USDA Requests Boating Restrictions At Silver Glen

    A new state law that has given agencies increased powers to regulate use of Florida’s natural springs may be used to bring big changes to the popular Silver Glen Springs run. For decades, the run from Silver Glen Springs to Lake George has drawn boaters looking for fun in the sun and the spring’s crystal clear waters, but how the springs is allowed to be used in the future could change if a USDA Forest Service request to enact a springs protection zone in the area comes to pass.
   In June, the federal agency forwarded a request to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to establish a protection zone in the springs, citing Florida Statute 327.45. That law, passed in recent years, allows the FWC to limit access to waterways that have experienced environmental degradation due to human use.
   The USDA has requested a ban on anchoring, mooring, beaching, or grounding of vessels within the springs and its run.
   In its request, the USDA claims ‘current recreational use at Silver Glen Springs Run is unsustainable and detrimental to the cultural and natural resources of the area. Protection, restoration, and compatible recreation at Silver Glen Springs and spring run is needed to stop the damage to these resources.’
   While the springs resides in the Ocala National Forest, management of the water falls to the FWC, which so far has only acknowledged receipt of the request, and did not release a timetable as to when a decision could be made.
   “The FWC has received the request for a Springs Protection Zone and is in the early stages of the review process,” said Ashlee Sklute, Public Information Coordinator for the FWC.
   The new law has been used elsewhere in the state to limit public use in springs, most recently at Weeki Wachee Springs. In July, the FWC approved a series of restrictions similar to what is being requested at Silver Glen.
   The request covers nine pages and includes a variety of data indicating environmental degradation at the springs, where weekends can at times find the springs run packed with boats and revelers. Specifically, there is a concern that the run’s floor and underwater vegetation have been greatly damaged.
   Citing trampling by foot, trampling by boat hull, propeller wash, propeller strike, and uprooting by non-native invasive fish, the USDA estimates that most underwater vegetation has disappeared from the run.
   "Long-term heavy use by visitors coupled with high water from seasonal storms resulted in the complete die-off of SAV (submerged aquatic vegetation)", the report states.
   Limited restoration efforts have been undertaken, with limited success.
   “Unfortunately, with the current recreational use on the spring run many of these same efforts cannot be accomplished on the run outside of the recreational area. It is currently used heavily by motorboats and other personal watercraft. The high use and concentration of vessels has patrons beaching and tying off their watercraft to shorelines, damaging shoreline vegetation and denuding areas along the bank. The now exposed shoreline is then subject to wave action further exacerbating the issue,” stated the report.
   The report claims the current situation in the run is ‘unsustainable and detrimental to the cultural and natural resources of the area. In order to restore this national resource, compatible recreation at Silver Glen Springs and spring run must be attained to stop and mitigate the damage.”