Florida Lets a Drowned River Resurface Every Few Years — What Comes Back Is Unreal

Florida Lets a Drowned River Resurface Every Few Years — What Comes Back Is Unreal Florida built a dam in 1968 for a canal that was never finished, and it drowned an entire river. More than twenty natural springs, a cypress forest, and twenty miles of the Ocklawaha vanished under a reservoir. But every few years, the state lowers the water, and the river comes back. This is the story of the Cross Florida Barge Canal, the scientist who killed it, the manatees who now need the buried springs to survive, and the fight to finally tear the dam down. Sources & further reading Florida Defenders of the Environment — Ocklawaha restoration: fladefenders.org/projects Florida Springs Council — Free the Ocklawaha: floridaspringscouncil.org/free-the-ocklawaha The Nature Conservancy — saving manatees through springs restoration: nature.org FWC — manatee Unusual Mortality Event & statewide abundance: myfwc.com/research/manatee St. Johns Riverkeeper — Reunite the Rivers: stjohnsriverkeeper.org/take-action/free-ocklawaha The Invading Sea — drawdown & 2026 legislative coverage: theinvadingsea.com Florida Museum — Cross Florida Barge Canal history: floridamuseum.ufl.edu