WCA -
Rainfall:
Rainfall was
significant in the northern reaches of the EPA. ET was 1.88 (see srs pdf), only WCA-1A had a
surplus water budget for the week.
Rain:
WCA-1: 1.94
in WCA-3A:
0.92 in
WCA-2A: 0.48
in
WCA-3B: 1.19 in
WCA-2B: 0.55 in
ENP:
0.37 in
Water Conservation
Areas:
Water levels are
falling at rates considered Fair or Good for wading bird foraging in WCA-3 (see WCA Stages spreadsheet), but in WCA-1 the
rainfall on April 20-21 caused a general reversal of some 0.10 to 0.20 ft over
a single day (compare Raindar 4-20-09 with Raindar 4-21-09):
Stage Change:
WCA-1: +0.06 ft
WCA-3A: - 0.01 ft
WCA-2A: -0.00 ft
WCA-3B: - 0.07 ft
WCA-2B: -0.13 ft
NESRS: -
0.11 ft
All WCAs are below their regulation schedules (see Reg schedule).
Despite the recent
rains, water depths continue to be largely below ground in much of the EPA (see
attached Depth Map.png). Water is still
available for foraging by wading birds in WCA-1 and WCA-3A and 3B.
As water depths
continue to decline, there is a loss of peat through decomposition and a higher
possibility of muck fires. Most of the EPA continues to be in the muck fire
risk category (see MuckFire.png).
Very little rain
fell across ENP and FL Bay last week and, as a result, stages continued to drop
last week. Water levels in Shark River Slough and at the
Salinity mostly
increased in FL Bay last week. In the nearshore
eastern Bay, salinity increased into the upper 30s in Long Sound and at the
Little Madeira Bay, and remained in the upper 30s farther into the Bay at Duck
Key. The 30 d moving average salinity at the
Fires:
For another week, no
fires were reported by FIRMS (the Fire Information for Resource Management System)
in the WCAs or the Park for the week.
Wildlife:
Nothing has changed
from last week. Wading bird feeding conditions remain good in most of WCA-1 and
central WCA-3A and -3B (see Recession.png).
Large mixed flocks were again observed feeding in eastern WCA. As reported last
week, overall Spoonbill nesting in Fl Bay is low, but success rates (chicks
fledged per nest) were good. Many of the foraging areas in the southeast
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