Legend has it that explorer Ponce de León set sail to Florida in 1513, leading a Spanish quest for gold and riches. But the legend also follows tales of seeking sacred, restorative waters known as the ‘fountain of youth.’
The conquistador would eventually land upon the coast of Florida near what is known today as St. Augustine. And though he never found any ‘fountain of youth,’ Florida is home to approximately 1,000 artesian springs offering a modern-day fountain of youth that heals the soul through the miraculous touch of the great outdoors.
Florida’s natural springs are a rare, remarkable ecosystem bubbling out of the Earth. Crystal clear and fed by 72-degree, alkaline mineral water; these springs are a rarity among Florida’s acidic blackwater. With many located in the Ocala National Forest, these waters comprise one of the world’s most productive aquifers – and spans across all of Florida and parts of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina.
“These springs feed a diverse ecosystem, with cool, clean water breathing life into the peninsula,” said Clayton Coates, aquatic ecologist with the Ocala National Forest. “From native plants to catadromous fish species, our freshwater springs are part of the foundation for life itself here in Florida.”
Aquatic eelgrass and other vegetation submerged in the cool water comprise its foundation. It forms key habitat and life-sustaining oxygen. The springs keep manatees alive in the winter when ocean and river temperatures plummet. During the heat of summer, fish find refuge from otherwise lethally hot river temperatures.
Florida’s Springs, Both Significant and Scenic
Indigenous peoples have lived along Ocala’s springs for thousands of years, making them historically and archaeologically significant.
The attraction toward these waters has shifted from being a life-sustaining resource to recreation among many, bringing people from all over the United States to the Florida springs like Alexander, Silver Glen, Juniper, Salt Springs and others throughout that state.
“This allure of the water brings increased pressure upon this fragile ecosystem,” Coates said.
Over time, there are environmental concerns that include an increase in sediment – built up from recreation and illegal disturbance – caused the collapse of eelgrass at Silver Glen and Salt Springs. Elsewhere, researchers find former aquatic meadows becoming now devoid of life. Storm scour, feet, swim fins, boat propellers and more wreak havoc, exposing historic artifacts and accelerating erosion.
Restoring One Spring at a Time
The Forest Service has joined the fight to restore Florida’s freshwater springs. The National Forests in Florida are creating restoration plans unique to each spring, including evaluating water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, and flow and discharge—all main indicators of a spring’s health. From forest management to improving stormwater and wastewater systems, to treating and preventing erosion, sedimentation and other pollutants, the Forest Service continues to leverage multiple tools and strategies to protect and restore the artesian treasures of the Ocala.
“We recently worked in partnership with the Florida Native Plant Society to redirect foot traffic at the entrance to the recreation area to a more sustainable path, while also mitigating overland water flow (run-off) to prevent erosion and sedimentation of the spring,” Coates said. “We are also re-planting native eelgrass in springs where it has been damaged or lost.”
In 2021, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission launched an effort to create Spring Protection Zones which are areas that implement restricted speeds and operation of water crafts, and in some cases prohibiting anchoring. While protection zones can affect recreation opportunities, it puts the protection of the ecosystem first. Recently, the Commission proposed including Silver Glen Springs Recreation Area in Ocala National Forest as a spring protection zone.
Using Science to Guide Action
Non-government organizations, like the Florida Springs Institute, have long been engaged in both researching and implementing action to protect the waters of the Ocala. Dr. Robert L. Knight, an environmental scientist and systems ecologist, is president of the institute’s board. He’s working to illuminate severe biological impairments within spring waters, beginning with his doctoral work on Silver Springs in the 1970s.
Research has shown “severe biological impairments at Silver Springs as a result of reduced flows, elevated nitrate nitrogen concentrations and lost connectivity to the St. Johns River. All of these detrimental impacts are a result of human actions, are reversible.” Dr. Knight said. “While the past cannot be changed, the future can be.”
Dr. Knight wrote those words nearly a decade ago. Knight focused his doctoral work on Silver Springs. It’s part of a nearly 40-year-long crusade to protect and restore Florida’s springs, developing recreation action plans for Glen Springs, Rainbow Springs, Silver Springs and so many more.
“At less than 10,000 acres, Florida’s springs and their spring runs are the rarest of the state’s endangered habitats,” Knight said recently.
The number and concentration of freshwater springs in Florida is unequalled anywhere else in the world; the springs of the Ocala National Forest arguably the most pristine among them. These figurative fountains of youth, springs eternal, bubble and flow through the great Florida peninsula like time itself. For the local Tribes, this rich ecosystem has sustained life for thousands of years and still does today. These rare, clear, cool waters provide respite, a place to connect with nature and so much more.
An aquatic paradise like no other, the Ocala’s waters are worth protecting for future generations and outdoor explorers.