April 14, 2020

Contact: Erin McCombs, American Rivers, 828-649-7887
Lisa Rinaman, St. Johns Riverkeeper, 904-509-3260
Captain Erika Ritter, A Cruising Down the River, 352-299-0282

Washington, D.C. –American Rivers today named the Ocklawaha River among America’s Most Endangered Rivers®, citing the Rodman Dam as a threat to clean water, wildlife habitat, and recreation.

“America’s Most Endangered Rivers is a call to restore rivers for today’s communities and future generations,” said Erin McCombs with American Rivers. “The Ocklawaha River is a Florida treasure, but this obsolete dam is holding back the river’s full potential to revitalize local communities and a healthy environment. Governor DeSantis has a historic opportunity to bring the river back to life.

In 1968, the natural connection of the Ocklawaha River to the St. Johns River was severed by the Rodman Dam, part of the Cross Florida Barge Canal that was never built. The dam flooded over 7,500 acres of forested wetlands, 20 springs and 16 miles of the Ocklawaha River. It also caused significant harm to threatened and endangered species, adjacent wetlands and forests, 12 miles of downstream river and wetlands, and the St. Johns River. While the reservoir behind the dam, Rodman Pool, became a popular bass fishing destination, the pool has never functioned as a natural lake and must be artificially maintained and drained every three to four years to kill nuisance aquatic vegetation with herbicides. In addition, fish diversity and quantity have declined due to water quality degradation and loss of floodplain habitat.

Governor DeSantis has demonstrated his commitment to the improvement of Florida’s water resources by dedicating millions of dollars to support Everglades restoration. Lending his support in Northeast Florida for Ocklawaha River restoration is essential to the economy and health of three outstanding rivers and one of the state’s largest first magnitude springs.

“Reconnecting and restoring the St. Johns, Ocklawaha and Silver Springs by breaching the Rodman Dam offers a much-needed stimulus project that provides jobs, increases visitor traffic and restores three of Florida’s most loved waterways creating an unprecedented environmental and economic lift to Northeast Florida during a critical point in our history,” said Lisa Rinaman with St. Johns Riverkeeper.

“There is no other river in America quite like the Ocklawaha River,” said river Captain Erika Ritter. “Restoration will bring back our native fish like the striped bass, provide habitat for threatened manatees, save the cypress forest and restore a lost blueway for motorboats and paddlers from the Atlantic Ocean to the Harris Chain of Lakes.” As a young child, Ritter saw the “crusher crawler” machine destroy part of the large cypress forest near her river home.

The 74-mile river rises from the swamps and lakes of north-central Florida, winds along the Ocala National Forest, connects with the spring-fed Silver River and travels east near Orange Springs before reaching the St. Johns River, an American Heritage River. The Timucua people inhabited the region centuries ago, and in more recent times the Creek, Choctaw and several other tribes displaced from their lands by European settlers formed the Seminole nation on the banks of the Ocklawaha. Much of the river remains largely undisturbed, providing natural landscapes of hydric hammocks, long leafed and slash pine, and the sugar sandy soils that give Florida its white sand beaches. The fossil remains of paleo-mammals like mastodons and saber-toothed tigers are often found near the river.

The annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a list of rivers at a crossroads, where key decisions in the coming months will determine the rivers’ fates. Over the years, the report has helped spur many successes including the removal of outdated dams, the protection of rivers with Wild and Scenic designations, and the prevention of harmful development and pollution.

Other rivers in the region listed as most endangered in past years include the Okefenokee/ St Marys River (2020), St. Johns River (2008), Apalachicola River (2016, 2002, 2000 & 1997), Peace River (2004), Caloosahatchee River (2006) and the Chattahoochee River (2016, 2012, 2000, 1998, & 1996).

AMERICA’S MOST ENDANGERED RIVERS® OF 2020

#1 Upper Mississippi River (Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin)
      Threat:  Climate change, poor flood management

#2 Lower Missouri River (Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas)
      Threat:  Climate change, poor flood management

 #3 Big Sunflower River (Mississippi)
       Threat:  Yazoo pumps project

 #4 Puyallup River (Washington)
       Threat:  Electron Dam

 #5 South Fork Salmon River (Idaho)
       Threat:  Gold mine

 #6 Menominee River (Michigan, Wisconsin)
       Threat:  Open pit sulfide mining

#7 Rapid Creek (South Dakota)
      Threat:  Gold mining

 #8 Okefenokee Swamp (Georgia, Florida)
       Threat:  Titanium mining

#9 Ocklawaha River (Florida)
      Threat:  Rodman Dam

#10 Lower Youghiogheny River (Pennsylvania)
        Threat:  Natural gas development

River of the Year: Delaware River (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware)

Honored as a national success story for restoration and a model for equitable and innovative clean water solutions.

Ocklawaha River, Florida