Please join us in urging Governor DeSantis to restore the Great Florida Riverway. It is time to save the Ocklawaha, Silver, and St. Johns Rivers, as well as historic Silver Springs.
Take action here!
The Great Florida
Riverway is one of Florida’s environmental and economic treasures — and it
needs your help.
This vast, 217-mile
river system reaches from the Green Swamp in Central Florida all the way to the
Atlantic Ocean via the Ocklawaha and St. Johns Rivers. The Great Florida
Riverway is home to 50 freshwater springs: 25 at historic Silver Springs, 20 on
the Ocklawaha River, and five in the Harris Chain of Lakes. Like the Everglades
to the south, restoring the Great Florida Riverway is vital to improving the
ecosystem and economic health of North and Central Florida.
The Ocklawaha, the
heart of the Great Florida Riverway, was dammed in 1968. Constructed for a
canal that was never completed, the dam flooded over 7,500 acres of forested
wetlands, 20 springs, and 16 miles of the Ocklawaha River. The continued
decline of water quality, spring flow, wetland forests, fish, wildlife, and
recreation has led American Rivers to designate the Ocklawaha River as one of
America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2020.
Restoring the Great
Florida Riverway by breaching this dam will re-establish access to essential
habitat for manatees, bring back migratory fish, connect three river
ecosystems, historic Silver Springs, and restore a lost riverway for anglers
and paddlers from Ocklawaha’s Harris Chain of Lakes to the Atlantic. Florida’s
Governor Ron DeSantis has prioritized protecting and improving the state’s
waterways, creating a historic opportunity to save the Great Florida Riverway.
Learn more here!
Go here to send the letter below.
To: Governor DeSantis
As Florida's
governor, I am asking you to reaffirm your commitment to Florida waterways by
reuniting four ecosystems that create the Great Florida Riverway: the Ocklawaha
River, Silver Springs, the St. Johns River and the South Atlantic. Like the
Everglades to the South, restoring the Great Florida Riverway is vital to
improving overall ecological and economic health for North and Central Florida.
The Great Florida Riverway is a vast, 217-mile system of rivers and springs
that flows north from the Green Swamp near Lake Apopka, is fed by Silver
Springs, and continues past Palatka to the Lower St. Johns River estuary on the
Atlantic Ocean. The Riverway is home to fifty springs: 25 at historic Silver
Springs, 20 on the Ocklawaha River, and five in the Harris Chain of Lakes.
Over 50 years
ago, the Great Florida Riverway was harmed when the Rodman/Kirkpatrick Dam was
built as part of the misguided Cross Florida Barge Canal project, severing the
Ocklawaha’s connection to the rest of the Riverway. The dam flooded over 7,500
acres of thriving forested wetlands, 20 springs, and 16 miles of the Ocklawaha
River. Every day the dam is in place, it causes harm to this special place and
all the fish and wildlife that depend on these waterways.
The continued
decline of water quality, spring flow, wetland forests, fish and wildlife has
led American Rivers to designate the Ocklawaha River — the heart of the Great
Florida Riverway — as one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2020. The
environmental toll has reduced recreational use and negatively impacted the
economy of Putnam and Marion Counties. These declines have also threatened the
environmental and economic resiliency of downstream counties, including Duval
County. As Florida’s Governor, you can restore this historic Riverway and
radically improve the health of these important ecosystems.
By restoring
the Great Florida Riverway by breaching the Rodman/Kirkpatrick Dam, you can
restore a lost riverway for anglers, boaters and paddlers from the Atlantic
Ocean to the Harris Chain of Lakes; attract more federal funding, create new
jobs, boost the northeast Florida economy, bring back migratory fish, connect
three river ecosystems, and provide access to essential habitat for manatees.
During these challenging times, outdoor recreation is growing, and enhancing
this riverway will benefit our communities, all Floridians and out-of-area
visitors.
We urge you to
restore the Great Florida Riverway in accordance with Florida Department of
Environmental Protection’s Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway Unit
Management Plan. Your leadership can provide a legacy of improving the health
and resiliency of three river systems and the economic vitality of northeast
Florida.
Thank you for
your engagement on so many environmental challenges. We know we can count on
you to save the Great Florida Riverway, which in turn will revitalize the
Ocklawaha, Silver and St. Johns Rivers, as well as historic Silver Springs.