoring of the spray field site and of the water quality in the lake has been more than adequate and that the spray fields have had no discernable impact on the lake. Anyone who has further questions about our findings should contact JLC Director Bill Van Dyck at (850) 892-3445. He has been involved in the monitoring process for years. We have also met with Walton County Administrator Ronnie Bell and Parks Director Brad Alford to address the condition of facilities at the two county parks on the lake. They have agreed that both parks are in need of a facelift and plans are now underway to replace some picnic benches and repair or replace some of the pavilions.

JLC Vice-President Cole and Secretary Julie Cole have begun work on www.JuniperLake Conservancy.org, a Web site where in the future the latest JLC news can be posted between updates. It is not yet online, but it will not be long. If you have photos or other lake-related items that you think might be of interest to other JLC members, contact Steve at (850) 892-9837 and we may be able to upload some of them to the site to share with others.

For those who have not yet mailed in their JLC annual dues for 2007, please take a moment to do so. The dues are $10 per household. Checks should be made payable to Juniper Lake Conservancy and mailed to the address at the top of this update. Please also jot an e-mail to us if you are currently receiving this update by regular mail but are willing to receive your updates by e-mail instead. You will receive e-mail updates more quickly and it will be cheaper and take less time for your JLC offices to send them out. Lack of rainfall continues to be a big problem. Re-flooding of the lake was expected to take nine to twelve months with normal rainfall, which we have not yet experienced since the drawdown began. This factor was always an unpredictable wild card and is of course beyond the control of anyone. It has complicated efforts to restore the lake and added to the concerns of all involved. Most of us would be much more at peace about the current situation if there were five to seven more feet of water in the lake right now.