Residents living near the Dafore Terrace Preserve are worried about potentially invasive species and the exodus of wildlife at the wetlands south of County Road 466A.
They expressed their fears and frustrations Monday morning before the Project Wide Advisory Committee.
“We are concerned about what is happening behind our homes. There has been some significant damage to our wetlands,” said Reynold Crane who lives on Dafoe Terrace.
“A year ago we had tons of frogs and we could hear them through closed doors at night. Now it is silence,” he added.
The District conceded that some of the problem could be traced back to the fact that Golf Management Solutions, operators of golf courses in The Villages, had contractors who had been dumping grass clippings at the preserve. That practice has now been halted.
Robert Rusconi, who also lives on Dafore Terrace, is concerned about the water level.
“After a lot of rain, after 48 to 72 hours the water is just gone,” Rusconi said.
Susan Chokel, another Dafoe Terrace resident, added her frustration.
“If I had know that this was going to be allowed to deteriorate, I wouldn’t have bought there,” she said.
In the near term, the District is planning to go in to spray for cattails.
In addition, the District’s environmental specialist Jeff Pardue will be invited to PWAC’s May 2 meeting to provide an update on the situation.
CDD 9 Supervisor Steve Printz, a PWAC member, noted that residents are keeping a close eye on their wetlands.
“I wonder if there is something we should be doing differently,” Printz said.
PWAC Chairman Peter Moeller said he lives at a preserve and near a retention pond.
“I can tell you over 10 years the view has changed completely,” he said.
He referenced the “frustration” that boiled over in 2014 with the unlawful removal of trees at Bridgeport at Lake Miona. You can read more about that HERE.
Wetlands were the hot topic at a CDD 1 town hall meeting last week. You can read more about that HERE.