The Water School at the Florida Gulf Coast University will host two workshops to solicit public input for a study of Lake Okeechobee ecosystem health. The study is mandated and funded by the Florida Legislature and will develop recommendations to improve the health of plants, fish and wildlife in Lake Okeechobee.

The workshops are scheduled as follows:

• Nov. 6 from 6 – 8 p.m. at the John Boy Auditorium, 1200 W C Owen Ave, Clewiston

• Nov. 7 from 6 – 8 p.m. at the C Scott Driver facility, 10101 State Road 78 West, Okeechobee

The workshops will present background information about the study and solicit input on the questions below. The agenda will be the same for both workshops:

o What changes have you observed In the ecosystem of the littoral zone in recent years?
o What factors do you think may be contributing to any changes you have observed?
o What measures do you think might help improve the health of the littoral zone?

An additional public workshop will be scheduled for a later date to review and comment on draft recommendations of the study.

Online Comment Portal Open

To ensure that as many individuals as possible have an opportunity to provide input, the study is also hosting an online portal for comment. The portal can be accessed at LakeOStudy.com.

The comment portal has closed-ended and open-ended questions. It may be easier to provide more detailed answers to the open-ended questions from devices with keyboards.