Initial results from an online public survey about the future of the Kirkpatrick Dam, Rodman Reservoir and Ocklawaha River were announced on Tuesday, revealing that a majority of the 10,482 respondents favor breaching the dam and restoring a free-flowing river.

Led by the Free the Ocklawaha Coalition for Everyone, advocates hope that the survey results will help in their years-long effort to partially remove the dam and restore the Ocklawaha River and connecting bodies of water.

The St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) launched the month-long survey in September to collect feedback from community members and stakeholders on the Kirkpatrick Dam and Rodman Reservoir “to help inform future key decisions regarding the best path forward,” whether continued operation or an alternative restoration effort.

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Of over 10,000 responses, 86.5% favor restoration of the Ocklawaha

SJRWMD recently released 251 pages of raw responses, which the Florida Department of Environmental Protection plans to analyze.

In the meantime, Free the Ocklawaha and other advocates announced the results of a volunteer professional data analyst’s preliminary assessment during a public comment period at the district's governing board meeting on Tuesday.

“I watched the process happen,” SJRWMD's Chris Peterson said in a video recap from Free the Ocklawaha, calling it “an ample opportunity for fair feedback for all the stakeholders in the area and from the world."

“To get over 10,000 responses as to what we should do, it’s exciting that we were able to hear from so many people in a fair and very civil manner because it has been contentious in the past,” he said.

The survey asked respondents in what ways they use the dam and reservoir, what they would like to see happen, what supporting information they have, and what concerns they have if the desired outcome is not achieved.

Of the 9,793 individuals who answered what they would like to see happen with the Rodman Reservoir and Kirkpatrick Dam moving forward, 86.5% indicated they were in favor of breaching the dam and restoring a free-flowing Ocklawaha River.

Only 5.9% of respondents supported retaining the dam and reservoir, while the remainder did not express a clear position.

“I think the survey results are a reflection of us trying to bring people together because the results in Putnam and Marion were so encouraging,” Free the Ocklawaha Chair Margaret Spontak said on Wednesday. “We've got people talking about what this could look like and what could make it even better for users of all types from fisherman to paddlers to hikers, mountain bikers.”

A press release detailed that survey responses came from 66 of Florida’s 67 counties, and 1,327 responses, or 17.23%, came from stakeholders out of state.

Restoration would consider concerns and provide recreation infrastructure

In Marion County, whose northern edge borders the dam and reservoir, 75.3% of respondents favored restoration, and 15.6% favored maintaining the dam. In Putnam County, bordering Marion to the north, 63.6% favored restoration and 19.5% opposed.

Spontak says those who favor retaining the dam do so primarily for the fishing and recreation it provides, so they’ve made sure to incorporate these concerns into potential restoration plans.

Potential legislation would also have funding for priority recreation infrastructure for Marion and Putnam counties and an economic package for Putnam.

“When the river is restored, you'll have more banks, so you'll have 16 miles of banks, so that will create more spots for bank fishing, hiking, camping,” she said. “ We really want the recreation infrastructure to take into consideration both bank and shore fishermen.”

Spontak says there are many positive benefits of restoring the Ocklawaha, including providing better fish migration routes and suitable manatee habitats, improving water quality, restoring 7,500 acres of wetland forest and a wildlife corridor and recovering 20 springs drowned by the dam.

“The survey results show the public understands that this is a win-win-win proposal of restoration,” Chris Farrell, Northeast Florida policy associate for Audubon Florida, said at the meeting, according to Free the Ocklawaha's video. “It greatly improves our environment, recreation and economy along this great Florida riverway, so we’re excited about the future.”

Advocates are awaiting state funds for restoration

Among other steps, the partial restoration of the Ocklawaha would include removal of a portion of the earthen dam, restoration of Deep Creek and the Camp Branch channel and floodplain, closure of the Buckman Lock and partial filling of the spillway to bring the reservoir and the river to the same level.

The dam, which was completed in 1968, is “in a bad state of repair,” SJRWMD Chair Douglas Burnett said at the meeting, noting upgrades could cost $8.5 million to $12 million, but he challenged the board to look into it.

While the district oversees the permit for restoration and the FDEP would oversee the efforts, the Florida Legislature must first appropriate funds to move the project forward.

Spontak says many legislators were awaiting the survey results, so the current and future assessments may help finally spur the restoration.

"I feel like this is the year we're going to make this happen,” she said. “We're seeing a lot of people cross over, people talking to one another, which wasn't happening before. We've got support, I think non-partisan support.”

Contact reporter Danielle Johnson at djohnson@gannett.com.

A government watchdog group is recommending that Florida breach Putnam County’s Rodman dam and restore the Ocklawaha River’s natural flow to the St. Johns River.

“To do otherwise would be a dam shame,” concluded a report that Florida TaxWatch released Tuesday endorsing an idea that environmental activists have championed for decades.

The report, which encourages state lawmakers to fund what’s called partial restoration of the Ocklawaha, bolsters calls from activists who this month produced polling reporting that 77 percent of likely voters in Putnam and Marion counties supported breaching the dam, which is about a half-century old and needs maintenance.

“At some point the state will have to ‘fish or cut bait’ and decide the future of the Kirkpatrick Dam and Rodman Reservoir. Florida TaxWatch thinks that time is now,” said the report, using the state’s formal name for the dam.

The dam, which blocks the Ocklawaha from reaching the St. Johns near Palatka, was built as part of a cross-state barge canal that was never completed because of its environmental impact.

But a core of defenders long ago embraced the dam and reservoir, which bass fishermen prize as prime fishing ground.

TaxWatch, maybe most visible through its yearly list of budget “turkeys” that bypass conventional state-funding requirements, argued that restoration would bring greater economic benefits that the reservoir, whose impact it priced at $6.6 million yearly.

Restoring the river by slowly drawing down the reservoir and creating a gap in the dam “stands to add an annual benefit of $9.1 million upon completion of the project,” said the report. The report also noted projections in a pro-restoration report that the number of reservoir visitors would decline.

It argued a restored river would boost tourism around the 74-mile Ocklawaha, which runs from the Harris chain of lakes to the St. Johns.

The state would also save costs of dam repairs estimated at anywhere from $4 million to $14 million, plus yearly maintenance expenses, TaxWatch said.

The report was cheered by dam-removal advocates who argue the Ocklawaha, the biggest tributary to the St. Johns, could add benefit the larger river by adding fresh water to slow a gradual rise in salinity in portions of the St. Johns in Jacksonville.

“It just underscores the fact that restoring the natural connection [between the rivers] … makes economic sense as well as environmental sense,” said St. Johns Riverkeeper Lisa Rinaman, who said her organization had been in contact with TaxWatch previously.

Rinaman, who like other restoration supporters speaks of the dam blocking a “Great Florida Riverway” including the Silver, Ocklawaha and St. Johns, has argued the dam could pose a significant risk to homes and businesses close downstream if the aging dam fails and releases water suddenly.

Rinaman said an updated dam safety report is expected to be released soon and could impact other parts of the debate over the dam.

A TaxWatch spokeswoman, Aly Coleman, said the group looked at the dam's future as an infrastructure issue and decided to issue its report in light of federal infrastructure funding that became law last fall.

Guest columnist

Growing up in Marion County meant swimming in historic swimming holes like Juniper, Silver Glen, Salt and Silver springs. In those magical waters we learned to swim, snorkel and identify fish and wildlife. Visitors joined us from northeast Florida, across the nation and around the world.

After time away at college and my first job in Tallahassee, I applied to work in marketing at Silver Springs, my dream job. Convincing travel agents, bus operators, scout groups, schools and senior travelers to visit one of Florida’s first and most iconic tourist attractions seemed easy. Reclaiming the million annual visitors who once came through the gates prior to Disney World was not.

At the same time exciting new promotions and programs rolled out, something was happening beneath the surface of our beloved Silver Springs. The large catfish that played bread football beneath the glass-bottomed boats disappeared at an alarming rate. Many of the diverse fish found in Ross Allen’s list in his book, “Eternal Spring,” seemed to be missing.

Lots of things got blamed for the fish loss, from otters to raccoons to anhingas. Thousands were spent on catfish restocking, only to hear that big catfish were being caught readily at the end of the line — the Rodman Dam.

Few openly discussed that maybe the Rodman/Kirkpatrick Dam was the culprit. Dr. Bob Knight, a protégé of Dr. Howard T. Odum, tried to sound the alarm. Odum conducted a comprehensive Silver Springs assessment in the 1950s. Beginning in the 1980s, Knight revealed in multiple post-dam studies the startling news that Silver Springs had lost much of its fish population and biological health.

Silver Springs is still a magical place but decades later, exotic blue tilapia and armored catfish replaced many of the native fish. The glass-bottomed boat rides shortened from 60 to 30 minutes with less to see below. The once beautiful lime green eelgrass is coated with brown algae. The massive schools of mullet that once grazed on the undesirable algae, keeping the ecosystem in balance, are few.

Silver Springs is not the only casualty from the dam. Breaching 2,000 feet of the Rodman/Kirkpatrick Dam would restore the historic fish and aquatic wildlife migratory path and boat way from the Atlantic Ocean to the St. Johns River up the Ocklawaha to Silver Springs. Connection of this Great Florida Riverway links 50 springs, including the 30 springs of Silver Springs, 20 lost springs of the Ocklawaha, and the Ocklawaha, Silver and St. Johns rivers.

Twenty springs of various sizes along the Ocklawaha River are buried beneath the water of the Rodman Reservoir. Some of the larger springs, Cannon and Tobacco Patch, are seen at drawdowns every three to four years. In addition to recreation and essential warm-water winter manatee habitat, these uncovered jewels offer 150 million gallons a day of clear spring water downstream to the lower Ocklawaha and St. Johns rivers with breaching of the dam.

The lower St. Johns River is in trouble, too. Seagrass expert Dr. Bob Virnstein recently shared with the St. Johns River Water Management Board that more than 90% of its eelgrass is gone. These grasses serve as habitat for baby fish and aquatic wildlife and a needed food source for suffering manatees. Additional clear fresh water would help protect the commercial and recreational fish and shellfish industries, knock back saltwater intrusion and create a more sustainable river system.

Resuscitating Silver Springs and unleashing the 20 lost springs of the Ocklawaha River is the largest springs restoration project currently available. It is time to achieve the late Marjorie Harris Carr’s final wish to reclaim the Ocklawaha River, springs, fish, wildlife and thousands of acres of floodplain forest lost for over 50 years.

With the Great Florida Riverway project, we are closer to accomplishing this goal than we have been in a long time. The land is purchased, permit application ready, federal and state funds are available, and polls demonstrate strong bipartisan public support. In a recent poll, more than 74% of likely voters interviewed in Putnam County support restoration with only 7% opposed.

To find out how you can help to reconnect The Great Florida Riverway, visit https://freetheocklawaha.com.

Margaret Hankinson Spontak is chair of the Free the Ocklawaha River Coalition for Everyone. She lives in Ocala. This column is part of The Sun's Messages from the Springs Heartland series.

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A 28-year-old Ocklawaha man was arrested after he allegedly punched a female victim in the face and knocked out two of her front teeth.

On Monday, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office corporal responded to a gas station in Silver Springs in reference to a domestic disturbance. Upon arrival, the female victim stated that Micah Rodgers had punched her several times.

According to the victim, she had traveled with Rodgers to a doctor’s appointment earlier in the day. After leaving the appointment, they stopped at a corner store in Belleview, and the victim stated that Rodgers began drinking alcohol.

An argument ensued and she began walking away from the vehicle. Rodgers allegedly grabbed her by the hair and dragged her on the ground back towards the vehicle.

Once inside the vehicle, the victim stated that Rodgers drove towards a forested area of Ocklawaha, and they proceeded east onto Highway 40 from Baseline Road. The victim stated that Rodgers was being aggressive, and she recalled being punched in the head and mouth several times.

The vehicle eventually stopped at the gas station in Silver Springs, and she was able to exit the vehicle.

The corporal observed that two of the victim’s front teeth were missing and there was blood on the front of her shirt. Her left eye was bloodshot and swollen, and the corporal also noted in the MCSO report that the outside of her jeans had ‘road rash’ marks which were consistent with being dragged.

A child was with the victim and had witnessed the incident inside the vehicle. During an interview with the corporal, the child corroborated the victim’s statements.

Marion County Fire Rescue arrived on scene to evaluate the victim, and she refused to be transported to the hospital.

An MCSO deputy located Rodgers on County Road 314, and the corporal arrived on scene to conduct an interview. Rodgers denied that any physical contact had occurred between him and the victim. He claimed that he had dropped off the victim at the gas station because she had become aggressive.

During the time of the incident, the MCSO report indicated that there were several calls for service from witnesses who reported seeing a man dragging a woman across the median in the area of Highway 40 and Baseline Road. The witnesses also reported that the woman was then forced inside a vehicle.

Rodgers was arrested and transported to Marion Count Jail where he is currently being held on $55,000 bond. He is facing felony charges for domestic battery and false imprisonment of an adult, along with a misdemeanor charge for battery.

A court date has been scheduled on Tuesday, May 17 at 9 a.m., according to jail records.

Guest columnist

The St. Johns River runs through the heart of Jacksonville and Northeast Florida, shaping our lives and driving our economy. Our river is also one of Florida’s most productive estuaries and the nursery grounds for numerous species of commercially harvested fish and shellfish we love to eat.

Shrimp spawn offshore, but once their eggs hatch, the larvae migrate back to the ideal habitat of the St. Johns estuary to grow and mature. As a result, commercial and sport shrimpers enjoy the river’s bounty between Jacksonville and Palatka.

Blue crabs, the largest fishery in the river, release their eggs in the marine waters near the mouth of the river. Wind and tides will eventually carry the larvae upstream where they will find refuge in the submerged grasses that will nurture them. During the warmer months, blue crabs reach as far south as Lake George.

The St. Johns’ delicate tidal balance of salt and freshwater has historically enabled healthy underwater grasses to thrive, providing critical habitat for fresh and saltwater species that have attracted sportsmen from near and far.

Now our thriving estuary and fishing economy are at risk. Due to overuse of our aquifer, dredging and increasing saltwater intrusion, the St. Johns’ underwater grasses are disappearing, the cypress forest wetlands are stressed and fish habitat is vanishing within the St. Johns River estuary from Welaka to Palatka to Jacksonville.

The loss of our river’s submerged grasses also increase the threat of toxic blue green algae and increase flood risk throughout the lower St. Johns.

More than 50 years ago, the Rodman Dam (now known as the Kirkpatrick Dam) was built across the Ocklawaha River, the largest tributary of the St. Johns, as part of the failed Cross Florida Barge Canal. This resulted in the clearing and flooding of approximately 7,500 acres of floodplain forest, while submerging over 20 springs beneath a massive pool of water that significantly reduced freshwater flow to the St. Johns.

The boondoggle canal project was eventually halted by the federal government, but the dam remains in place after all these years.

The good news is that we have an opportunity to finally breach the dam and allow the Ocklawaha to run free, once again. By reuniting the natural connection of Silver Springs, the Ocklawaha River and the St. Johns, we can restore more than 150 million gallons of fresh water a day to our estuary, improve water quality, offset saltwater intrusion and restore habitat for fish and wildlife in the Lower St. Johns River.

A free-flowing Ocklawaha will also restore a lost migratory pathway used by numerous fish species that migrated between the Ocklawaha River and the South Atlantic Bight. Many species historically migrated far up the St. Johns and into the Ocklawaha River to feed and reproduce, including American shad, striped bass, American eel and mullet.

Unfortunately, the construction of the dam across the Ocklawaha severed this migratory pathway and fish populations in Silver Springs have sharply declined.

Few efforts to restore Florida’s biological wealth hold the prospect for such far-reaching benefits including making Northeast Florida more resilient from Welaka to Palatka to Jacksonville.

The science is clear and there is overwhelming public support based on the St. Johns River Water Management Survey conducted in October 2021, where more than 85 percent of the participants expressed a desire to restore the Ocklawaha River.

The time has come to finally restore the largest tributary of our St. Johns River and together, we can unleash the significant ecological and economic benefits of a free-flowing Ocklawaha.

To help save the St. Johns and free the Ocklawaha, visit StJohnsRiverkeeper.org.

Lisa Rinaman, St. Johns Riverkeeper