Where waters once ran dozens of feet deep these Low Pinebarren Milkwort (Polygala ramosa) now thrive in our dry East Central Florida lake beds.
What a difference 10 years can make. Below: 10 years ago, 700 acre Lake Theresa was a thriving aquatic ecosystem.
ＰＨＩＬＬＩＰ ＬＯＴＴ ＰＨＯＴＯＧＲＡＰＨＹ
on Instagram
Below: Today, while there are some puddles where the lake once ran dozens of feet deep, for the most part Lake Theresa has been reduced to a tall-grass field sprouting longleaf pines (pinus palustris) and all sorts of wildflowers. It is particularly noteworthy today as the cities of Deltona and Debary, Florida this week adopted new FEMA flood maps which show most of the neighborhoods pictured here center-to-right as existing in the flood plain and being in need of flood insurance. I don't imagine whoever made those new flood maps has taken a look at Lake Theresa recently.
The Deltona and Debary City Commissions approved changes to their floodplain regulations and new maps detailing which homes will be required to carry federal flood insurance. Most of the homes in the floodplain in Deltona are in the Lake Theresa basin. Deltona City Attorney Becky Vose wrote in a memo that "these properties are generally located very close to existing wetlands."
Apparently the maps were devised without any visits by the Federal Emergency Management Agency's engineers. To identify the areas at greatest risk of flooding, FEMA uses data for river flow, storm tides, hydrologic and hydraulic analyses as well as rainfall and topographic surveys according to the agency's website. The first two criteria do not apply, ever, to Lake Theresa as she is landlocked and only connected to the St. Johns River by an artificial outfall (drainage ditch, aka The Big Ditch).
In general the "flood" elevation in the area of Lake Theresa is 28 feet above sea level on the new maps. This elevation is 3.5 feet higher than what the State of Florida had traditionally called flood stage on Lake Theresa (24.5' above sea level). Currently the lake is less than half that elevation, where it still exists.
Years of relentless drought, overdevelopment during the Florida housing boom in the 2000s, and government manipulation of surface waters have resulted in nearly dry lakes across East Central Florida. This single lake has lost billions of gallons of water. Today barely a puddle remains. The Lake Theresa Basin was ditched, damed, and connected to Lake Monroe with a Big Ditch in 2003. Since that time reckless use of the ditch has caused the lakes in the basin to disappear for years at a time.
Above: February 2003
NATURE'S SILVER LINING?
But. . . where the lakes have disappeared a new ecosystem has emerged. A sandy, grassy barren of wildflowers and juvenile trees. Above and Below: More Polygala ramosa (or Low Pinebarren Milkwort). This is probably my favorite lakebed flower as it is so stunning. . . bright yellow from stem to petal tips. Pine barrens occur all along Eastern North America. Ecologically speaking they are plant communities that occur on dry, acidic, infertile soils dominated by grasses, forbs (herbaceous flowering plants), low shrubs and small to medium sized pine trees.
Other flowers are blooming across the hundreds of acres of dry lakebed this February as the winter has been extremely warm and often overcast if not damp. Below: Sabatia grandiflora or Largeflower Rose Gentian are starting to pop up. They sport virtually no leaves. They consist of a long, spindly stem topped with brilliant purple flowers.
Below: In this image from March 2010 look closely (click on image to enlarge) and you see Yellow Hat Pins (Syngonanthus flavidulus) dominate the already drying lake's nearshore waters. At that time, 4 years ago, the lake level gauge was no longer in the water and a pine tree had sprouted near its base. Little did we know that this would be the last we would see of the lake for years. The top of the lake level gauge (near front of the jon boat) is set at 24.5 feet above sea level, the then-flood level capriciously dictated by the State of Florida.
In these images I placed the camera on the ground to create a bug's eye view of the fields of hat pins.
Below: Next to my shoe one can see how small the flowers are today.
Many of the flower species that once grew tall on the lake shore now
grow in miniature across the grassland.
Below: Close to puddles the Yellow-eyed Grass (Xyris elliottii) flourishes. In drier areas it is so small and anemic-looking that it is easy to completely overlook this once dominate flowering grass. It is important to note that it survives, despite the lack of water. . . programmed by evolution to reemerge when the waters of Lake Theresa return.
Below: Florida Sands St. Johns Wort (Hypericum exile) now grows in stands to 4-feet tall and is blooming as if it were late summer.
Also seemingly confused about the time of year is Florida Pine Barren Goldenrod (Solidago fistulosa) which blooms all around the lower parts of the dry lake.
In drier areas and blooming at an unusual time of year is Euthamia carolinians (Slender Goldentop).
Slender Goldentop resembles Goldenrod but is smaller, stouter and bushier.
