CHNEP watershed report

The Charlotte Harbor Seven-County Watershed Report

Healthy Rivers, Healthy Bays, Healthy Communities

This 28-page report, published in August 2011, reviews environmental progress.

The Charlotte Harbor Seven-County Watershed Report is quite an achievement of our Management Conference (all of our committee members). Elected officials, resource managers, scientists, industry representatives and citizens were all involved at the “nitty-grittiest” of levels but simultaneously at the mile-high view. The respect and honor that each group gave to one another in the production of the report was a joy to behold. The elected officials and citizens wanted the report to be grounded in the best science available. Scientists and resource managers wanted the report to communicate effectively to all groups. I point to this shared ambition and reliance on one another as strengths of the National Estuary Program.

This kind of work cannot be rushed. The required “infrastructure” included an update of the Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan (complete with a vision section), updated environmental indicators and targets, selection of the most important of the environmental indicators, a strategy on how to collect new information where we had gaps in data, collection and analysis of the new information, discovery of existing datasets and a clear vision for the report document function and look. It also required a consensus regarding the display and description of the various analyses.

Watershed Report On-line Bibliography

Draft September 7, 2011

Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. 2011. The Charlotte Harbor Seven-County Watershed Report. Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. Fort Myers, Florida. 28 pp.

1. Do our waters support diverse and healthy fish communities?

Beever, Lisa. 2011. Fish Diversity Map from 1996 through 2010 Fisheries Independent Monitoring (FIM) Data using ESRI ArcMap 10 and Spatial Analyst. First published in The Charlotte Harbor Seven-County Watershed Report.

Beever, Lisa. 2011. Shannon-Weiner diversity and abundance analysis of 1996 through 2010 Fisheries Independent Monitoring (FIM) Data, using Microsoft Access 2007, Microsoft Excel 2007 and SPSS 15.0 for Windows. First published in The Charlotte Harbor Seven-County Watershed Report.

Idelberger, C.F., C.J. Stafford and S.E. Erickson. 2011. Distribution and Abundance of Introduced Fishes in Florida’s Charlotte Harbor Estuary. Gulf and Caribbean Research. Vol. 23 (13-22).

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. 2011. Charlotte Harbor, Lemon Bay, Caloosahatchee and Estero Bay 1996 through 2010 Fisheries Independent Monitoring (FIM) Data. 217,840 records.

2. Are the fish and shellfish safe to eat?

Beever, Lisa. 2011. Mercury Impairments Map of 2010 FDEP Verified and Delist Lists of Impaired Waters and WBID Run 39 using ESRI ArcMap 10. First published in The Charlotte Harbor Seven-County Watershed Report.

Beever, Lisa. 2011. Shellfish Harvest Area Closure Analysis by Year, using Microsoft Excel 2007. First published in The Charlotte Harbor Seven-County Watershed Report.

Beever, Lisa. 2011. Shellfish Harvest Area Map using ESRI ArcMap 10. First published in The Charlotte Harbor Seven-County Watershed Report.

Environmental Protection Agency. Mercury Study Report to Congress. http://www.epa.gov/hg/report.htm (viewed on June 16, 2011).

Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Bureau of Aquaculture Environmental Services. 2011. Closure Management data for 2001-2010. Closure information emailed at various times as Microsoft Word documents.

Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Bureau of Aquaculture Environmental Services. 2011. Harvest Area Shape Files emailed by Jackie Harrell In February and March, 2011.

Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Division of Aquaculture. 2011. Shellfish Harvesting. http://www.floridaaquaculture.com/SEAS/SEAS_intro.htm. (viewed on June 16, 2011).

Florida Department of Environmental Protection. 2010. Verified and Delist Lists of Impaired Waters for Group 1 Everglades West, Group 2 Charlotte Harbor, Group 3 Caloosahatchee and Group 3 Sarasota/Myakka/Peace. http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/watersheds/assessment/index.htm. (viewed on April 16, 2010).

Florida Department of Environmental Protection. 2010. WBID Run 39 Shape File. Downloaded from http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/basin411/download.htm on March 16, 2010.

Florida Department of Health. 2011. 2011 Florida Fish Advisories. http://doh.state.fl.us/floridafishadvice/ (viewed on June 16, 2011).

U.S. Geological Survey. Mercury in Water, Sediment, and Fish. http://nh.water.usgs.gov/projects/nawqa/sw_merc.htm. (viewed on June 16, 2011).

3. Is fish and wildlife habitat increasing or decreasing?

Beever III, J.W., W. Gray, L. Beever, D. Cobb. 2011. A Watershed Analysis of Permitted Coastal Wetland Impacts and Mitigation Methods within the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program Study Area. Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council and Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. USEPA CE- 96484907-0, 391 pp.

Beever. Lisa. 2011. Freshwater Wetland Map and geoprocessing using ESRI ArcMap 10. First published in The Charlotte Harbor Seven-County Watershed Report.

Beever. Lisa. 2011. Mangrove Map and geoprocessing using ESRI ArcMap 10. First published in The Charlotte Harbor Seven-County Watershed Report.

Beever. Lisa. 2011. Seagrass Map and geoprocessing using ESRI ArcMap 10. First published in The Charlotte Harbor Seven-County Watershed Report.

Boyle, David. Florida Department of Environmental Protection. “Seagrass Restoration efforts at Lignumvitae Key State Botanical Site. http://flseagrass.org/pdf/restore_Lignumvitae_key.pdf (viewed on June 16, 2011).

Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. 2007. Mapping the Characteristics and Condition of the Charlotte Harbor Coastal Shoreline using Volunteer Boater Observations and Photointerpretation. Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. 16 pp.

Duever, M.J. et. al. 2004, Southwest Florida Pre-Development Vegetation Map, South Florida Water Management District. Shapefile.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 2003. Florida Seagrass Manager’s Toolkit. Fish and Wildlife Research Institute website. http://research.myfwc.com/features/view_article.asp?id=23202.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. 2004. Assessment of Boat Propeller Scar Damage within the Greater Charlotte Harbor Region. Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. 27 pp. http://www.chnep.org/info/PropScars2004.pdf.

HDR Engineering, Inc. 2010. Predevelopment Land Cover in Portions of Charlotte and Manatee Counties and Predevelopment Surface Water Features in the Peace River Basin Portion of Charlotte County. Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. 42 pp. Shapefile.

Langeland, K. A. and M.J. Meisenburg. 2010. Natural Area Weeds: A Property Owner's Guide to Melaleuca Control. University of Florida IFAS Extension. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ag241.

PhotoScience, Inc. 2007. Historic Benthic Habitat Geodatabase. Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program.

PhotoScience, Inc. 2007. Shoreline Survey Geodatabase, Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program.

South Florida Water Management District. 1988. Land Cover Land Use 1988 Shapefile http://my.sfwmd.gov/gisapps/sfwmdxwebdc/dataview.asp?query=unq_id=296

South Florida Water Management District. 1999. Seagrass, Algae and Oyster Bars Estero Bay 1999 (shapefile). http://my.sfwmd.gov/gisapps/sfwmdxwebdc/dataview.asp.

South Florida Water Management District. 2000. SWFFS 2000 LandUse/LandCover Update Shapefile. http://my.sfwmd.gov/gisapps/sfwmdxwebdc/dataview.asp?query=unq_id=1593

South Florida Water Management District. 2005. Land Cover Land Use 2004 Shapefile http://my.sfwmd.gov/gisapps/sfwmdxwebdc/dataview.asp?query=unq_id=1813

South Florida Water Management District. 2009. Seagrass 2008 Shapefile.

Southwest Florida Water Management District. 1990. 1990 Land Use/Land Cover Shapefile.

Southwest Florida Water Management District. 1999. 1999 Land Use/Land Cover (Lu99) Shapefile. http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/data/gis/layer_library/category/physical_dense.

Southwest Florida Water Management District. 1999. Seagrass 1999 (sg99) Shapefile. http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/data/gis/layer_library/category/swim.

Southwest Florida Water Management District. 2005. 2005 Land Use/Land Cover (Lu05) Shapefile. http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/data/gis/layer_library/category/physical_dense.

Southwest Florida Water Management District. 2009. Seagrass 2008 (sg08) Shapefile. http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/data/gis/layer_library/category/swim.

4. What is our shoreline condition?

Beever. Lisa. 2011. Shoreline Map and geoprocessing using ESRI ArcMap 10. First published in The Charlotte Harbor Seven-County Watershed Report.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 2003. Florida’s Environmentally Sensitive Shorelines shapefile (senshr) 1995.

Ott, Judy. 2010. Comparison of volunteer data from 2007 and 2010 conducted for Beever wt. al. 2011. Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program.

PhotoScience. 2007. 2007 Shoreline Survey Geodatabase, Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program.

5. What lands are managed for the environment?

Beever. Lisa. 2011. Managed Lands Map and geoprocessing using ESRI ArcMap 10. First published in The Charlotte Harbor Seven-County Watershed Report.

Environmental Protection Agency. 2010. Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) database. http://www.epa.gov/owow_keep/estuaries/pivot/2009charlotte_harbor.html.

Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI). 2010. Florida Conservation Lands- Baseline (2000).

Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI). 2010. Florida Conservation Lands- Updated December 2010. http://www.fnai.org/gisdata.cfm.

6. Who restores nature?

Beever. Lisa. 2011. Managed Lands Map and geoprocessing using ESRI ArcMap 10. First published in The Charlotte Harbor Seven-County Watershed Report.

Beever. Lisa. 2011. Restored Lands Map and geoprocessing using ESRI ArcMap 10. First published in The Charlotte Harbor Seven-County Watershed Report.

Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. 2011. Publicly Restored Lands shapefile.

Environmental Protection Agency. 2010. Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) database. http://www.epa.gov/owow_keep/estuaries/pivot/2009charlotte_harbor.html.

Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI). 2010. Florida Conservation Lands- Updated December 2010. http://www.fnai.org/gisdata.cfm.

South Florida Water Management District. 2005. Land Cover Land Use 2004 Shapefile http://my.sfwmd.gov/gisapps/sfwmdxwebdc/dataview.asp?query=unq_id=1813

Southwest Florida Water Management District. 2005. 2005 Land Use/Land Cover (Lu05) Shapefile. http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/data/gis/layer_library/category/physical_dense.

Southwest Florida Water Management District. 2011. FARMS Shapefile.

7. Are our river flows natural?

Beever, Lisa. 2011. Days of the Year River Flow analyses, using Microsoft Excel 2007. First published in The Charlotte Harbor Seven-County Watershed Report.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection. 2011. Learn about Your Watershed: Peace River Watershed. http://www.protectingourwater.org/watersheds/map/sarasota_bay_peace_myakka/peace/. (viewed on June 16, 2011).

South Florida Water Management District. 2008. Rules of the South Florida Water Management District, Minimum Flows and Levels Chapter 40E-8, F.A.C. http://www.sfwmd.gov/portal/page/portal/xrepository/sfwmd_repository_pdf/40e_8_mfl.pdf.

South Florida Water Management District. 2011. DBHYDRO (Environmental Data) for flows at S-79 and Fort Myers gage. http://www.sfwmd.gov/portal/page/portal/xweb%20environmental%20monitoring/dbhydro%20application http://waterdata.usgs.gov/fl/nwis/ (downloaded for the period of record through December 31, 2010).

Southwest Florida Water Management District. 2002. Upper Peace River: An Analysis of Minimum Flows and Levels. http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/projects/mfl/reports/upperpeacemfl1.pdf

Southwest Florida Water Management District. 2005. Proposed Minimum Flows and Levels for the Middle Segment of the Peace River, from Zolfo Springs to Arcadia. http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/projects/mfl/reports/mflreport-mid-peace.pdf

Southwest Florida Water Management District. 2005. Proposed Minimum Flows and Levels for the Upper Segment of the Myakka River, from Myakka City to SR 72. http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/projects/mfl/reports/proposed_myakka_mfl_final.pdf

U.S. Geological Survey. 2011. USGS Water Data for Florida, stations 02294650 Peace River at Bartow, 02296750 Peace River at Arcadia and 02298830 Myakka River near Sarasota. http://waterdata.usgs.gov/fl/nwis/ (downloaded for the period of record through December 31, 2010).

8. Is our water clean?

Beever, Lisa. 2011. Bacteria Impairments Map of 2010 FDEP Verified and Delist Lists of Impaired Waters and WBID Run 39 using ESRI ArcMap 10. First published in The Charlotte Harbor Seven-County Watershed Report.

Beever, Lisa. 2011. Nutrients Impairments Map of 2010 FDEP Verified and Delist Lists of Impaired Waters and WBID Run 39 using ESRI ArcMap 10. First published in The Charlotte Harbor Seven-County Watershed Report.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection. 2010. WBID Run 39 Shape File. Downloaded from http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/basin411/download.htm on March 16, 2010.

Janicki Environmental, Inc. 2007. Charlotte Harbor Estuary Status and Trends: Water Quality Data Analysis and Report for the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. http://www.chnep.org/info/wq/water_quality_data_analysis.htm.

Janicki Environmental, Inc. 2007. Charlotte Harbor Estuary Status and Trends. Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. Trends Shapefiles.

Janicki Environmental, Inc. 2009. Water Quality Targets Refinement Project Task 1: Harbor Segmentation Scheme. Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. 33 pp. http://www.chnep.org/info/WQ-NNC/WQNNC1_Segments.pdf

Janicki Environmental, Inc. 2011. Evaluation Strategy and Reporting Tool for CHNEP Water Clarity Targets. Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. 10 pp. http://www.chnep.org/info/WQ-NNC/WQNNC3_supp.pdf

9. What is the source of water pollution?

Dixon, L. K., E. R. Hall and G.J. Kirkpatrick. Janicki Environmental, Inc. 2010. A spectrally Explicit Optical Model of Attenuation for Charlotte Harbor Seagrasses: Final Report. Mote Marine Laboratory for Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. 62 pp. http://www.chnep.org/Grants/R&R_reports/SpectralAttenuation_Mote2011.pdf

Janicki Environmental, Inc. 2010. Water Quality Targets Refinement Project Task 4: Pollutant Loading Estimates Development. Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. 257 pp. Shapefiles. http://www.chnep.org/info/WQ-NNC/WQ-NNC.htm

Janicki Environmental, Inc. 2011. Charlotte Harbor Numeric Nutrient Criteria: Task 8- TN and TP Loading and Concentration Based Criteria. Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. 414 pp. http://www.chnep.org/info/WQ-NNC/WQ-NNC.htm

Ryan, J., B. Cunningham and A. Willis. Significant Nutrient Removal by Swale Drainage. CHNEP Watershed Summit 2011: The State of Our Watershed & Estuaries - March 30 & 31, 2011

10. Emerging concerns.

Beever III, J.W., W. Gray, D. Trescott, D. Cobb, J. Utley, L. Beever. 2009. Comprehensive Southwest Florida/Charlotte Harbor Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment. Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council and Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. 311 pp. http://www.chnep.org/projects/climate/ClimateChangeVulnerabilityAssessment.pdf

Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. 2010. Charlotte Harbor Regional Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment. Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. 65 pp. http://www.chnep.org/projects/climate/VulnerabilityAssessment2-19-10.pdf

Gelsleichter, J. 2006. Quantitative Assessment of Estrogenic Activity in the Charlotte Harbor Estuary. Mote Marine Laboratory for Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. 40 pp. http://www.chnep.org/Grants/R&R_reports/EstrogenicActivity_Mote.pdf

Gelsleichter, J. 2008. Identities and ecological effects of ecoestrogens present in the tidal Caloosahatchee River. Mote Marine Laboratory for Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. 50 pp. http://www.chnep.org/Grants/R&R_reports/Ecoestrogens_Mote.pdf

Gelsleichter, J. 2009. Evaluating the risks that pharmaceutical-related pollutants pose to Caloosahatchee River wildlife: observations on the bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas. Mote Marine Laboratory for Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. 17 pp. http://www.chnep.org/Grants/R&R_reports/SharkPharmaceutical_Mote.pdf