SPringsWatch: Wakulla River
Due to COVID-19 we are unable to accept new volunteers for Wakulla at this time. If you would like to join the wait list, please contact us through the form below!
Located 16 miles south of Tallahassee, Wakulla Spring is one of the largest first-magnitude artesian springs in Florida as well as the United States. Wakulla Spring lies within the Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park, which has been listed on the Natural Register of Historic Places and is designated a National Natural Landmark. Wakulla Spring forms the headwaters of the Wakulla River which flows for nearly 11 miles before merging with the St. Marks River in St. Marks, Wakulla County. Wakulla springs is historically renown for is natural beauty, and has been a favorite recreational site, as well as potable water source, for residents of Leon, Wakulla, and surrounding counties. However, the Wakulla river and springs have not been immune to human impacts, demonstrating reductions/reversals in flow as well as increased growth of invasive hydrilla and filamentous algae, likely related to increased groundwater withdrawals for urban use.
Volunteers with the Florida SpringsWatch program conduct monthly sampling along the Wakulla River. Our Wakulla group currently collects data for the following parameters: temperature, dissolved oxygen, specific conductance, vertical light attenuation, and sumberged aquatic vegetation (SAV) surveys. The SpringsWatch program is a great way to get out into the springs, learn, and volunteer. If you would like to learn more about the data our volunteers are collecting, click on the report link below!
Click here to learn more or sign up for an upcoming SpringsWatch trip!
Wakulla River SpringsWatch Data AND Report Monitoring summary
Become a citizen scientist and help protect Florida's springs!
Springswatch volunteer application form
*Groups with a wait list are at capacity and are currently not accepting new volunteers. If you wish to select one of these groups, we suggest applying for an additional group with no wait list to ensure you are able to participate in sampling as soon as possible. Apply for as many as you like!
Sampling at select groups is currently postponed due to safety concerns surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak. Sampling at these groups will resume as soon as it is safe to do so!
SPRINGSWATCH
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
Jill Lingard
FSI SpringsWatch Volunteer Coordinator
The Florida SpringsWatch program was funded in part through generous support from the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida and the Wakulla Springs Alliance
