Author: Rick Stuebing

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October 2026 Newsletter

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We had another great Holiday Boat parade last year and the weather was perfect. Please see our plans for this year’s parade in this newsletter.

Johns Lake is currently at an okay level for this time of the year. We will soon enter our drought period, and the lake will most likely go down. The hurricane season officially ends on November 30.

The hydrilla is less of a problem currently than in the past thanks to the carp that the FWC added. Eel grass is still an issue but there is much less now than at the time of our last newsletter. It is not considered an invasive species like hydrilla, and although it can get tangled in boat propellers, it is for the most part good for the lake. Please read Chris Taylor’s article on Eel grass in this newsletter.

Also included in this newsletter is an article written by Lana Larrivee on decorating homes with outdoor lighting. Please be aware and respectful of where your lights are pointed.

The lake water clarity is currently very good. This is partially due to decreasing water temperatures. It is currently around 70 degrees.

Although our lake is very healthy, let’s continue to be careful when fertilizing and adding pesticides to our yards and do not remove the non-invasive plants on your waterfront. These plants provide natural filtration for the lake. I included the letter that Orange County sent out that discusses proper shoreline maintenance.

If your neighbors are not on our email distribution list, please have them go to our website johnslakeflorida.com and sign-up.

I hope you enjoy our newsletter and hope to see you on the lake!

Rick Stuebing President, Johns Lake Association

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May 2026 Newsletter

We had another great Holiday Boat parade last year and the weather was perfect. Please see our plans for next year in this newsletter.

In this issue, we have a feature article on our own Jana Shelfer, a World Champion Adaptive water-skiing champion. 

Johns Lake is currently at a good level.  It is at roughly 94 feet (NAVD88) which is about 16 inches below the normal high-water mark so we should be able to handle large amounts of rain this Summer. The official hurricane season begins on June 1. 

The hydrilla is less of a problem then in the past thanks to the carp that the FWC added in the past.  Eel grass is currently a larger problem, but it is not considered an invasive species like hydrilla, so the FWC will not treat it. The Eel grass is close to the surface and gets tangled in boat propellors.  Once the lake level goes up this will  become less of a problem.  

The lake water clarity is not currently as good as it was due to pollen.  Once the pollen ends and it starts raining the water clarity will be excellent once again.

Although our lake is very healthy, let’s continue to be careful when fertilizing our yards and don’t remove the non-invasive plants on your waterfront. These plants provide natural filtration for the lake. 

I would like to welcome Chris Taylor to the board.  He has a strong business background and will offer a lot of great creative ideas.  

If your neighbors are not on our email distribution list, please have them go to our website johnslakeflorida.com and sign-up. 

I hope you enjoy our newsletter and hope to see you on the lake!

Rick Stuebing President, Johns Lake Association

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November 2025 Newsletter

November 2025
November 2025 Newsletter
Rick Stuebing

Message from the President

The 24th annual holiday boat parade will take place on December 13.  We will start at 6:15 PM on the far west side of the lake.

 

Johns Lake is currently at a decent level.  It is at roughly 96 feet (NAVD88) which is about 15.6 inches below the normal high-water mark so we should be able to handle large amounts of rain in case we get a hurricane this month. The official hurricane season ends on November 30. Additionally, we probably have enough water to get us through the Winter drought season.   

 

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) recently added 800 hydrilla eating carp to Johns Lake which is great news! Hydrilla will always be a problem for Johns Lake. Although it is bad in some parts of the lake there is much less of it now than normal. We currently have a lot of Eel Grass and Eurasian Watermilfoil.

 

Although our lake is very healthy, let’s continue to be careful when fertilizing our yards and don’t remove the non-invasive plants on your waterfront. These plants provide natural filtration for the lake.

 

 

I would like to thank Elisabetta Garcia for serving as a board member for several years.  She recently left the Board for family reasons.  If anybody wishes to join the JLA Board, please send me an email and say why you would like to be on the Board.

 

If your neighbors are not on our email distribution list, please have them go to our website www.johnslakeflorida.com and sign-up.

 

I hope you enjoy our newsletter and hope to see you on the lake!

 

Rick Stuebing

President, Johns Lake Association

 

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We elected new officers for the Johns Lake Improvement Association in
January. The new board is made up as follows:

President – John Schmidt (Johns Cove)
Vice President – Rick Stuebing (Johns Lake Homesites OC)
Secretary/Treasurer (combined) – Ann Megler (Magnolia Island LC)
Communications – Jason Nadrowski (Johns Cove)
Martin Davis (Deer Island)
Don Hickman (Johns Lake Homesites OC)
Frank Dreano (Johns Landing)

     We are working on several issues and have plans to do a better job communicating, setting up a proactive website, and add value to our stakeholders. We’d like to be a proactive one stop shop rather than having you to reach out to all the various agencies, counties, towns, and so on.

     There are several examples of Lake Associations in the County/State that do a great job of this for their lakes. We believe that as the lake continues to be more populated with residences that we can also educate and provide valuable information to new or prospective owners.

     One of the immediate actions is to make sure we have a good contact list for lake and near lake owners who utilize the lake, so we may need help from HOA’s. We’ll certainly make sure the HOA presidents and agencies are kept informed. Please feel free to forward or provide added contacts for us. Let us know if you have any questions/comments.

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May 2025 Newsletter

June 3, 2025

May 2025 Newsletter

Rick Stuebing

Message from the President

By Rick Stuebing

Thanks to our Board VPJB Bricklemyer, we are now a 501 C3 not for profit organization.

We had a very success Holiday Boat Parade in December and on the next page you will see Karen’s overview of the parade.

The lake level has gone down a lot this Winter and Spring, but this is good since the rains have already started and the lake is expected to go up considerably this Summer. Hurricane season begins on June 1 and ends on November 1.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) recently said, “During our last survey, we didn’t see enough hydrilla to warrant a treatment. If you have an abundance of hydrilla, please send us a location where you see a hydrilla problem and also pictures of the “bad plants” so we can assess. FWC will conduct a survey at the end of the growing season to determine if stocking additional carps in the Fall will be needed.” Our contact at FWC is Richard.poole@myfwc.com.

Although Eelgrass is a beneficial plant for Johns Lake, we currently have much higher amounts of it than normal and it is currently a nuisance. Please see page 6 for more details.

Although our lake is very healthy, let’s continue to be careful when fertilizing our yards and don’t remove the plants on your waterfront. If your neighbors are not on our email distribution list, please have them go to our website www.johnslakeflorida.com and sign-up.

I hope you enjoy our newsletter and hope to see you on the lake! Rick Stuebing President, Johns Lake Association

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October 2024 Newsletter

October 2024 Newsletter

Message from the President

By Rick Stuebing

Hurricane Milton was a very large storm and many of our lakefront homeowners sustained significant damage. Our lake level went up approximately 27 inches which was close to the normal high-water mark.  Many docks are now under water so please stay away from them while boating or go slow at a no wake speed.  

The FWC treated our lake this Summer for hydrilla and although some parts of the lake still have a lot of hydrilla, most of the lake has less hydrilla than normal for this time of year. Hydrilla is almost impossible to permanently kill and the FWC allows some hydrilla to live since small amounts are good for the lake. 

The County recently closed our public ramp due to high water.  As soon as they open it, we will let you know via email and on Johns Lake Association and Johns Lake Life Facebook pages. 

The Johns Lake Holiday boat parade will be held on Saturday December 14.  We hope to see you then and a big thanks to Karen Quill and our sponsors! 

Scott Boyd has included an update on our outflow canal which is currently moving a lot of water out of Johns Lake but continues to require additional maintenance. 

Lana Larrivee interviewed Don Hickman who is one of the original members of the Johns Lake Association Board and built his home on Johns Lake over 60 years ago. 

I hope you enjoy our newsletter and hope to see you on the lake!

Rick Stuebing 

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Boat Ramp Closed Following Hurricane Milton

October 14, 2024

Boat Ramp Closed Following Hurricane Milton

Hi Everybody:

I hope that all of our lakefront owners are safe from Hurricane Milton! Our public boat ramp is closed due to high water. According to John Schmidt, the lake has risen 27 inches so far since October 4 and is still rising due to drainage from Black Lake, Lake Tilden, and other sources.

We are approaching the normal high water mark, and the County may close the lake again to protect our docks and boathouses.

     

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April 2024 Newsletter

May 7, 2024

April 2024 Newsletter

Rick Stuebing

Spring has arrived as witnessed by the change in weather and the
end of the Oak leaves falling. I have recently seen the American
Eagles that nest in Oakland, are back on their nests and the bass
beds are back. And finally, some lakefront owners told me they can
now see the bottom of Johns Lake at the end of their dock for the
first time. These are all great signs that Johns Lake is healthy. Our
water level is currently low (93.99 on 4-1-24) for this time of year
but the good news is rain is forecasted for mid-late May and the
lake level will hopefully rise fairly quickly.

P. S. The lake is expected to be treated for hydrilla late May according
to the FWC’s plans!

For the full newsletter, please click here.

 

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March 2024: Johns Lake Outfall Canal Evaluation Study

April 30, 2024

March 2024: Johns Lake Outfall Canal Evaluation Study

Rick Stuebing

Background
The COUNTY requested the CONSULTANT to evaluate the reported erosion within the Johns Lake Outfall Canal (Motomassic Canal) following Hurricane Ian that impacted Central Florida on September 29, 2022. As a result of the damage, several impacted stakeholders reached out to COUNTY staff seeking additional assistance in developing a long-term plan to address both Capital Improvement Project (CIP) needs and long-term Operation and Maintenance (O&M) needs to improve stormwater management within the Johns Lake Outfall Canal (the Canal). The initial stakeholders seeking additional support from the COUNTY included …

Please see the full report here.

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October 2023 Newsletter

October 29, 2023

October 2023 Newsletter

Rick Stuebing

Newsletter Summary and a Message from the President

Oct-2023 Newsletter

It is hard to believe the Holidays are approaching and we are
preparing for the 22nd Holiday Boat Parade on Dec. 12th at 6:15 PM. On behalf of the board,
I would like to thank our sponsors of the parade and we welcome
additional sponsors.

The board continues to communicate with multiple government
agencies to keep the ball rolling for the required maintenance on our
outfall canal. This process is difficult and slow due to the number of
government agencies involved.

We have brought back our Stop Light Program to give you visual
feedback on where we believe we stand on the five quality indicators
that we identified in the past. This is subjective and we realize that
some of these indicators are worse in some parts of the lake than
others, but we try to use “average” ratings.

And finally, some information from the Environmental Protection
Division that describes proper shoreline maintenance critical to the
health of Johns Lake has been included.

JLA is a non-profit organization, funded by lakefront owners, focused
on protecting Johns Lake water quality. JLA’s mission is to preserve
and restore the high-water quality and the traditional character of John’s Lake, watersheds and related natural resources. The long-
term survival of Johns Lake is critical to present and future generations.

In the past the Board collected dues to support our expenses, such
as insurance, website costs, state fees, and more. Since we
converted to paperless Newsletters we have been able to get by for
several years without dues but now the Board’s financial balance is
getting low.

We can be reached at admin@johnslakeflorida.com and
please support our efforts to protect Johns Lake by donating to our
cause by going to the following link. Please Donate.

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Boat Parade: Save the Date

September 15, 2023

Boat Parade: Save the Date

Rick Stuebing

The Annual Johns Lake Boat Parade will be held on December 10th, 2023.

Stay tuned for details …

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