As of May 5th, Florida Springs Institute staff and interns completed Phase 2 of the Santa Fe River and Springs Environmental Analysis, which evaluated the environmental health of the river and springs aquatic ecosystem through regular monitoring and data collection. Phase 2 of the Santa Fe River Project began in April 2018.
Sampling was conducted at 62 sampling stations along the Santa Fe River, including stations at the river’s major tributaries: the Ichetucknee River, Olustee Creek, and Cow Creek.
For a complete overview of Phase 2 of the Santa Fe River project, please visit the Santa Fe River and Springs Story Map, where you can scroll through to learn about the importance of the Santa Fe River and its springs, why this project is necessary, our monitoring methods, parameters collected, and project partners. You don’t want to miss this, it is beautiful!
This project was designed to improve understanding of the physical, chemical, biological, and ecological conditions of the Santa Fe River and Springs.
Upon completion of Phase 2 of this project, the Florida Springs Institute hosted the 3rd annual meeting of Santa Fe River Basin Research and Restoration Partners. This meeting allowed researchers and educators to present their work along the Santa Fe River, its springs, and the Floridan aquifer as a whole. 24 partners and collaborators participated, with nine organizations represented, including: Our Santa Fe River, Suwannee River Water Management District, St. Johns River Water Management District, Alachua County Environmental Protection Department, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Karst Environmental Services, Alachua Conservation Trust, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),and MyFWC Florida Fish and Wildlife.
Our team has already started on Phase 3 of this project, which includes the development of a holistic management plan and recovery strategy for the Santa Fe River and Springs. We are deeply grateful to our project partners for their support and our team looks forward to making recommendations for improving conditions along the Santa Fe River.
21 Turtles on the Santa Fe, 2013. Photo by John Moran.
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