Pandion and researchers from the University of Florida IFAS SFRC teamed up and won 3 contracts to coordinate springs basin working groups and develop restoration plans for Ichetucknee, Rainbow, and Silver springs in north and central Florida. The contracts were awarded by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and will be overseen by the Springs Initiative.
These working groups bring stakeholders together in a collaborative forum. They focus within the springs basins to identify problems, share research, provide education, and implement restoration actions.
The restoration plans will be developed through working group consensus and cooperation. Each plan will outline the causes of impairment, set benchmarks for reducing impairments, recommend restoration strategies, and set a schedule and tracking method for implementation.
Actions to protect and restore the springs will continue while the restoration plans are being developed.
Dr. Matt Cohen and Dr. Andrea Albertin, researchers at the University of Florida IFAS School of Forest Resources & Conservation, have conducted many studies directed at understanding how people have altered the conditions in springs and what kinds of responses might be expected with different restorative actions.
Pandion has been coordinating springs basin working groups since 2002. Stakeholder facilitation and writing land management plans are two of our core service areas. Peter Colverson and Ondine Wells are the project managers and Christine Denny is the project director.
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