Along the banks of the Ocklawaha River, stark but beautiful skeletons of an ancient cypress forest remind us of woodlands lost in time, a drowned forest ready to be resurrected.
Before a botched attempt to create the Cross Florida Barge Canal, the Ocklawaha River once connected Silver Springs to the St. Johns River, guiding fish, manatees and other wildlife in their migrations. Children swam along its banks in crystal-clear springs.
The defunct project drowned swaths of trees and left behind a purposeless dam in disrepair — too expensive to fix but kept in place by bass fishermen fond of its reservoir, empowered by persuasive lobbyists and legislators sympathetic to their cause.
Save the Rodman Reservoir proponents say that the repository helps clean the river, but scientists have disputed this claim. Bass fishermen themselves have come out in support of discontinuing the dam.
Earlier this year, Florida lawmakers approved financing a study to dismantle the dam, but the project was slashed by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ veto pen.
Politics aside, we’re reminded of the Ocala National Forest shoreline and the mightiness of the river before the dam, and this winter and early spring is one of those times. The water has been lowered from 18 to 11 feet above mean sea level for the next few months to manage invasive aquatic vegetation and sediments.
The current drawdown is scheduled to continue through March 2026.
“For far too long, the Rodman Dam has blocked the historic waterway, but right now, we’re getting a look at what a restored river could look like,” Margaret Spontak, president/CEO of the Great Riverway Trust, said in an editorial about her mission to reunite the rivers.
Spontak’s political nonprofit advocates for the reconnection of the Ocklawaha and St. Johns Rivers and historic Silver Springs.
The conservation leader and strategic planner has worked to advance land and water conservation projects and community engagement initiatives throughout Florida over the past three decades.
On Dec. 5, she and the Great Riverway Trust led a tour along the Rodman Reservoir and Ocklawaha attended by the Daily Commercial/Ocala Star-Banner, Gainesville Sun photographer Alan Youngblood and other members of the media, along with Palatka Mayor Robbi Correa, Seminole Audubon officials, author and professor Cynthia Barnett, and other officials and photographers.
It was a memorable ride. A congregation of majestic white egrets flocked to the cypress graveyard to fish for their lunch as human fishermen passed by. The trees were mostly dead, but the river was teeming with life.
The Ocklawaha River drawdown happens every three to four years, and people come from far and wide to see what the Rodman Reservoir from Eureka to the Kirkpatrick Dam near Palatka looks like closer to a natural river water level.
Boat captains Karen Chadwick and Erika Ritter have connections to the river’s history and explained that the dam prevents dozens of fish species from migrating from the Silver River to the St. Johns River.
Tour participants learned that manatees rely on the lock system to swim through, which has killed 12 manatees through the years, and prevents them from freely migrating between Silver Springs and the coast.
Along with the boaters, hikers, paddlers and wildlife photographers have explored reopened springs, ancient cypress with little branches of renewed life and and an assortment of wildlife reaping the benefits of the flowing river.
One spot to put on a drawdown to-visit list: Cannon Springs, a “lost” third-magnitude spring of the Ocklawaha that bubbles with aquamarine beauty during the drawdown.
Chadwick, the owner and operator of North Star Charters, said Silver Springs would be decimated if it weren’t for the drawdowns.
On the recent media tour, birders Michael and Louanne Warren of Ocala and Seminole Audubon Society members Leslie Martin and Marguerite Terwillegar scoped out featured friends feasting on newly available fish.
Although it was a windy day, meaning fewer birds, Martin identified 22 species, including 130 great egrets, 53 white ibis and a group of six limpkins on a single tree.
“The species of the day was an American bittern, a species that is often hard to spot as it forages head down around aquatic vegetation,” Martin reported.
According to advocates of reuniting the rivers, maintenance and repairs add up, draining millions from taxes annually. A gradual drawdown is the economically feasible solution, they say. Otherwise, we’ll be paying for dam maintenance indefinitely.
Spontak has been working with the Great Riverway Trust to rejuvenate the 217-mile system. By breaching a portion of the Rodman/Kirkpatrick Dam, four ecosystems – the Ocklawaha River, Silver Springs, the lower St. Johns River and the coastal Atlantic Ocean of the southeastern United States – those areas would be rehabilitated, the longtime advocate maintains.
Spontak said that DeSantis’ recent veto on the dam-dismantling project study was a temporary setback because it was relegated to appropriations.
“The governor’s staff said that he felt the issue should not be handled through an appropriation, as was done last year,” Spontak told the Daily Commercial. “They felt that it is a big issue that warranted a bill to allow for more discussion by both sides.”
When drafted, the bill would offer a vision of how the reservoir area could look in the future.
Spontak and her cohorts have telescoped into the future, designing what can be done with the Rodman area after discontinuing the use of the Kirkpatrick Dam.
“The Ocklawaha River Restoration project promises significant economic benefits to our community,” the project’s information brochure says. That vision comprises the following “possibilities”:
According to an information packet published by the Ocklawaha project organizers, the following should happen to accomplish their objectives:
John Hendrickson, former supervising environmental scientist at St. Johns River Water Management District, and Robert Mattson, former environmental scientist at the district, contributed their expertise to the project.
A sustainable eco-tourism nirvana has been envisioned for the Rodman Reservoir area and the state-owned land that will be freed up.
Project features include repurposing the existing structure with a new bridge to Hog Valley, an underpass to parking and the restoration, a photo spot and panoramic view of the restoration area, a multi-use trail, a pathway along wildflower plantings, a new wetland wildlife viewing area, boardwalks and trails with interpretive signs, improved existing picnic areas and restrooms, and a new food truck area.
Kids would also get their own shallow fishing area and playground, an open lawn to play in and a new covered pavilion. Fishers will get a new channel dock, and a new fish species sculpture garden will bring creativity into the mix. Also envisioned are more parking spaces and a new vessel launch.
Chadwick and fellow boat captain, environmental advocate Erika Ritter, operate charters to acquaint outdoor enthusiasts with the free-flowing river. Visit Chadwick’s website at northstarcharters.net or Ritter’s at captainerikasfloridaboatcharters.com.
If you’re a kayaker, local paddling expert and Adventure Outpost owner Lars Andersen has multiple kayak tours along the Ocklawaha you can book in advance. Look for “Rodman Reservoir (Florida’s Pompeii)” or “Lost Springs of Ocklawaha” on his calendar to find one and sign up at adventureoutpost.net/new-calendar
The Hidden Springs of the Ocklawaha River trips start by Earth Kinship, will be running one trip a month on the Ocklawaha, and will end with its last trip on March 13. Get your spot before they run out. Sign up at fareharbor.com
“A lost forest is rising around us – the bones of a landscape that once stood tall,” Florida Defenders of the Environment posted on Facebook on the first day of the drawdown.
“Today’s Rodman Reservoir drawdown reveals the original Ocklawaha River channel, long-submerged springs and the remains of a vast cypress and hardwood floodplain flooded nearly 60 years ago.”
This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Rodman drawdown reunites rivers, for now
Reporting by Julie Garisto, Leesburg Daily Commercial / Daily Commercial
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
