Got Milk?

By Robert L. Knight, Ph.D. President of the Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute Dairies as an Existential Threat to Springs and Humans The private, non-profit Florida Springs Institute assessed north Florida dairies as a source of pollution to the Floridan Aquifer and artesian springs (https://floridaspringsinstitute.org/reports/). Ongoing monitoring of public and private supply wells, and the region’s springs and rivers, is documenting severe nitrogen pollution that is impairing ecological and human health. The typical Florida dairy cow…

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Photo by John Moran.

Does Florida have too many dairy cows in the wrong places? North Florida dairy dilemma

Does Florida have too many dairy cows in the wrong places?  North Florida dairy dilemma. By Robert Knight. Originally published on Jan 29th in Tampa Bay Times. The Florida Springs Institute recently assessed north Florida dairies as a source of pollution to the Floridan Aquifer and artesian springs. Monitoring of drinking water wells, springs and rivers in the Suwannee River Basin has documented severe nitrogen pollution that impairs ecological and human health. According to the Florida Department of Environmental…

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Corridor Connections

By Haley Moody, July 1, 2025 Last month, staff from the Florida Springs Institute attended the Corridor Connect Conference at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. Corridor Connect is a three-day event hosted by the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation in order to facilitate and strengthen vital connections for land conservation in Florida. Driven by the need to protect Florida's 131 imperiled animal species from rapid development, the Florida Wildlife Corridor is an 18-million acre continuous patchwork of both wild…

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Springs are Sacred

Last night, the Florida Springs Welcome Center in High Springs was filled to the brim with guests for our Sacred Springs Stories event, co-hosted with the Rights of Water and organized by Lucinda Merritt. The evening began as beautiful music filled the air from flutist Jim Durocher, setting a reverent tone for the divine storytelling that was to come. Special thanks to Michael Monroe for filming the event. Internationally acclaimed artist Margaret Ross Tolbert spoke about her…

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New Publication: Longnose Gar Spawning Within Floating Vegetation

Dear Springs Enthusiast, We’re excited to share a fascinating discovery made right here in one of our beloved springs. FSI Environmental Scientist Bill Hawthorne, Dr. Ken Sulak, and FSI board member Dr. Steve Walsh have published a research paper on Longnose Gar spawning within floating vegetation mats - a behavior never before published for this iconic fish species! Observed and photographed over the past two years, this behavior reveals how Longnose Gar utilize floating vegetation for egg deposition. The mats, suspended…

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