WCA - Everglades Conditions Update

(June 3, 2008)

 

Rainfall:

High intensity rain cells were scattered throughout the Everglades this past week (see attached raindar.gif). High rainfall totals were recorded for each region (see below). However, these raindar estimates may be overestimating rainfall by some 0.25-0.5”. Despite this overestimate, in most cases it was not enough to compensate for the general ET level of 1.94” (see srs.pdf).

WCA-1:          0.95”               WCA-3A:        1.57”

WCA-2A:       2.65”               WCA-3B:        1.97”

WCA-2B:       1.27”               ENP:                2.69”

 

Fire:

The Southern Area Incident Management Team is transitioning command of the Mustang Corner Fire back to Everglades National Park effective 6:30 a.m. Sunday, May 25. The fire is 90% contained and total acreage remains at 39,465 acres. For safety reasons, Richmond Drive (168th Street) remains closed, but all other portions of the Everglades remain open for visitation. Everglades fire personnel will continue to mop up and rehabilitate fire areas. Some aerial resources, as well as crews, will remain in place to assist in these efforts.

 

Water Conservation Areas:

Stages are holding steady throughout the WCA’s. Despite it being June and the “normal” start of the wet season, good recession rates have returned to the Everglades, except in WCA-3B, where a high rainfall cell caused water levels to rise. Wading Bird foraging depths continue to be Fair in WCA-1, Good in WCA-2A and Fair in WCA-3A (see attached WCA Stages.xls). Stages are currently at regulation in WCA-1 and WCA-2A  and slightly below regulation in WCA-3A  (see WCA_reg_stages.doc).

 

Everglades National Park:

The spatial pattern for rainfall (see raindar.gif) was reflected in last week’s trends for ENP wetland water levels.  Water levels in SRS (station P33) were up by 0.8” for the week.  The panhandle (station EVER6), on the other hand, saw water level drop by nearly 0.75”.  Taylor Slough Bridge (TSB) water levels dropped by 2.5” (not an unusual recession rate at this station) and by 1.2” to the south at Craighead Pond (CP), an area where water levels have been declining rapidly of late.  While this week’s recession rates are not particularly high, it is notable that May water levels were below the decadal average at both TSB & CP, by 17” & 10”, respectively. 

 

Salinity continues to trend upward (see salinity.pdf). Salinity remained in the middle – upper 30s across most of the northeast Bay last week, while, in the Taylor ponds, salinity continued to climb for another week, reaching the mid-30s at Pond 5 (USGS station) and Argyle Hendry (ENP station TR).  As of Sunday, 6/1, the 30d moving average concentration at TR (used for tracking the FL Bay MFL criterion of 30 psu – see Fl Bay MFL.bmp) was at 32.1 psu (up from 30.4 psu last week). Low rainfall, especially in the pan handle, and high ET across the region continue to facilitate this MFL exceedance. Salinity increased into the mid-40s in the northcentral Bay areas of McCormick Ck. & Terrapin Bay.  The central Bay station in Whipray Basin, though, where salinity had been rapidly rising of late, held in the mid-upper 40s last week.  Salinity in the upstream reaches of Shark River (Tarpon Bay platform) measured above the seasonal norm (mid-teens), but fell a bit (just below 20 psu) due to higher rainfall totals in this part of the system. Please contact Robin Bennett (rbennet @sfwmd.gov)  if you have any questions.

 

 

Wildlife:

Hydrologic conditions have finally become more conducive to foraging/nesting in a number of areas of the system. The District does not usually conduct a June nest count so the current survey was relatively limited in scope and focused only on colonies that are active or had a good possibility of being so. A total of 11175 nests (3400 egrets and 7775 White Ibis nests) were counted yesterday. This is almost double last month’s count but considerably lower than during the peak of nesting in 2006 and 2007 (see attached xls for more details). Most nesting activity was in the Refuge and WCA 3A.  

 

Most foraging activity was observed in southern WCA 2A and northern WCA 3A. Little foraging was noted in the Refuge.

 

Attached is a spreadsheet providing a table for comparing nest numbers between 2006, 2007 and this year, and a map showing colony locations. Please contact Mark Cook (mcook@sfwmd.gov)  if you have any questions. 

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