LAKE OKEECHOBEE  -- The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will conduct aquatic plant control on Lake Okeechobee this week.

There is an estimated 591 acres of invasive floating plants within the lake. This plan establishes the use of the interagency flight zones to periodically manage floating plant acreage on the lake at maintenance control levels.

The management goal of maintenance control is to maintain floating plant acreage at the lowest feasible levels.

Contractors will begin the work outlined in this plan by managing floating plants in Zone 6 (from the Harney Pond Canal to the Indian Prairie Canal). Once zone 6 is swept, contractors will move to zone 4 (western marsh) to complete a re-treatment on the marsh's edge.

They will then move to the next zone (from the Kissimmee River to the Taylor Creek lock) to complete the area's sweep. When contractors complete the work in a zone, a new zone is added to the plan's queue. This should keep the plan updated on where contractors are currently working and where they will be working in the future. To view the most up-to-date version of the treatment plan, please visit https://ipm-myfwc.shinyapps.io/whoml/ and select Lake Okeechobee.