The site of “Creature from the Black Lagoon,” supposedly escaped rhesus monkeys from a Tarzan film and the Ross Allen Reptile Institute are legacies of Ocala’s Silver Springs. But what the Florida Department of Environmental Protection is currently concerned with preserving is the crystal-clear water.
The department presented a draft of its plans to acquire the Silver Springs nature theme park lands and turn them into a Florida state park at an open meeting Monday night.
Following a Dec. 12 meeting with about 350 attendees and a rising concern for the water levels and purity of the springs, the proposed plan aims to clean and remove old animal pens and amusement park buildings, set up environmentally sound foundations and make it more nature-focused by opening hiking trails and camping opportunities.
“Silver Springs, the attraction, has a long history of being exploited for economic benefit and not for its natural environmental benefits, and that’s what I don’t want to see with any plans to move forward,” UF adjunct professor and founder/director of the Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute Robert Knight said at the meeting.
If the plans are approved by Gov. Rick Scott and his cabinet, the FDEP will establish a timeline for changes, wrote department representative Jennifer Diaz in an email.
Some attendees Monday were worried about what the state planned to do about the employees. Others expressed concerns about the fate of the animals belonging to Palace Entertainment, the current owner of the land lease.
“Moving a lot of these animals is very stressful, and during that stressful time they could die, and you could be signing their death certificate, really,” Silver Springs zookeeper Wayne Carr said at the meeting. “All I ask is: Take into consideration the animals that are there, even if you just keep them there until they pass.”
Silver Springs is part of the St. Johns River system and is one of the largest artesian springs in the world.
Its flow and environment is influenced by the Rodman Dam, built in 1968 to prepare for the since-scrapped Cross Florida Barge Canal.
Several argued Monday that the dam should be removed to allow the natural environment to recover.
Steven Noll, senior history lecturer at UF and author of “Ditch of Dreams: The Cross Florida Barge Canal and the Struggle for Florida’s Future,” disagreed.
“I think, too often, people look at these things by themselves instead of looking at the big picture and how it’ll affect the area,” Noll said. “It’s not the panacea some people think it is.”
He thinks turning the land into a state park will help, but wants to see a decline in nitrate-rich fertilizer usage, better reclaimed water usage and fewer land-use permits for golf courses and subdivisions.
Palace Entertainment plans to go forward with planned events at the park until definitive action is decided, said Mike Friscia, vice president of the water parks division.
“We will always keep an open mind about what may be the best long-term interests of the park, the surrounding community and the state of Florida in general,” he said.
