Lake Conway

In 1977 this chain was picked for a federal experiment. Could a fish from the Amur River eat an invasive weed faster than it grew?

Hydrilla had taken hold across Florida. The Army Corps of Engineers stocked Lake Conway with white amur, better known as grass carp, then measured the whole system for three years. Water chemistry, plants, insects, fish, birds, and one full volume on every amphibian and reptile in the lake.

That last one is the report worth reading. Across thirty species, the researchers found more ecological change caused by people than by the fish they were studying. Shoreline development showed up in fourteen species and wiped two treefrogs out of the lake entirely. Boat propellers accounted for three more.

The chain runs about 1,800 acres across several basins joined by canals, clear water over a hard sand bottom. It sits a few minutes south of downtown Orlando with private shoreline almost the whole way around.