Will they finally get rid of that dam? I’ll believe it when I see it. And I hope I do. Keeping the dam goes against all reason, and OSFR has long supported its demise.
Read the original article here in Florida Politics.
Featured Image photo courtesy of Karen Chadwick.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
Budget conference: Ocklawaha River restoration project gets $15M
A big environmental project to restore the Ocklawaha River’s natural flow is slated to receive $15 million in state funding.
It’s a project that’s been debated for decades, and the House and Senate have closed the line item for the Ocklawaha in the agriculture budget amid ongoing budget negotiations.
“Recently, local and state leaders have recognized the lack of an up-to-date, comprehensive assessment of the science and economics of maintaining the dam versus breaching it and restoring the Ocklawaha River as a primary impediment to decision-making,” according to a report from April funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Under the Senate budget bill, “Funds in Specific Appropriation 1525B are provided to the Department of Environmental Protection to develop a plan, by July 1, 2026, for the restoration of the Ocklawaha River.”
The Ocklawaha, which flows north, is the primary tributary running into the state’s longest river, the St. Johns.
The river restoration project has put some environmentalists and bass fishermen at odds with each other because if the state dismantles the aging Rodman Dam to restore the river, fishermen would lose a prime fishing spot.
“The dam created the Rodman Reservoir, a popular spot for bass fishing, but it’s also been a source of disdain, blamed for drowning freshwater springs and weakening the Ocklawaha,” the Leesburg Daily Commercial reported this week….
The report also cited a list of benefits to removing the dam, which included generating millions of dollars in economic development and job creation, helping protect bears and panthers in Ocala and Osceola national forests, adding more recreational opportunities, and lowering the risk of flooding.
“Breaching the dam would benefit public safety by eliminating flood hazards associated with the high-hazard dam and providing non-structural flood protection in the form of a 7,500-acre restored floodplain forest,” the report said.
Gabrielle Russon
Gabrielle Russon is an award-winning journalist based in Orlando. She covered the business of theme parks for the Orlando Sentinel. Her previous newspaper stops include the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Toledo Blade, Kalamazoo Gazette and Elkhart Truth as well as an internship covering the nation’s capital for the Chicago Tribune. For fun, she runs marathons. She gets her training from chasing a toddler around. Contact her at gabriellerusson@gmail.com or on Twitter @GabrielleRusson .
