Gov. Ron DeSantis on June 30 signed the 2025-26 budget after vetoing almost $600 million in programs and projects from the $115.1 billion spending plan composed by lawmakers.

One of the budget casualties: $6.25 million for the study that the Legislature approved to restore the flow of the Ocklawaha River and dismantle a controversial dam.

During the recently concluded 2025-26 budget session, legislators allocated $6.25 million and directed the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to develop a plan and restore the natural flow of the river by removing an earthen section of the Kirkpatrick Dam.

Steve Miller, president of the Save the Rodman, expressed relief on social media:

"(It) sounds like there is sanity in Tallahassee. For all of our supporters who called, emailed and mailed the governor, we thank you with our sincere gratitude. Please take the time to contact his office and thank him for seeing through the rhetoric and obfuscation and following the science."

Miller and his cohorts want to keep in place the dam that created the Rodman Reservoir, a popular spot for bass fishing.

The reservoir has been blamed by the Save the Ocklawaha contingent for drowning freshwater springs and weakening the river, the primary tributary of the state’s largest river, the St. Johns, which flows north past Jacksonville into the Atlantic Ocean.

Since 1968, the Kirkpatrick Dam has blocked the flow from the Ocklawaha River — which originates in Lake Griffin, part of the Harris chain of lakes in Lake County and flows northward — and eventually joins the St. Johns River near Palatka.

Before he whipped out his veto pen, the governor bragged about the frugality of his spending and the soon-to-open $450-million Alligator Alcatraz detention facility in the Everglades and also called out his "far left" opponents.

The budget includes funding for teacher and law enforcement pay increases. He also said businesses would no longer pay taxes on commercial leases.

River advocates were disappointed if not deterred.

"The accompanying proviso language stated that the full project was to be completed in 10 years," explained Margaret Spontak, president of the Great Florida Riverway Trust, on Facebook.

"It was incredible that in this lean and contentious budget year, we achieved legislative approval, the closest we have ever been to achieving restoration."

Spontak said she's encouraged that Senate President Pro Tem Jason Brodeur affirmed his commitment to continuing his support for restoration.

"He has been a very strong and effective champion," she said, adding that she wanted communities in the three-river, 12-county watershed to end up with something better than we all have today, "better economically and better fish, water and wildlife.

"That can be achieved by restoration paired with recreation improvements and an economic package for Putnam County."

The Florida Springs Council also posted a rallying cry:

"We're hopeful we can continue to build support and keep the pressure on Gov. DeSantis, so he has no choice but to #RestoreTheOcklawaha next year!"

A national river advocacy group on Tuesday named the Ocklawaha River as one of the Top 10 most endangered rivers in the country.

American Rivers ranked the Ocklawaha as the ninth most endangered on its 2020 rankings, citing the Rodman Dam as a threat to clean water, wildlife habitat and recreation, according to a press release from the Washington D.C.-based organization.

“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,” Erin McCombs with American Rivers said in a prepared statement.

The designation is the latest salvo in a decades-long fight between defenders and detractors of the 1960s-era dam that formed the Rodman Reservoir in northeast Marion and south Putman counties as part of the never-finished Cross Florida Barge Canal project.

Those against the dam argue the structure stagnates the river by cutting off its free flow to the St. Johns River, flooding thousands of acres of wildlife habitat and cutting off fish species and manatees from the Ocklawaha.

Proponents argue the dam created a reservoir that is a sportsman’s paradise with world-class bass fishing and a ready supply of 21 billion gallons of freshwater.

“It’s not something you want to open a bottle of champagne over, but we welcome this designation. This is not just a Putnam County issue. Silver Springs cannot be restored; it impacts estuaries near Jacksonville; and wetland forests. It’s all connected. We’re trying to raise awareness nationally and broaden the concern,” said Margaret Spontak of the Free the Ocklawaha River Coalition.

The Gainesville-based Florida Defenders of the Environment, whose primary mission is to get the dam at Rodman Reservoir removed, was thankful for the inclusion of the Ocklawaha on the list.

“There is an emerging recognition across Florida and beyond, that the status quo for the Ocklawaha River is not acceptable,” Executive Director Jim Gross said. “Even some enthusiastic bass fishermen previously opposed to Ocklawaha restoration now acknowledge the benefits and opportunities by restoring a free-flowing river.”

Larry Harvey, executive director of the Save the Rodman Reservoir, gave little credence to the designation.

“I think it’s ridiculous that a think tank in Washington, D.C., is going to dictate to this community what our environment looks like,” Harvey said. “Nature has restored itself. The destruction of that magnificent lake and the wildlife and people that it supports is not something that should happen.”

Plans for the Cross Florida Barge Canal emerged in the 1930s with the idea of creating a shortcut for barges between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean through the middle of Florida.

With about a third of the project completed, the federal government finally abandoned it in 1971. But the vestiges, including the Rodman Dam and a series of locks and dams along other waterways, continue to fuel debate.

— Contact Carlos E. Medina at 867-4157 or cmedina@starbanner.com Cindy Swirko of the Gainesville Sun contributed to this report.

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

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