![]() She is also Vice President of the Putnam County Environmental Council and member of Florida Defenders of the Environment has been working to restore the Okhlawaha River to its free-flowing state, carrying on Marjorie Harris Carr’s environmental legacy. Karen Chadwick, boat captain for North Star Charters, joined us in her kayak for the float and offered both historical and environmental perspectives on the river and its ecoheritage. I met the group at 9 am at Eureka West boat ramp, and after shuttling cars to Payne’s Landing, we floated downstream. Seeing Cannon Springs once was not enough, so when I saw the Aquaholics trip down the Okhlawaha River scheduled for the following Saturday, I immediately signed up. We settled into a rhythm against the slight downstream flow and saw woodstorks, ibis, egrets, and a variety of herons-and of, course, gators. Three inauspicious signs, but we kept going. Soon after, the batteries in both the GPS and the camera failed. Heading south, we heard shots which continued for about 15 minutes-target practice, we assumed, so we paddled on, but a bit unnerved. Some parts of the shore had healthy trees that have survived the flooding, while other patches revealed the desolation of a dying landscape. The day was overcast, but warm, a seemingly auspicious start to our journey. Several fisherman sat on the east side of the river, where the draw down has exposed the beach. ![]() The river at Payne’s Landing is broad with an expansive vista. ![]() I was also hoping to find Tobacco Springs situated between Payne’s Landing and Cannon Springs. The entrance to the Cannon Springs Run was approximately one mile south of Payne’s Landing, and the entrance had been described as ‘unmistakable’, a tree-lined clear passage. We launched and pointed our boats upstream. We turned down a sandy road, lined with ‘NO ATV’ signs, and bumped our way through the small Hog Valley community towards the river. Armed with the GPS coordinates, my husband Kevin and I found the elusive put-in across from Payne’s Landing. (I am now my own case study in fieldwork errors for my Religion and Fieldwork class.) As more and more spectacular pictures adorned my facebook feed, I was even more determined to see-and swim in-Cannon springs.įinally, I made it-twice in one week. My first attempts to get on the river resulted in a series of major errors-locking the keys in the car at the remote Kenwood boat ramp, battery-less GPS and camera, and less than complete information about boat ramps. I was especially interested in seeing those springs like Cannon that reveal themselves only during these periodic drawdowns. The lowered levels on the Okhlawaha River offer us a glimpse of the past and a future that could be-without the Rodman Dam. This draw down occurs every few years-to prevent fish kills and reduce the vegetation that obstructs the water-and exposes the natural flow of the river. Starting in September and lasting until March 2016, the Rodman reservoir on the Okhlawaha River is drawn down, the river-lake levels lowered substantially. I had started to wonder if Cannon Springs and the Okhlawaha River was going to be my holy grail.
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