Why do we have water summits? To learn and to renew our spirits. Thanks to the Florida Springs Council and Ryan Smart, we just had another good one. And thanks to Dean Benjamin Barros, Dean of Stetson Law College, and Stetson University in Gulfport for the gracious hosting of the summit.
We miss the two-day summits and banquets of the old days, but nothing lasts forever. As usual, this one was well-organized with speakers covering all aspects of Florida’s waters.
Speaking of the good ole’ days, we had speakers who headed up the DEP and St Johns River Water Management District back when those agencies were actually protecting the rivers and springs, instead of letting them decline and die. Hard to believe, eh?
Jake Varn
Keynote speaker Jake Varn who once was Secretary of the DEP, and who wrote the basic water laws for Florida. The water laws are good, the problem is that our useless leaders do not follow them.
Ryan Smart
Ryan Smart, Executive Director of the Florida Springs Council. Please consider supporting this group because they do a lot of good for our springs, rivers and aquifers. Ryan Smart does the numbers and his homework to show that the DEP is NOT the friend of Florida’s waters. Indeed they are the friend of the main polluters and water abusers. The Florida Springs Council has flourished under the able directorship of Ryan Smart.
Doug MacLaughlin represented our lawsuit against the DEP; Bob Knight is our scientist who calls out the state agencies who lie and cherry-pick their science while trying to hoodwink the public. He is also a well known author of books on water and a comprehensive tome on the the Santa Fe River. He has also distinguished himself as an archaeologist, with a study revealing the earliest known humans in Florida at a site on the Santa Fe River near OSFR headquarters. Pat Harden is of the old school and once headed up the SJRWMD back when water districts were above board and worked for the good of the water and the public. Her leadership is sorely needed today more than ever in Florida and at age 92 she appears ready to head back and do another stint at SJRWMD.
Brenda Wells, FSC, and Dr. Bob Knight.
Listening to the panelists are Jaclyn Lopez, Stetson College of Law, Brenda Wells, FSC, and Dr. Bob Knight. Jaclyn is formerly of the Center for Biological Diversity, and Brenda makes all the things happen so the event is a success.
The Rule-Making panel included Stacie Greco who has been with the Alachua Co. Environmental Protection Department for many years and heads the popular Santa Fe River Springs Protection Forum, Casey Fitzgerald, formerly with SJRWMD, presented on restoration of the Ocklawaha River. Bob Palmer is also a scientist with years of experience in Washington and politics. Along with Bob Knight, he is expert in water legislation and the inaction and malfeasance of the DEP and the water boards.
Joanne “was most impressed by Pat Harden, Founding member, Friends of Wekiva and former chair of the SJRWD. Her insight on generating ‘buy-in’ from the public through her presentations and her common sense approach to presenting concerns to representatives was inspiring.
Lobbyist Travis Moore and Legislative Analyst Dustin Paulson both emphasized the power we all have in reaching out and contacting our legislators especially through their aides.
Finally, Perry Kaplan with UF Law presented research on how farmer’s self-reported data on fertilizer exceeded the recommended amounts which may explain the high nitrate levels in our aquifer. He also stated that because of these inaccuracies, the nitrogen loading tool used by Fl-DEP was also inaccurate. “
Of the Summit, Rick wrote “Yesterday Karen & I attended the 2025 Springs Summit held at Stetson Law School organized by the Florida Springs Council and sponsored by many environmental groups focused on preserving Florida’s springs, rivers and aquifer. Thanks to Save the Manatee Club for being title sponsor. Several key takeaways for me were expressed by leading speakers including keynote speaker Jake Varn, former secretary of the FL DEP, who said ( I’m paraphrasing) that the Springs are just a reflection of the condition of our aquifer. And, Stacie Greco, Alachua County Environmental Protection Dept, who expressed that we can’t have healthy springs and rivers at current or projected pumping rates, and that restricting pumping encourages innovation and political will. Our springs and rivers are failing! Please get involved and take a stand to protect our most vital resource – fresh, clean WATER. Can we at least consider that having lawns in Florida is a terribly way to waste this precious resource.”
Every legislative session presents challenges to promote environmental bills.
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Not to be missed was the manatee parked in the courtyard adjacent to the rooms hosting the event. Most Floridians are aware that the DEP and water districts have allowed some waters to become so polluted that the manatees have no food to keep them alive. This is an utter shame for a state blessed with so many springs and beautiful rivers.
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
