Reunite the Rivers

08/07/2026

Thanks to our coalition partners at Florida Defenders of the Environment.

Bruce Kaster files suit against the Florida Department of Environmental Protection / News, Uncategorized / By admin Ocala attorney Bruce Kaster recently filed a legal petition on his own behalf seeking a court order to require the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to release insp...

05/27/2026

We must demand that the candidate we vote for in the Governor's race commits to appointing qualified people, not coporate developers, polluters and big donors. No current commissioner has an academic or professional background in conservation science, land management, species conservation or ecology. Thank you to our conservation colleague Murphy

Our next governor must appoint commissioners from the natural sciences and conservation management fields.

03/24/2026

Decades after a canal project was abandoned, the push to reunite the Silver, Ocklawaha, and St. Johns Rivers is gaining national attention.

We’re grateful to see the story of the Ocklawaha River reach a broader audience through the Associated Press.

While this year’s legislation did not receive a final vote, the momentum is real and growing. Communities across Florida are coming together around a shared vision: restoring a free-flowing river, investing in local economies, and addressing aging infrastructure like the Rodman Dam.

The movement to reunite the rivers continues and we’re just getting started.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/florida-silver-springs-restoration-environment-rodman-ocklawaha-63b280aaaa220667cc38fdc5a680c2ed

Environmentalists want to permanently open a dam built for a canal that was supposed to cut through the middle of Florida from the Atlantic to the Gulf.

03/24/2026

Thanks to the The Invading Sea for this great article on the benefits of Ocklawaha restoration. Our work to continues.

Advocates say restoring the river would revive lost springs and reshape the region’s ecological future.

03/16/2026

Please join us this Thursday in St. Augustine! Thanks to Spinster Abbott's for inviting our coalition members Erin Handy and Ryan Worthington to discuss the history of the Ocklawaha river and the next steps the Reunite the Rivers coalition will be taking to restore the natural flow of the river and the benefits to the environment, recreational opportunities, and local economies. .

This Thursday! Join us in the taproom to welcome Erin Handy, with Defenders of Wildlife. She and Reunite the Rivers Coalition will talk about the efforts to at long last remove the Rodman Dam and Restore the Ocklawaha River 🏞️🦦🛶

03/12/2026

“The decline of the St. Johns River from the Rodman/Kirkpatrick Dam has been gradual but undeniable. Commercial fishing for catfish, eels, and crabs has nearly disappeared. Eel grass beds have withered. The water has grown darker. In the spring of 2020, long stretches of the St. Johns turned a troubling green, choked with algae from nutrient overload and weakened flow. I urge Senate President Albritton and his fellow state senators to advance and approve SB 1066 to finally let the Ocklawaha run free again — and let the St. Johns breathe again.”

- Sam Carr, President, Bartram Trail Society of Florida & St. Johns River Homeowner

📣 Please, contact Senate President Albritton and your senator today.

03/10/2026

SB 1066 for Ocklawaha restoration has earned a floor vote. A bill this consequential should live or die in the daylight, not be suffocated in backrooms.

Contact Senate President Albritton and urge him to advance and approve SB 1066! https://reunitetherivers.com/contact-your-senator/