Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute

On June 1, 2011 the Florida Department of Environmental Protection announced the end of ten years of focused state funding for springs science and protection. The Florida Springs Initiative was first funded in 2002 with about $2.6 million dollars by the Florida legislature. The Springs Initiative was a program recommended by the Florida Springs Task Force to increase information about the plight of Florida’s threatened springs and to provide a technical basis for restoring these priceless natural resources. The Florida Springs Initiative supported dozens of projects that highlighted the impacts that springs have experienced due to Florida’s development and increasing human population and helped to educate thousands of concerned citizens about the steps necessary to restore and protect springs. Sadly, the funding for the Springs Initiative has been declining for the past three years to $0.5 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, and was totally eliminated by the current legislature and governor.

The Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute was founded one year ago to augment the efforts of the Florida Springs Initiative. With the demise of the state’s springs program, the Florida Springs Institute is now more important than ever. The Florida Springs Institute is the only organization focused on springs monitoring, research, education, restoration, and protection in Florida. The Springs Institute is reaching out to environmental organizations, universities, local governments, and the water management districts to collaborate on springs restoration and protection. The Florida Springs Institute provides a rallying point for citizens who want to halt the continuing worsening condition of our springs and to restore the best of those springs to some semblance of their historic glory.

The Florida Springs Institute is a non-profit organization that is funded solely by grants and donations. If you wish to make a difference for springs, you may want to make a charitable contribution or educate your neighbors about the importance of and need to protect our springs and our groundwater.

floridaspringsinstitute.org/