Ep. 150 - Free the Ocklawaha River!

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Podcast & Blast with Hal Herring

Zack Williams

Outdoors, Wilderness, Sports, Fishing, Outdoor, Hunting, Sports & Recreation

4.6 • 853 Ratings

🗓️ 28 February 2023

⏱️ 88 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

BHA Podcast & Blast, Ep. 150: Free the Ocklawaha River!

Almost 60 years ago, the U.S. government, blinded by hubris, began work on the Cross Florida Barge Canal. Never heard of it? That’s because President Richard Nixon, seeing it for the financial and ecological monstrosity that it was, halted the project in 1971 before it was halfway completed. All that remains of the bad idea is Rodman Dam, completed in 1968 to raise water levels enough to make the canal usable. The Rodman Dam blocked the free flow of the incredible Ocklawaha River, inundated 20 mighty freshwater springs, flooded miles of timber and bottomland wildlife habitat and, most importantly, cut the Ocklawaha and its tributaries off from the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean, causing a cascade of losses to wildlife, water, fisheries and human beings. Now the time has come to remove Rodman Dam and restore these connections. Hal talks about the dam – its history and potential future – with Lisa Rinaman of the St. Johns’ Riverkeeper and retired game warden and author Bob Lee, who has spent his professional life protecting the game and fish of the Ocklawaha. Join us to consider one of the major restoration projects of our time.

Transcript

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0:00.0	It makes proposals like the removal of Rodman Dam even more important in this burgeoning time we are where human expansion is like increasing everywhere.
0:14.4	We have these places where you can maximize the bang for your buck in ecological restoration
0:20.4	and create, I mean, unbelievable, like how incredible restoration right now really is,
0:27.8	how fast it comes back.
0:29.8	Dam removal is not something novel nor is it new. It's been occurring since
0:36.4	1912 and since 1912 in the United States there have been
0:39.8	1900-plus dams removed.
0:43.0	And I think one of the most exciting things about restoring this natural connection
0:49.0	is we will actually see the restoration and the magic of nature restoring itself.
0:55.4	Hey everybody, Hal hearing,
1:00.0	backcountry hunters and anglers podcast and Blast.
1:03.2	Hey, I really wanted to thank Filsen
1:05.9	for its long support of this podcast.
1:08.4	Without Filsen, I don't get to do what I want to do with it.
1:12.6	And I've had a mighty good time over the last couple years
1:16.1	thanks to their support.
1:17.7	So I'd ask everybody to check out,
1:21.4	Filson.com or your local outdoor retailers.
1:25.4	If you know the history is for 125 years,
1:28.7	Filson's uncompromising commitment to quality
1:31.2	has defined their brand and their authenticity. They have built
1:36.0	trust within that community to become more than just a clothing brand. They are the
	...

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