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

By Dr. Robert Knight. Published in the Orlando Sentinel on September 13, 2024 I recently chanced upon a memorial for the extinct Passenger Pigeon. Located on a high bluff above the Upper Mississippi River in rural Wisconsin, this marker was dedicated by Aldo Leopold, one of the most famous American environmentalists. In 1947 he proclaimed “We meet here to commemorate the death of a species. We grieve because no living man will see again the

By: Robert Lee Knight, Ph.D. In several ways, Dr. Howard T. Odum was the most influential mentor in my professional and personal life. Referred to as Tom by his friends and family, HT by many of his colleagues, and Dr. Odum by most of his students, Howard Tom Odum was truly one of the greatest thinkers and doers of applied theoretical science in the world. I can hardly believe that I had the good fortune

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

By Hailey Hall, Environmental Scientist, Florida Springs Institute In 2016, the Florida Legislature passed the Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act, and the state developed a list of 30 significant springs (designated as Outstanding Florida Springs) to receive special legal protection. If water quality is found impaired, these springs require a Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP) to achieve water quality standards within a 20-year time frame. FSI recently completed our ecological health assessment of four

By Dr. Robert Knight, the Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute. Published in Orlando Sentinel on July 26, 2022 National parks have attained a special status in America. As a conservationist, I understand and appreciate national wildlife refuges, state parks, state and national forests, and other state and federally managed conservation lands and how they help us work toward solving problems like climate change and extinction. But national parks represent the best-of-the-best of our country’s

By: Robert Knight. Published in the Gainesville Sun on February 1, 2022. The Sun recently published an opinion piece by Kip Frohlich and David Hankla, two of Florida’s top manatee experts, on the science and protection of this iconic Florida marine mammal. They rightly decry the state government’s failure to protect water quality in the Indian River Lagoon and the state’s equally poor response to the growing crisis facing the future of these precious wild animals. Manatees

By: Robert Knight, The Gainesville Sun, January 13th, 2022. Last month I led a family outing to Kings Bay/Crystal River by pontoon boat. I was delightfully surprised by what I saw below the water surface. From the Port Hotel to Three Sisters to Hunter Springs and around Banana Island to Tarpon Hole, healthy eelgrass and clear water have returned to this coastal manatee sanctuary. From 2012 through 2015 I directed the Florida Springs Institute’s Kings

This year’s Give Springs A Break (GSAB) event was held at Gissy Springs on the Rainbow River in Dunnellon, FL. Every year, FSI aims to educate young people about Florida’s springs through the GSAB program. With the support of First Magnitude Brewing Company and Gissy Springs, we were able to plan another home run event, attracting over 50 college students and young professionals from all over the state. GSAB participants spent four days and three

On May 18th, over 160 supporters gathered at the UF Austin Carey Center to celebrate springs at FSI’s annual Save Our Springs Mermaid Gala. The evening kicked off with cocktails, mermaids, and an exploration of the silent auction and beautiful venue. Following a buffet dinner provided by Sweetwater Branch Inn, FSI Executive Director, Dr. Robert Knight, welcomed the crowd and passed the mic to photographer John Moran, who provided an introduction of the evening’s keynote

A few months ago we received an email from Lee Hogan, a bicyclist from Tennessee who was preparing to set out on an 800-mile “springs bike tour” to raise awareness for springs protection. Lee told us the story of how he fell in love with Florida’s springs during his time in college at the University of Florida and how he revisited the sunshine state numerous times with his children so they could share his same

Florida’s springs have all the qualities of living creatures. They are contiguous systems composed of plants and animals, working together in an organized fashion, and capable of reproduction, growth, response to stimuli, and long-term stability. They could be called “Super Organisms” – living beings with predictable patterns of organization and consistent responses to external factors. Springs receive inputs of raw materials (chemical nutrients, light energy from the sun, and turbulence from inflowing waters) and build

The Florida Springs Institute is gearing up for its fourth Springs Field School program and registration is now open for FSI members and future members. The Springs Field School is a 4-day course that provides in-depth lectures on topics including springs biology, geology, hydrology, chemistry, stresses, environmental law and advocacy efforts. As a Field School participant, you will learn everything there is to know about Florida springs and what is needed to protect them. This

This year’s Springs Field School was a wonderful success! Students from around the state joined us in the Ocala National Forest for four full days of springs exploration and education. With a great group of students, presenters, and some incredible sights, it was one of our best years yet. Dr. Bob Knight and guest speakers, Bob Palmer, Jim Gross, Christine Denny, Monica Ross, Eric Hutchenson, Nathan Reaver, Whitey Markle, Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, Guy Marwick, and Lars Anderson

By Dave Wilson (FSI Outings Leader) Twenty six springs enthusiasts enjoyed a perfect day hiking along the Alapaha River near Jennings, Florida.  This river is notable because of its large fluctuations in water level.  When ten inches of rain fall in South Georgia, the water can be 25 feet deep.  After informative talks by Florida Springs Director, Bob Knight, and leader, Tom Morris, we began with a side trip to an old settlement, where a

The Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute (FSI)  is concerned about elevated levels of nitrate nitrogen in much of the Floridan Aquifer (seepotable water nitrate nitrogen analysis findings). This same Floridan Aquifer is the source of water feeding our 1,000+ artesian springs in North Florida and is the principal supply of potable water for the region. A substantial portion of the water in the Floridan Aquifer has been contaminated with nitrate by human activities, including the

Florida Springs Institute Director, Dr. Robert Knight, and Senior Environmental Scientist for FSI, Ron Clarke, were recently selected for publication in the February 2016 edition of the Journal of Earth Science and Engineering. The article, entitled “Florida Springs – A Water-Balance Approach to Estimating Water Availability”, and a brief summary can be found below:  Click on the image above to access the full article.  Abstract:Florida’s artesian springs receive groundwater outflows from the Floridan Aquifer System

Today concludes the first week of FSI’s baseline assessment along the Rainbow River. For the past five days, FSI staff and local volunteers have been engaged in an extensive study of the middle and lower segments of the river with the goal of establishing a baseline of scientific information that will serve as a starting point for future health assessment of this diverse ecosystem, which connects to Rainbow Springs and the Floridan aquifer. FSI Executive Director, Dr.

On August 27, Dr. Robert Knight, Director of the Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute called for a comprehensive, area-wide groundwater nitrate sampling effort by state and local governments, especially in the karst areas of Alachua and Gilchrist counties. Dr. Knight’s call for action comes after the Alachua County Health Department released private, self-supply well nitrate data confirming the relatively common occurrence of nitrate above safe drinking water levels (10 mg/L) and the lower springs