HealthNewsDigest.com
July 5, 2007
Muck
Removal in
In only six weeks, more
than 1.9 million cubic yards of phosphorus-rich muck were scraped and trucked
off
“
Muck removal progress
Muck removal is complete at two large sites around the
perimeter of the southeast
A total of 134 heavy-equipment vehicles have been dedicated
to muck removal, including 25 bulldozers, 56 off-road dump trucks and 23
backhoes. Along the lake’s northwest shoreline, where a total of five large
sites are being cleared, the following progress has been made to date:
Eagle Bay Marsh: 130,000 cubic yards removed; $500,000
invested
Northwest Marsh: 850,000 cubic yards removed; $1.9 million
invested
Harney Pond/Horse Island: 400,000 cubic yards removed; $2.2
million invested
Eagle Bay Island: 350,000 cubic yards removed; $1.8 million
invested
Fisheating bay: 180,000 cubic yards removed; $300,000 invested
Once the muck is removed and lake levels return to normal,
native plants such as tape grass, spike rush, bulrush and Kissimmee grass
should rapidly grow and thrive along the sandy shoreline. These vegetated areas
are ideal spawning and nursery grounds for sport fish, such as bass and
crappie, and are prime habitat for apple snails, the primary food of the snail
kite, a federally endangered, native hawk.
Project managers report that some vegetation is already
starting to grow at the fishing pier in Okeechobee. About 85 percent of the new
growth is desirable native plants that can grow underwater; about 15 percent is
undesirable exotics. The native vegetation is expected to survive on moist soil
and continued rainfall until the lake rises to normal levels. The exotic
grasses are likely to die as they become submerged later this summer.
Tree planting update
Pond apple forests once grew on
Significant restoration progress has taken place on
This summer, tree planting efforts were moved to the spoil
islands near Clewiston and along the rim canal, to Moore Haven Marsh and to the
spoil islands in