We’re only a week from election day – the last day to vote for Amendment 1, the Water and Land Conservation Amendment. I encourage anyone reading to vote for this important legislation as a measure to save Florida’s springs, as well as our forests, beaches, and wetlands. This is likely the last post I’ll have on this blog before the vote next Tuesday, but nevertheless, I anticipate my photographic survey of Florida springs will continue past it. There’s much more aquatic beauty, ecological stories, and natural curiosities to document. Besides, whether or not Amendment 1 receives the 60% “yes” vote it needs in order to pass, there will still be a lot of work to be done to restore the springs, and many people left to convince that it’s work worth doing.
This time, I dived into a spring I’d never heard of before and didn’t plan on visiting. My friends and I happened to pass the sign to Otter Springs on our way from Bob’s Riverplace, which turned out to be closed. Determined to go swimming somewhere, we decided to follow the sign.
Otter Springs is a second magnitude spring in a county park. It is, quite frankly, choked with globs of algae suspended in its green waters. Despite this, it is also positively teeming with mullet, as well as a big turtle who was not at all shy to my presence.
Still, the mucky algae was a good indicator that this was not a healthy spring. There’s some evidence that it has been in decline, but generally speaking, Otter Springs is an obscure place that there isn’t a lot of publicized history about, unfortunately. Regardless, I do know that the state of this spring could be the future of many others across the state that are currently under threat, including many of the fantastic springs I’ve visited over the past three months. Let’s vote for Amendment 1 and stop that from happening!
