THE LATEST NUMBERS: 2,112 supporters of the "FREE THE OCKLAWAHA RIVER BY THE BREACHING OF RODMAN DAM" online petition as of 1100 hrs EDT 6/24/17. Today 6/24/17 is the 1-Year Anniversary of the creation of this "FREE THE OCKLAWAHA RIVER BY THE BREACHING OF RODMAN DAM" online petition and shall be the end of PHASE ONE of my administration of this SIGN-FOR-FREE $$$ Florida public records document! PHASE ONE has been MY ACTIVE PROMOTION ONLINE OF IT along with the collection of signatures and comments by those who support the "FREE THE OCKLAWAHA RIVER BY THE BREACHING OF RODMAN DAM" online petition. PHASE TWO will consist of "Ocklawahaman" delivering via email all of the pertinent signature and comment documents to the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FL DEP). PHASE THREE will be my negotiating with personnel of the SJRWMD to arrange for meetings with certain staff and/or management where "Ocklawahaman" would do his best to represent the will of this petition's signatories: who "do hereby respectfully petition the SJRWMD and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FL DEP) to earnestly begin, move forward with, and finally carry out the process of restoring to free-and-swift-flowing-again the Ocklawaha River -- 'Source to the Sea' -- from its Silver Springs supreme headwaters to its St. Johns River estuary. This restoration process would require the breaching of the earthen Kirkpatrick (Rodman) Dam at the location where the historic Ocklawaha River channel flowed through it prior to September 30, 1968." Beyond PHASE THREE I don't know but I will keep you informed of the goings-on! IN MY OPINION, KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE PRIZE FOLKS! Great amounts of rainfall provided by Mother Nature -- usually by hurricanes, tropical depressions and storms, stalled cold fronts, or the June-September rainy season -- can fix (for a while) many of our aquifer, MFL's, and spring-flow problems. This has happened in Florida many times since I first arrived here in 1961. Lest we forget 2004, 2005, 2008, and 2010, etc. I am willing to believe that most of Texas and Louisiana -- after the past several flooding years -- probably has NO aquifer, MFL's, and spring-flow problems. But Mother Nature in 48 years has NOT been able to breach Rodman Dam! That is the PRIZE -- mankind (men and women) need to focus on breaching Rodman Dam which would be the MOST SERIOUS STEP EVER that needs to be implemented to improve the ecology and VALUE of the St. Johns River, Ocklawaha River, Silver River and SILVER SPRINGS. The rest of the efforts, goings-on, and $$$ may not be worth a spit in the river! Please consider signing (if you haven't already) FOR-FREE $$$ -- NO LAWYERS REQUIRED -- the "FREE THE OCKLAWAHA RIVER BY THE BREACHING OF RODMAN DAM" online petition at https://www.change.org/p/st-johns-river-water-management-district-free-the-ocklawaha-river-by-the-breaching-of-rodman-dam. It currently has 2,112 supporters as of 1100 hrs EDT 6/24/17. The petition is based upon the 2016 SJRWMD "Technical Publication SJ2016-1" by John Hendrickson. This 107-page document contains the latest scientific data (gathered since 1999 [by SJRWMD and FL DEP]) -- about DISSOLVED SILICA, NITROGEN, and PHOSPHORUS (and their combined effects on possible [downstream] St. Johns River harmful algal blooms) -- best supporting that the restoration of the Ocklawaha River will be beneficial for the entire St. Johns River basin. http://www.sjrwmd.com/technicalreports/pdfs/TP/SJ2016-1.pdf DON'T WASTE OUR BEST OPPORTUNITY!!! For Florida and U.S. government employees that aren't allowed to sign the petition publicly, "Ocklawahaman" has created a SECRET VOTE "Do You Favor the Breaching of Rodman Dam to Restore a Free-Flowing Ocklawaha River?" online poll at http://www.poll-maker.com/poll790342x4Bd4496B-32. As of 1100 hrs EDT on 6/24/17 the results of this SECRET VOTE online poll are 211 "Yes" for breaching Rodman Dam and only 19 "No" (against breaching Rodman Dam). When you join with the "Ocklawahaman" to "FREE THE OCKLAWAHA RIVER BY THE BREACHING OF RODMAN DAM" by signing the online petition FOR-FREE $$$ it costs you NO $$$. NO lawyers to payroll! Buy a backpack, BBQ dinner, canoe, or kayak with your DOUGH and enjoy the remaining segments of the free-flowing Ocklawaha River and its superbly forested jungle-like corridor. UNLIKE ALMOST EVERYBODY ELSE INVOLVED WITH THIS ISSUE, more of my life's outdoor time -- fishing and hunting -- has actually been spent in the Ocklawaha River basin (canoeing its waters and swamp-stomping or hammock-humping its jungle-like swamps and hammocks) than anywhere else. And "Ocklawahaman" has actively advocated for Ocklawaha River restoration since 2006. Thank you very much to all of you for your time reading this webpage and for any positive consideration that you might have towards signing the "FREE THE OCKLAWAHA RIVER BY THE BREACHING OF RODMAN DAM" petition and/or encouraging others to do so! And know that I am in favor of a free-and-swift-flowing-again "Source to the Sea" 56-mainstream-mile "Real-Florida-By-God" Silver Springs-Silver River-Ocklawaha River system! How about YOU? Most sincerely, "Ocklawahaman" Paul Nosca. ------------------------------------------------- SOMETIMES I HAVE SUCCEEDED AND SOMETIMES I HAVE FAILED! Although I have asked all of the following folks to consider signing the -- SIGN-FOR-FREE $$$ -- "FREE THE OCKLAWAHA RIVER BY THE BREACHING OF RODMAN DAM" online petition, NONE of them -- listed in alphabetical order by last name -- have signed as of June 24, 2017: Ron Cunningham (Gainesville Sun), Manley Fuller (Florida Wildlife Federation), Sarah Owen-Gledhill (Florida Wildlife Federation), David Guest (attorney, Earthjustice), Tim Keyser (attorney, PCEC), Ron Littlepage ([Jacksonville] Florida Times Union), Guy Marwick (Felburn Foundation), Jimmy Orth (St. Johns Riverkeeper), Leslie Poole (Orlando Sentinel), Brad Rogers (Ocala Star-Banner), Patrick Rose (Save the Manatee Club), Kevin Spear (Orlando Sentinel), Jane West (attorney, Jane West Law), Michael Woodward (attorney, PCEC) I must ask for too much $$$! Go figure! ------------------------------------------------- THE PHOTO: "Last View Of The Old Channel" (of the Ocklawaha River at Rodman [earthen] Dam). Until the HEAVY equipment of the USACOE bulldozed the mound of dirt into the Ocklawaha River on 9/30/1968 (burrying inside the berm this roadway bridge) the river was flowing and the Rodman Dam Spillway was NOT!