Phase One of a six-step, $26-million restoration project is underway at Lake Panasoffkee in Sumter County.

Directed by Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), this towering lake enhancement program will be the nation's most ambitious and successful, provided that funding approved during the 1998 Florida Legislative Session continues as planned.

Even though Lake Panasoffkee has always enjoyed excellent water quality due to substantial groundwater flow from Florida's aquifer, the 7.5-square mile lake has lost 800 acres of desirable fisheries habitat due to dissolved calcium carbonates carried by sub-surface ground water, which settles on the bottom and fills in fish spawning areas.

In turn, these sediments foster increased shoreline vegetation and tussock formations that negatively impact both the fishery and navigation. Dredges were brought in last September to begin removal of vegetation and tussock formations between the Coleman Landing Boat Ramp and the lake, while, at the same time; scientists are measuring bottom sediments and mapping aquatic plant growth to get a better gauge for future stages. A target date for Phase One completion is July 2001.

According to FWC Biologist Sam McKinney, stage one is "small potatoes" when compared to Phase Two, which embraces the dredging of slightly more than 1,000 acres of lake bottom along portions of the eastern and western shorelines, as well as along the lake's northern edge. It's anticipated this second project will begin in July 2001, and that 4.9-million yards of sediments will be purged.

"Historically, the Grassy Point and Shell Point areas have been prime fish bedding tracts for bluegills and shellcrackers, while the removal of sediments in Phase Two zones will restore fish-friendly habitat for both bass and bream," said McKinney.

A 388-acre dense and broad band of emergent vegetation along the eastern shoreline (1,000 feet wide in some sections) will be removed in Phase Three. Elimination of this vegetation, which consists of pickerelweed, cattail, arrowhead and tussocks, will reclaim lost fishery habitat, improve navigation and encourage growth of favorable submersed plant life.

Phase Four calls for removal of canal sediments, while the Phase Five will see the elimination of woody and shrubby vegetation consisting of primrose willow, willow, button bush and other successional plant species. This will clear 780 acres and increase the lake's surface by 22 percent.

Scientists predict the lake's life will be prolonged by 100 years at the completion of Phase Six when Panasoffkee's bottom is dredged from the 34-foot contour shoreward, thus deepening 78 percent of the lake by at least one foot. Phase Six is expected to remove an additional 4-million cubic yards of muck.

Although Panasoffkee's anglers continue rate the lake as good to excellent for bass and bream fishing, imagine what'll happen when this massive project is concluded in a few.

Along with the appointed Lake Panasoffkee Restoration Council (created by the Legislature in 1998) and FWC, other agencies playing vital roles in this unprecedented renewal project include the Sumter County Commission, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.