Orange Lake Fish & Wildlife Habitat Management Update

October 2020

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Update Topics

• Lake Conditions- water levels

• Invasive Plant Management Updates

• Fish & Wildlife Updates• Fisheries

• Alligators

• Waterfowl

• Wading Birds

• 2019-2020 Work Completed

• Vegetation Mapping and GIS Habitat Analysis

• 2013-2020 Project Summary

• 2020-2021 Work Plan Forecast

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Orange Lake

Current Conditions

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48

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61

ft (

NA

VD

88

)

Orange Lake Surface Water Elevation 1933-2020 SJRWMD Data: Station #02611465- Boardman

DESIRED

LIMITED ACCESS

NO ACCESSDRAWDOWN

Long term water levels on Orange Lake (1933-2020). Shaded areas indicate status of public access for vessel navigation.

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10/1/2010 10/1/2011 10/1/2012 10/1/2013 10/1/2014 10/1/2015 10/1/2016 10/1/2017 10/1/2018 10/1/2019 10/1/2020

Feet

(N

AV

D8

8)

Date

NO ACCESS

LIMITED ACCESS

DESIRED

10-13-202057.5

Hurricane Irma

Weir Top Sill 56.8

Orange Lake Surface Water Elevation 2010-2020 SJRWMD Data: Station #02611465- Boardman

Weir Notch 56.3

Orange Lake Water Levels for the last 10 years.

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Invasive Plant Management UpdateACRES ACRES ACRESTOTAL TOTAL TO DATE18/19 19/20 20/21

Newnans Burhead sedge 0 0 0Floating 23 13 3Tussock 0 0 0Other 0 0 0

Lochloosa Burhead sedge 0 0 5Floating 175 13 3Tussock 62 0 0Other 0 0 0

Orange Burhead sedge 29 190 33Floating 420 328 68Tussock 13 17 1Other 0 11 0

Total acres of invasive plant control in recent and current fiscal years. FWC fiscal year begins July 1st and ends June 30th of the following calendar year.

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Water lettuce overtaking native lotus and spatterdock

Water Hyacinths taking over Shallow Marsh habitat

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Burhead sedge (Cyperus blepharoleptos) an exotic sedge that germinates on top of other floating plants

and out-competes beneficial native species.

Burhead sedge displacing and crowding out diverse native vegetation.

Burhead sedge that has completely smothered other native plants growing on the surface in 4 feet of water; poor diversity and zero oxygen in the water underneath.

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FISHERIES UPDATES

Several data summariesrefer to the

North Central Regionwhich includes the

counties shown here:(also includes Rodman

Reservoir)

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TROPHYCATCH PROGRAM UPDATE

TrophyCatch allows anglers to submit pictures of bass caught over 8 lbs. and win prizes at:

www.trophycatchflorida.com

- This provides important data and promotesrelease of large valuable bass

- This past year, 5 lakes in the North Central Region were in the top 15 lakes in FL for most trophy bass reported to the TrophyCatch Program

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TROPHYCATCH PROGRAM UPDATE

-This past year in the North Central Region:

-Most trophy bass reported:January and April

-Largest trophy bass reported:February (Orange Lake, 14.4 lbs)

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TROPHYCATCH PROGRAM UPDATEThis table shows the top 3 lakes in the North Central Region (NCR) by total number,maximum and average weight of trophy bass. Statewide ranks also shown.

-As you can see, some folks choose not to reveal their hotspots!(”Unnamed Lake” could include several lakes)

Visit: www.trophycatchflorida.com

Check out the latestTrophyCatch submissions

and see what’s being caught on your favorite lake!

Water Body County TrophyCatch LMB Rank

Total Number NCR FL

Rodman Reservoir Putnam 168 1 1

Lake Hernando Citrus 37 2 5

Little Orange Lake Alachua 28 3 9

Maximum Weight (lbs)

Orange Lake Alachua 14.4 1 2

Unnamed Lake Alachua 13.0 2 8

Unnamed Lake Citrus 12.9 3 10

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FISHERIES SAMPLING UPDATE:

-FWC conducts electrofishing surveys every fall and spring

-The maps on the following slides show the results of the fall surveys for the major Orange Creek Basin lakes for:

-Largemouth Bass-Black Crappie-Panfish -Catfish

-Data from 2017-2019 are included to show recent trends

-The maps are color coded:-High numbers of fish or largest fish are shown in RED -Low numbers of fish or smaller fish are shown in BLUE

-Each point shown is a sample location where fish were caught. Sample locations where no fish were caught are not shown.

14lb 2oz. Orange Lake Hawg

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FALL ELECTROFISHING RESULTS: Largemouth Bass

Zachary Randall, Florida Museum

Newnans

Lochloosa

Orange

-High numbers of fish or largest fish are shown in RED -Low numbers of fish or smaller fish are shown in BLUE

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FALL ELECTROFISHING RESULTS: Black Crappie

Newnans

Lochloosa

Orange

Note: Trawl surveys are also conducted to monitor Black Crappie. Only electrofishing data shown for simplicity.

Zachary Randall, Florida Museum

-High numbers of fish are shown in RED -Low numbers of fish are shown in BLUE

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FALL ELECTROFISHING RESULTS: Panfish

Newnans

Lochloosa

Orange

Panfish Species Included:

Bluegill Redear Sunfish

Spotted Sunfish Redbreast Sunfish

Warmouth

Photos taken by Zachary Randall, Florida Museum

-High numbers of fish are shown in RED -Low numbers of fish are shown in BLUE

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FALL ELECTROFISHING RESULTS: Bullhead Catfish

Newnans

Lochloosa

Orange

Florida Museum

BULLHEAD SPECIES INCLUDED:

Yellow Bullhead

Brown Bullhead

Note: White catfish are commonly observed during trawl sampling, but not during electrofishing.

Zachary Randall, Florida Museum

Zachary Randall, Florida Museum

-High numbers of fish are shown in RED -Low numbers of fish are shown in BLUE

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TAGGING STUDIES: Black Crappie

- FWC has tagged Black Crappie, a.k.a. Specks or Speckled Perch, for the last five years (2015 – 2019) in lakes Lochloosa and Newnans.

- Tags are individually numbered and have reward values of up to $100!!

- Anglers can report the tagged fish at the phone number listed on the tags. FWC requires the tag be returned in order for you to receive the reward.

- Information reported on tagged fish helps FWC to better understand how the percent of fish harvested changes with angler effort, catch, and harvest.

- Annual harvest estimates of Black Crappie have ranged from 12.2 to 37.5% at Lochloosa Lake and from 1.0 to 22.9% at Newnans Lake.

Year Catch estimate Harvest estimate

Lochloosa Lake

2015-2016 27.0% 24.7%

2016-2017 15.1% 13.6%

2017-2018 44.0% 37.5%

2018-2019 21.1% 13.9%

2019-2020 13.7% 12.2%

Newnans Lake

2015-2016 28.5% 22.9%

2016-2017 12.7% 12.3%

2017-2018 21.3% 14.0%

2018-2019 2.0% 1.0%

2019-2020 9.8% 8.7%

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TAGGING STUDIES: Largemouth Bass

- FWC has a statewide tagging study to evaluate any changes in angler harvest of Largemouth Bass after the regulation change in 2016.

- For this study, Largemouth Bass over 12” are being marked with reward tags in 79 different water bodies for a 10 year period.

- FWC also has a statewide tagging program to estimate annual percent catch, harvest, and release of trophy sized Largemouth Bass (> 8 lbs).

- For this study, FWC biologists have tagged trophy bass in 149 different public waterbodies since 2011.

- Tag reward values are as high as $100!!

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2019-20 ANGLER SURVEY RESULTS: THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!!!

GREEN numbers are above the “long-term” survey average (previous 5 survey years)

Orange Lake Lochloosa Lake Newnans Lake

Timeframe: 2/14/2020-6/4/2020

11/20/2019-3/28/2020

11/20/2019-4/7/2020

Average Catch per Hour:

Largemouth Bass 0.52 0.12 0.11

Black Crappie 1.82 1.23 1.54

Panfish 2.38 1.62 0.25

Catfish 0.19 0.06 0.66

Total Effort (Hours):

Largemouth Bass 11,034 2,950 1,310

Black Crappie 25,552 28,552 16,200

Panfish 15,727 4,869 2,030

Catfish 272 621 1,568

SUMMARY:

Bass:Above average catch rates and effort in Orange/Newnans.

Crappie:Above average catch rates and effort in Newnans. Above average effort in Orange.

Panfish:Above average effort in Orange.

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North Central Region Bass Tournament Results: Winning Bag Weights

-This table shows this past year’s average winning bag weights compared to the “long-term” average (past 5-years).-The difference column shows if this past year is above (positive numbers) or below (negative numbers) the past 5-year average.-The largest tournament caught bass is also shown

Waterbody

Previous 5-Year

Average Bag Weight (lbs)

2019/20 FY

Average Bag Weight (lbs) Difference

Largest

Bass (lbs)

Big Henderson 13.06 13.27 +0.22 9.8

Floral City Lake 12.56 12.07 -0.50 7.3

Hernando Lake 12.14 12.42 +0.27 11.3

Lake Rousseau 14.64 15.40 +0.76 9.2

Lochloosa Lake 12.36 10.30 -2.06 9.1

Orange Lake 14.44 13.97 -0.47 13.3

Rodman Reservoir 15.26 13.15 -2.12 9.9

Sampson Lake 11.45 15.87 +4.42 9.0

Santa Fe Lake 11.41 14.58 +3.17 8.6

Santa Fe River 12.41 10.75 -1.66 7.6

St. Johns River 16.06 15.18 -0.88 10.5

Suwannee River 12.09 11.38 -0.71 5.6

SUMMARY:5 of 12 NC Region Lakes

have above averagewinning bag weights

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Alligator Harvest2019 Summary Data

• Orange Lake- 175 tags issued• 166 alligators harvested• Largest was 11’ 0” (average 7’ 6”)

• Lochloosa Lake- 99 tags issued• 97 alligators harvested• Largest was 12’ 3” (average 9’ ½ ”)

• Newnans Lake- 104 tags issued• 102 alligators harvested• Largest was 11’ 3” (average 8’ 11½”)

Photo courtesy of Dr. Louis Guillette

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Alligator Harvest2019 Summary Data

• Statewide- 15,333 tags issued• 8,373 alligators harvested

• Largest was 13’ 5” harvested in Hillsborough County

Current State Records

• Length- 14’ 3.5” from Lake Washington, Brevard County (2010)

• Weight- 1,043 lbs from ORANGE LAKE, Alachua County (1989)

13’ 11 ¼”, 880 lbs. Private lands, Polk County, 2001

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3294

1908

1009

1316

2293 23502452 2419

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2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Estimated Number of Adult AlligatorsOrange Lake 2011 - 2019

Alligators

Alligator Population Trends

Alligator population estimates for Orange Lake calculated from annual night-light surveys.

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Egg Collections2019 Summary Data

• Orange Lake- 263 marked nests• 50% collection quota (100% in 2018)

• 130 nests opened

• 3,996 eggs collected

• Statewide- 2046 nest quota• 25 Alligator Management Units

• 1,836 nests opened

• 56,834 eggs collected

Alligator Nest

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Orange Lake Alligator Management Unit- location and distribution of marked nests.

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Waterfowl

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2020-2021 Waterfowl Season Dates & Bag Limits

Regular Waterfowl Hunting Dates:

Nov. 21-29Dec. 12 - Jan. 31

Youth Waterfowl Hunting Days:

November 14 February 13

Veteran’s and Military Waterfowl Hunting Days:

February 6-7

Daily Bag Limit - 6, including no more than 2

mallards (of which only 1 can be female), 4

scoters, 4 eiders, 4 long-tailed ducks, 3 wood

ducks, 2 redheads, 2 black ducks, 2

canvasbacks, 1 pintail, 1 mottled duck

(Florida duck) and 1 fulvous whistling-duck. 1

scaup from Nov. 21-29 and Dec. 12 - Jan. 11,

2 scaup from Jan. 12-31. All other species of

duck may be taken up to the 6 duck daily limit.

The legal shooting hours for waterfowl is a half-hour before sunrise until sunset.

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Florida’s Resident

WaterfowlFulvous Whistling duckMottled duck

Wood duck Black-bellied Whistling duck

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Migratory Waterfowl• Approximately 20 species of waterfowl migrate to or through Florida

during the fall and winter. Click here to view additional species of migratory waterfowl.

Northern PintailBlue-winged Teal Ring-necked duck

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Licenses and permits required to hunt waterfowl:

• Hunting license

• Migratory bird permit

• Federal duck stamp

• Waterfowl permit

• If hunting a Wildlife Management Area (WMA) you’ll also need a management area permit

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Popular local hunting areas:• Orange Creek Basin lakes:

• Includes areas in both the north central and northeast regions:• Orange Creek Public Small Game Hunting Area• Orange Lake• Lochloosa Lake• Newnans Lake

• Rodman Reservoir (Lake Ocklawaha): • Ring-necked ducks are most common.

• Abundance of hydrilla determines the ring-necked duck population; hydrilla conditions vary dramatically from year to year.

• Rodman Reservoir is a deep-water reservoir built and maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.• Numerous stumps and floating logs create boating hazards.

• Ocklawaha Prairie Public Small Game Hunting Area: • Area in Marion County consisting of 2,400 acres of impounded marsh along the Ocklawaha

Canal. • This area requires a quota permit to hunt.• See online area brochure for restrictions and regulations.

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Wood Duck Banding ProgramInterested in assisting FWC band ducks?

Do you have property or know of a location where large numbers of wood ducks frequent? If so, we’d love your assistance in helping with our waterfowl banding program.

FWC will provide a trap and corn to be used during banding season. All we ask of you is to make sure there is corn in the trap regularly.For additional information please email us at ducks@MyFWC.com.

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Colonial Wading Birds

* - Heagy Burry N not counted in 2015, 2016

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Bird 0 0 0 0 0 0

Cypress Island 0 0 3 0 0 0

Grassy Point 0 0 0 0 0 0

Heagy Burry N na* na* 1020 617 700 680

North End 155 9 50 2 0 0

Redbird 4 1 7 2 8 7

* *

Two locations and two species account for >95% of nesting in any given year. Heagy Burry North is modified habitat which attracts a large number of birds. There is low representation of state imperiled species, such as Little Blue Herons and Tricolored Herons. However, nest success seems to be high for the two most common nesters, Cattle Egrets and Anhingas.

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Colonial Wading Bird Habitat* Heagy Burry N not counted in 2015, 2016

• Cattle Egret and Anhinga dominate nesting species (other species

Habitat Management & Maintenance

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$0 Budget Allocated for FWC Orange Creek Basin

Habitat Restoration & Enhancement Projects

Statewide Funding for Maintenance Control of

Invasive/Exotic Plants Approved at a Reduced

Level

FY 2019-2020

FWC was unable to fund new habitat enhancement projects in FY19/20 but did receive a reduced level of funding to continue maintenance control operations for Invasive plant management.

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Work Completed February – June 2020

• Mechanical shredding to control invasive/exotic bur-head sedge (Cyperus blepharoleptos).

• Funded by Invasive Plant Management Section- $100K

• 103 acres targeted for control

• Reduced herbicide use

• Higher cost but with longer control and increased habitat enhancement benefits

FWC Aquatic Habitat Restoration & Enhancement (AHRE) staff were able to collaborate with the Invasive Plant Management section to fund mechanical control of the invasive/exotic bur-head sedge (Cyperus blepharoleptos). Mechanical shredding eliminates the floating blanket of dead thatch, provides longer term control and restores conditions favorable for submersed aquatic plant growth and improved dissolved oxygen concentrations.

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2007

2010

Habitat Mapping and GIS Analysis Continued

Habitat composition maps for Orange Lake; mapped every three years since 2007. Similar maps are also available for Newnans and Lochloosa as well.

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2019 Data

2019 Habitat Composition Map for Orange Lake with table of values indicating prescribed Target Range and actual observed values in 2019 for specific habitat types. Submersed Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) sampling is updated annually. Current coverage of SAV (all species combined – hydrilla + natives) on Orange Lake as of September 2020 is 34%, or approximately 2,800 acres.

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Percent coverage of primary habitat types on Orange Lake from 2007-2019

Values within green shaded region were within the prescribed target range.

For example, Shallow Marsh was below target in all years, and Shrub Swamp exceeded its target in all years.

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Acres of available habitat for focal taxa on Orange Lake.

Green=high-quality, best habitat, yellow=acceptable, usable habitat

For example, most of the Ring-necked duck habitat was high-quality, and was highest in 2010Most of the wading bird foraging habitat was acceptable quality, and was stable except during 2013 following drought

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Orange LakeSubmersed

Aquatic Vegetation

September 2020

• Approximately 2,800 acres of SAV documented

• Dominant SAV species-• Hydrilla- 26%• Coontail- 18%

September 2020

Total percentage of open water in which submersed aquatic vegetation occurs (all species combined). Previous years values: 2017- 30%, 2018- 13%, 2019- 16%, 2020-34%.

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FWC Habitat Enhancement Projects SummaryOrange Lake 2013-2020

• Number of Sites Restored/Enhanced/Maintained- 15

• Total Acres Restored/Enhanced/Maintained- 1,120 acres or 8% of total lake area.

• 107 acres harvesting @ $935,500 or $8,743/ac

• 719 acres shredding @ $1,370,300 or $1,906/ac

• 474 acres herbicide @ $44,200 or $94/ac

Harvesting- 80k cubic yards removed = 320 metric tons Nitrogen / 7 metric tons Phosphorus / 4,220 metric tons Carbon. Acres listed for each management activity include recurring maintenance activities within existing restoration sites over time.

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FWC Managed Areas 2013-2020

Map showing all sites where FWC habitat enhancement or restoration activities have occurred on Orange Lake since 2013

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• $400k budget

• Shredding-completion of two Shrub Swamp control sites started in 2018

• Maintenance of 11 previous project sites

FY 2020-21 Work Plan

A full-page version of the approved work-plan document can be found at the end of this presentation.

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QUESTIONS?Patrick McCord Project Manager Aquatic Habitat Restoration & Enhancement 1239 SW 10th Street Ocala, FL 34471 Office: (352) 620-7344 Cell: (352) 516-1551 Patrick.McCord@MyFWC.com

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FWC/AHRES- 2020/21 Orange Lake Work Plan (APPROVED BUDGET: $400K)

HARVESTING

Heagy Burry Harvest Site Follow Up Removal/harvesting of loose organic sediment chunks that broke free from the bottom of the 36-acre tussock harvesting site after it was cleared in Spring 2019. The large chunks of consolidated peat and organic sediment floated to the surface of the site after the initial phase of the project was completed; this is common in areas with deep organic sediments. Upland spoil disposal is available via existing agreement with adjacent upland landowner (Simms). If full budget for harvesting is not awarded, a minimum of $55,000 will be required for spoil remediation from previous year’s work.

*Estimated budget- $175 ($55k min needed for spoil remediation) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SHREDDING

Hixon Island Shallow Marsh Restoration Area Shred woody vegetation and tussocks (30ac). Area treated with helicopter in 2017/18 (March 2018); shredding is Phase II of project. Intended result is restoration of Shallow/Deep marsh habitat and reduction of Shrub Swamp. Also improves backwater connectivity and increase edge habitat.

McCormick Island Shallow/Deep Marsh Restoration Area Shred woody vegetation and tussocks (95ac). Area treated with helicopter in October 2018; shredding is Phase II of project. Intended result is restoration of ecotonal transition from Shallow Marsh-Deep Marsh-Open water; reduces coverage of Shrub Swamp, improves backwater connectivity to main lake and increase edge habitat.

*Estimated budget- $200K ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ROUTINE MAINTENANCE (shredding and/or airboat spraying) *acres listed are anticipated maximum acres for a full year of maintenance; vegetation will only be controlled if necessary to prevent tussock encroachment at habitat enhancement sites. Grassy Point Shredding; spraying (up to 10 acres)

Big Island Cove/ 20 Brothers Marsh Shredding; spraying (up to 15 acres) PG Run Shredding; spraying (up to 30 acres) Essen Run Harvesting; shredding; spraying (up to 2 acres)

Tussock Harvesting

Projects

Yellow

New Shredding Projects

Blue

Ongoing Maintenance

Projects

Green

patrick.mccordStamp

East/West Corridor Shredding; spraying (up to 5 acres)

Heagy Burry Harvest Site Shredding; spraying (up to 10 acres) Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Shredding; spraying (up to 2 acres) Mikes Fish Camp

Shredding; spraying (up to 2 acres)

North Marsh Corridors Shredding; spraying (up to 10 acres)

Cypress Island Shredding; spraying (up to 15 acres)

*Estimated budget- $25K

October 2020 Update_All Combined_FINAL.pdfOrangeLk AHRES WorkPlan_FY2020-21(without costs)_APPROVED.pdf