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A dam from the defunct Cross Florida Barge Canal project has blocked the Ocklawaha River for nearly 60 years.

Advocates want to dismantle the dam to restore the river's natural flow, reconnecting Silver Springs to the St. Johns River.

Opponents, including some bass fishermen, wish to preserve the resulting Rodman Reservoir, though some fishermen now support removal.

A temporary drawdown of the reservoir's water level offers a glimpse of the original river, its lost springs, and a drowned cypress forest.

Along the banks of the Ocklawaha River, stark but beautiful skeletons of an ancient cypress forest remind us of woodlands lost in time, a drowned forest ready to be resurrected.

Before a botched attempt to create the Cross Florida Barge Canal, the Ocklawaha River

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