By Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer

An invasive aquatic plant and an endangered native bird are both making a comeback on Lake Tohopekaliga, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials announced Thursday in an open forum at the Osceola County Commission chambers.

The Everglades snail kite, an endangered bird of prey that feeds nearly exclusively on non-native apple snails, which in turn eat hydrilla, a non-native, rapidly growing aquatic plant that forms a surface bed of leaves, is rebounding in record numbers, state officials said.

Preliminary counts show 185 snail kite nests this month compared with 180 nests in all of 2006, Zach Welch, snail kite coordinator for the wildlife commission said, adding that 98 nests were counted on Lake Tohopekaliga alone.

“Toho has been one of the main producers (of snail kites),” Welch said. “We’ve never seen the kites nest (this well) with the water level as low as it was in January and February.”

East Lake Tohopekaliga in St. Cloud has 21 nests, beating its previous record of 20 nests, Welch said.

“We’re ahead of the past couple years,” he said. “Toho is the only (lake) we manage hydrilla for snail kites.”

Hydrilla limits boat navigation, blocks sunlight to other aquatic vegetation and deprives fish of oxygen. Less than 1,500 of the more than 10,000 acres of the plant were treated this winter on Lake Tohopekaliga.

Due to warmer weather, hydrilla is growing more rapidly, filling in the water navigation trails previously formed by herbicide treatment, state officials said.

The trails hit hardest, according to Ed Harris, wildlife commission biologist, are Goblet’s Cove, Cypress Cove and the southwest side of Makinson Island near the dock. Harris said the commission is currently determining whether to treat the areas – up to 75 acres – now by airboat or during scheduled treatment this fall.

“We want to make sure (the trails) don’t get to that problem stage again,” Harris said.

The agency also is varying the type of herbicide used during treatment as hydrilla was shown to be building a tolerance against the “bread and butter” herbicide frequently used.

Harris requested any comments or concerns be directed to him at ed.har

ris@myFWC.com or 407-858-6170.