Restore the Ocklawaha

The Florida budget is now with the governor for approval. The budget includes $6.25 million for Ocklawaha River restoration.

Ocklawaha Restoration is the most cost-effective springs protection project in Florida. Removing the Rodman/Kirkpatrick Dam on the Ocklawaha River would bring back twenty "lost" springs that were drowned by the dam's reservoir over fifty years ago, restore flow between Silver Springs and the St. Johns River, giving manatees access to much needed habitat and restoring access to fish populations, which have plummeted 90% in Silver Springs since the dam blocked historic breeding routes.

The science is irrefutable, the ...

The Florida budget is now with the governor for approval. The budget includes $6.25 million for Ocklawaha River restoration.

Ocklawaha Restoration is the most cost-effective springs protection project in Florida. Removing the Rodman/Kirkpatrick Dam on the Ocklawaha River would bring back twenty "lost" springs that were drowned by the dam's reservoir over fifty years ago, restore flow between Silver Springs and the St. Johns River, giving manatees access to much needed habitat and restoring access to fish populations, which have plummeted 90% in Silver Springs since the dam blocked historic breeding routes.

The science is irrefutable, the support is bipartisan, and the plans are ready. State legislators have even approved the funding necessary to carry out the plan and restore the river to its natural state.

It's up to the governor to approve the $6.25 million in this year's 2025/26 state budget to initiate Ocklawaha River restoration. We're asking you to use our easy system to send an email to the governor asking for his support of this overdue project.

+

Approve Funding to Restore the Ocklawaha

Your email will go to Governor DeSantis and urge him to approve the $6.25 million in the budget to initiate Ocklawaha River restoration.

Add your own subject line before sending!

Where do you live?

Compose your email

Name

Email

Subject:

Dear Governor,

I am writing to urge your approval of the $6.25 million in funding to initiate Ocklawaha River restoration approved by the Florida Legislature in the 2025/26 state budget.

The Kirkpatrick Dam obstructs the natural flow of freshwater from the Ocklawaha and Silver rivers to the lower St. Johns River, undermining the health of the 217-mile-long riverway. Funding for Ocklawaha River restoration provides a historic opportunity to unleash a wealth of benefits for communities, businesses, and the environment across a 12-county region.

Restore 20 lost springs
For over 50 years, approximately 20 clear springs have been submerged under the reservoir. Restoring the Ocklawaha's flow will permanently uncover and revive these lost springs.

Revive Silver Springs
Silver Springs contributes about 66% of the Ocklawaha’s flow. Restoration would relink Silver Springs to its basin, rejuvenate fish migrations, and improve water clarity, essential for both ecosystem health and the local tourism economy.

Give Manatees much-needed Habitat
Manatees rely on warm, clean spring-fed waterways, and the restoration would reopen access to Silver Springs and the newly freed 20 springs, offering vital refuge and feeding grounds and bolstering local wildlife tourism.

Your approval of this funding would allow Florida to begin one of the most impactful restoration projects available, so I ask that you approve the $6.25 million in the 2025/26 state budget to restore the Ocklawaha River. Thank you for your work on behalf of the great state of Florida.

How we use the data you enter on this form

Do Gooder (the advocacy platform powering this online action) processes personal information from you that you enter on this form so that we can provide the functions and related services to you and The Campaigner (the organisation responsible for this online action) for their legitimate purposes, including possibly exporting it to other systems, and to effectively respond to enquiries and communications related to those services.

Specifically when you enter:

Your location data (residential address or postcode) it is used to locate your elected representative, to pre-populate your email signature and to provide The Campaigner with a visualisation of the location of the support for this campaign.
All other data you may enter, including your email address, name, telephone number, commentary and so on is used by The Campaigner to advocate for the campaign’s goals and where required may be sent to the target of the campaign.

The data collected by Do Gooder is also used by us in aggregate form to improve the service and may be held on your behalf outside your country of residence by our third party service providers. These providers are bound by contract to only use personal information on our behalf, in accordance with agreed terms. While the privacy laws of the country in which personal information is stored or transferred may be different from those in your country, we will always have safeguards in place when storing or transferring personal information. We will never sell, rent, loan or in any other way pass your information on to other parties other than to provide this service to you and The Campaigner.

The personal information collected by Do Gooder is held subject to a Data Processing Agreement between Do Gooder and The Campaigner in compliance with the EU's GDPR and Australian law.

Learn more about our privacy policy here

How is my data used?