In May of 2007 we began logo and website development for Paddle Florida, in preparation for our inaugural trip in March, 2008. We had already scouted the entire Suwannee River Wilderness Trail. Since that time we have introduced nearly 3,500 paddlers from 45 states and staged 74 events in each of Florida's five water management districts. So that's 15 years! This month we also celebrate 13 years of The Happy Paddler. This edition is also special because we announce our 2022-23 season schedule. It is nearly complete. We will wait until next month to confirm a February event.

Over the years we have met some extraordinary folks; and because we continue to recognize more of these amazing people, we want to recognize two more in this issue. Don Yackel, a paddler on many of our events, and a great source of information and data was inducted into the Paddle Florida Hall of Fame during the Suwannee River Paddling Festival last month. Also recognized at the Festival is a familiar face to readers of this newsletter. Ryan Smart was awarded Paddle Florida's 2022 Environmental Leadership Award. Congratulations to Don and Ryan for this recognition. There are so many people who have contributed in many ways. We don't want these folks to think that their contributions go unnoticed.

A few months ago, I was asked to contribute a column on the outcome of the 2022 Florida Legislative Session for the Sun’s “Messages from the Springs Heartland” series. I happily agreed. Tracking legislation is part of my job at the Florida Springs Council. And I believe it is critical that Floridians understand what happens during the legislative session in Tallahassee and how the decisions made during those 60 days impact us and our environment. 

Going into the 2022 Legislative Session, I was optimistic that this year would be different. (Optimism is as much a job requirement as being able to type if you want to work in Florida environmental advocacy.) It was an election year, water issues and manatees were on the top of people’s minds, and the Legislature appeared poised to take action on at least one top environmental priority.

I was wrong. [Read more…]

A trip to Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park, just south of Tallahassee, is like stepping back in time to Old Florida, with ancient cypress swamps and one of the largest and deepest freshwater springs in the world.

Now, 313 acres of land adjacent to Wakulla Springs will be permanently protected from development, safeguarding the first-magnitude springs from pollution related to commercial or residential development.

In March, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet approved $32 million in funding for the acquisition and conservation of not only the Wakulla Springs “Protection Zone” but also six additional parcels of land throughout the state.

All of the land falls within the Florida Wildlife Corridor, a vast network of public and private conservation lands that stretches from one end of the state to the other, and encompasses state parks, wetlands, forests, rivers, creeks and springs. [Read more…]

Photo credit: Lauren Yoho/Path of the Panther

The Colorado River — which provides drinking water, irrigation and electricity for more than 40 million people in the West — is the most endangered river in the United States this year, according to the nonprofit conservation group American Rivers. 

From the Pacific Northwest to Alabama, American Rivers ranked the top 10 most endangered rivers across the country — crises brought on by worsening droughts, human-made dams and coal-ash contamination. The Colorado River's outdated water management practices have been worsened by climate change, pushing the river into the No. 1 slot, the group said.

Matt Rice, the group's director of the Colorado Basin Program, said that the climate crisis is really the theme of this year's report.

"The climate crisis is really a water crisis, and ground zero for that crisis is the Colorado River Basin," Rice told CNN. "We are being pushed in realtime to live with the river we have, to adapt to a hotter, drier reality in the Colorado River."[Read more…]

Photo credit: CNN

Since 1944, nobody—in a way that can be verified, anyway—has seen an ivory-billed woodpecker alive. Once common from the Carolinas to Texas, the US Fish and Wildlife Service recommended last year the bird be removed from the Endangered Species List because it was extinct. Meanwhile, a group of scientists was climbing through humid Louisiana forests, chasing whispers the big bird—largest woodpecker in North America—still lived there. 

Trail cameras, drone cameras, audio recordings, and, just as importantly their own eyes and ears, confirmed to members of the study the ivory-billed woodpeckers had survived in small numbers after all. They published their findings in a recent and not yet peer-reviewed paper.

Photos from the cameras were enough to give an indication of size, as well as distinctive markings that are, nevertheless difficult to distinguish, even for experts, from other woodpeckers that have similar colorings. Even better, the use of video allowed the scientists to make detailed observations of how the birds foraged for food and interacted socially, adding further differentiation that these were indeed the elusive ivory bills. [Read more…]

Photo credit: Adventure Journal

How To: Why Your Kayak Flipped
By River Kings

In this video we take a look at why a kayak flips. I string a kayak between two trees and have P5 demonstrate why kayaks flip on the river and some ways to avoid getting wet.

Click here for video.