North Florida, South Florida vie to be most-polluted region

By Dr. Robert Knight. Published in the Florida Specifier April/May 2023. Given the Environmental disaster that has continued to engulf the estuaries and beaches on both sides of the state, South Florida's guacamole-filled coastal waters are receiving the state and national press they deserve. But thanks to on-going releases of nutrient-laden water from sugar plantations, ranches, and other intensive agricultural operations; toxic floating algae, starving manatees, and rafts of dead fish continue to slime the once-blue waters,…

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The Future of Florida’s Springs

Future of Florida Springs: A Discussion on Springs Health Remarks prepared and delivered by Dr. Robert Knight, Director Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute – at a panel discussion held at the University of Florida on April 1, 2023, and hosted by the Samuel Proctor Oral History Project. Over the past 70 years of focused research, Florida springs science has progressed from infancy to maturity. Starting with the seminal work of Howard Odum in the 1950s and…

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Read more about the article The death of North Florida’s springs

The death of North Florida’s springs

By Robert Knight. Published in Orlando Sentinel, January 28, 2023. Once compared to the greatest hydrological wonders of North America, including Niagara Falls and the Mississippi River, North Florida’s springs in the 1850s were praised for their extreme water clarity and complex ecology. Like the Everglades in South Florida, artesian springs in North Florida continue to delight millions. Increasingly “discovered” by tourists and recreationalists from Florida and beyond, healthy springs provide waders and swimmers with the cool…

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Read more about the article Florida’s springs are dying: It’s time to get off your butts for springs protection

Florida’s springs are dying: It’s time to get off your butts for springs protection

By Robert Knight. Published in the Gainesville Sun on October 25th, 2022. Florida is the Land of a Thousand Springs. Beautiful and healthy springs are among Florida’s most important natural attractions. Crystal clear, sky blue and teaming with fish; cooling in summer, warm enough for manatees in winter; North Florida’s springs are now more endangered than South Florida’s Everglades. Increasingly dominated by tannic waters, suffering from declining flows, polluted by nutrients, choked with noxious filamentous algae and often overwhelmed…

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Florida Springs Welcome Center – Our Vision

By: Robert Knight As of November 1st, 2022, the Florida Springs Institute has moved to a new location. Our new home is at 18645 Main Street in downtown High Springs and will be the public’s full service stop for springs information, gifts, and gear. After seven years at our old location across from the High Springs City Hall, we have moved a short distance east to Main Street, into the old “Estate Solutions” building. While we are…

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