Lake cleanup leads to 800 poisonings By CYRIL T. ZANESKI Herald Staff Writer ZELLWOOD, Fla. -- Hundreds of large fish-eating birds have died in recent months as a result of an ambitious state effort to restore the health of Florida's most polluted lake. Pesticides are prime suspects in the killing of at least 800 birds -- including almost 700 American white pelicans and dozens of wading birds -- that wintered on vegetable farms that were flooded as part of the planned restoration of Lake Apopka, 15 miles northwest of Orlando. The poisonings are far from over. Scientists expect the deaths to continue into spring as many of the 41,000 or so birds that stopped at Apopka begin their long northern migrations. Dead and dying white pelicans were reported last week throughout the state, including the Florida Keys, and from as far away as Jackson, Miss. -- some of them literally falling from the skies. ``We're seeing birds suffering violent tremors and convulsions, said Resee Collins, director of Florida Audubon's Bird of Prey Center in Maitland. ``What these animals go through is very graphic. And almost all of them die. The symptoms suggest that the birds were poisoned by a powerful class of compounds known as organochlorines. Those compounds were common in pesticides sprayed on the vegetable fields. But laboratory tests by federal, state and private researchers have yet to identify a so-called smoking gun. Some scientists suspect the birds ate fish contaminated with chemicals. The investigation is being watched anxiously by advocates of other large-scale environmental restorations, including the massive Everglades project. Like the Apopka restoration, the much larger Glades cleanup hinges on the ability to successfully convert huge expanses of farmland into marshes that will filter pollution from agricultural waste water and provide habitat for wildlife. The worry is that those lands near Lake Okeechobee are also contaminated by agrichemicals, similar to what many believe have been killing birds at Apopka. Conservationists and government officials alike say the shocking bird deaths will not weaken their resolve to forge ahead with plans to restore damaged ecosystems. ``Does this die-off mean we're going to throw in the towel? No way, Florida Audubon ornithologist Gian Basili vowed. ``This is not a failure. It's a pretty serious bump in the road that's going to make all the partners in this refocus on what's right. Unpredictable outcome The bird deaths, however, point out how difficult it is to know what's right in massive restoration projects like the one going on at Apopka. Every step is an experiment in projects that are unprecedented in their scope. ``There was nobody out there that could predict this [die-off] would happen based on the science as it stands, said Ed Lowe, the top environmental scientist for the St. Johns River Water Management District, which is leading the Apopka restoration project. The Apopka restoration began under a law passed in 1985 by the Florida Legislature, after farmers resisted the state's efforts to regulate agricultural wastes. Over a 70-year period, farm pollution had turned a lake that had an international reputation as a fishing resort into a sterile lagoon. The key to the cleanup was halting the flow of silt- and phosphorus-laden waste water into the lake from vegetable and sod farms to the north. The water management district has spent $103.5 million buying more than 18,000 acres of farmland around the edges of the lake. The idea is to flood that farmland, creating wetlands for soaking up pollutants and creating a wildlife habitat. Controversial project The farm buyout has been controversial. About 2,200 farm workers lost jobs as the water management district pushed in the last two years to complete the purchase with $90 million appropriated by state lawmakers in 1996. Meanwhile, some scientists worried that flooding the farmland might create a toxic hazard as pesticides applied over decades to corn, lettuce, beets, celery, parsley and other vegetables were set loose. But the district refused to back down. ``This is the most polluted body of fresh water in Florida, Lowe said. ``It could not be ignored. Responding to criticism last week that the district had not done enough to avoid poisoning wildlife, Lowe said the potential problems from the cleanup had been studied in exhaustive detail. The restoration effort was crafted, he said, by 80 scientists and engineers, 12 consulting firms, 10 government agencies and three universities. They conducted 11 studies that diagnosed the lake's problems and 17 different cleanup plans. ``Science led the way in the shaping of this program, Lowe said. One study did point to powerful compounds that could affect fish-eating birds and largemouth bass. Levels of toxaphene and DDT were high, but not enough to halt the restoration, officials said. ``Levels of those two compounds were insufficient to cause a die-off, said John Schell, one of the district's consulting scientists. ``We felt progression of the restoration program was a good idea. Soil and water removed The district conducted what was described as a routine cleanup of contaminated farms. Focusing mostly on pesticide mixing and storage areas, the cleanup, which was paid for by the farmers, removed 20,343 tons of soil and 3,230 gallons of ground water from ``hot spots contaminated by either pesticides or spilled petroleum products. ``We did our due diligence in proper form, said Rob Christianson, the district's director of operations and land resources. Before the birds began turning up sick, there were strong signs that the cleanup was achieving results faster than anyone had expected. With the buyout of the farms, pollution flowing into the lake had been cut dramatically. Moreover, a 1,800-acre pollution-filtering marsh on former farmland at the lake's northwest corner since 1990 had shown an ability to remove phosphorus and silt from the lake's water. As a result, the lake's water had begun to clear up. For the first time in half a century, submerged aquatic grasses began growing again. The grasses were a clear sign of improving water quality. ``This is a very strong start to a restoration project, the magnitude of which this country has never seen before, said Mark Glisson of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. An influx of birds There was an even more encouraging sign in late fall as huge numbers of birds flocked to about 6,000 acres of farmland flooded as part of the district's efforts to control phosphorus. During Audubon's Christmas count, birders identified 174 species on those old farms. Nowhere else in the country had such diversity been seen on any inland site in the count's century-long history, Basili said. ``There was a buzz among birders across the country about this restoration project, Basili said. ``In fact, there was an international buzz. Birders were coming here from England and Western Europe to visit Apopka. On average, from November through January, there were 20,000 birds on the flooded farmland, with a daily peak of 41,000. Among them were more than 4,300 American white pelicans -- about half of the number stopping in Florida during their winter migration from the Great Plains. Prior to this year, no one had ever seen more than 20 white pelicans at Apopka. There were also hundreds of wood storks, herons and egrets. Also seen were bald eagles, hawks and golden eagles, which are rarely observed in Florida. ``This has the potential to be a birding mecca, Basili said. ``No doubt about it. Then birds began getting sick. Toll of birds increases Harold Weatherman, a heavy-equipment operator for the Zellwood Drainage District, was the first to notice. Weatherman was working in the farmland, maintaining canals for the last few farms that had resisted early buyout offers. Weatherman picked up the first two sick pelicans on the flooded fields in late October. By late January, Weatherman and Basili were picking up as many as 25 sick or dead birds a day. ``They'll get where they're just lying there quivering, Weatherman said. ``It's heartbreaking. But at least if you pick them up, you know they have some small chance that they'll survive. Only three of the 161 live birds sent to the center have survived. In all, 404 birds have died on the farm, with 400 others found dead elsewhere. Those birds are linked to Apopka. Though the fields are now dry and most birds have fled, Basili said that as pelicans and other migrants begin returning to their distant northern breeding grounds, contaminants stored in their fat will be let loose, killing them. ``This is not over yet, he said. ``Not by a long shot. Copyright © 1999 The Miami Herald Getting in touch with HERALDlink -- Ellen Paul Executive Director The Ornithological Council Mailto:epaul@dclink.com Ornithological Council Website: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET "Providing Scientific Information about Birds"