The bill that would have restored the Ocklawaha River, which many news outlets covered, could be called many things.
An act relating to the decimation of a nearly 60-year-old ecosystem.
An act relating to the destruction of a rural county’s economy.
Even better, how about an act that has big urban areas telling small, rural areas what’s good for them?
This legislation, by any name, was indisputably sponsored by two legislators from big cities who had no natural connection to the affected areas.
Imagine you lived in a neighborhood surrounded by shinier, more expensive homes and big, beautiful clubhouses. Now imagine the people in the shinier, more expensive homes wanted to tear down your neighborhood’s clubhouse as a way to beautify the area. And to do so, they shopped a petition around to all the other people who didn’t live in your neighborhood, asking if they were in favor of beautifying the area.
The people outside of your neighborhood don’t care if your clubhouse gets torn down, and hey, everyone likes pretty things, so petition signatures were easy to get. Of course, more people live outside of your neighborhood than in it, so you’re never going to win that vote. But why would they care? They don’t use your clubhouse anyway.
That is exactly what happened here.
Legislators from Duval and Orange counties were pushing the destruction of a reservoir located in Putnam and Marion counties to restore part of a river that hasn’t existed since the dam was built in 1968, while at the same time decimating an existing ecosystem and the economy of Putnam County. And to do so, they got the support of all the people who also don’t live in Putnam or Marion counties, promising them something prettier. It wasn’t right.
In far greater numbers than there are major metropolitan areas, Florida has many unique and rural communities deeply rooted in recreational activity. The Rodman Reservoir is one such extraordinary example. Over the nearly 60 years since the Ocklawaha River was dammed, the Rodman Reservoir has become the economic engine of rural Putnam County. It developed an ecology of its own and is today home to various endangered wildlife and plant species.
So, who’s behind this effort to “partially restore” a river that hasn’t existed for decades? Who has targeted for destruction only one of the 13 water control structures that make up the Ocklawaha River system? Who is behind destroying the existing ecosystem in favor of another one that has long since been gone? The truth is, it’s very murky.
The effort was initially pushed by an environmental group advocating for the destruction of the Rodman Dam, called the Great Florida Riverway Trust. But their most recent IRS Form 990 non-profit filing shows they had only one contributor, whose name and contribution amount are redacted. There were six high-dollar lobbying firms hired to push the issue. Who paid them? Maybe we should look upstream and see who benefits when we drain the Rodman Reservoir.
Truth is, I don’t know, but it stinks to high heaven.
Fast forward to 2026. Whoever is behind this trotted out a bunch of environmental groups to support SB 1066: Tributaries of the St. Johns River, but we may never know who was truly behind it.
But, yes, it was me who helped kill the bill. I was the one proudly standing with the people of Putnam County to put a stop to it. Our rural counties, and the people who live in them, cannot and will not be dismissed. While some may fly over them, hopping from one major metropolitan area to another, never giving a thought to what’s important to them, I will not.
The voices of the people in rural communities across Florida deserve to be heard. I proudly represent Putnam County, and you may not appreciate my efforts to kill SB 1066, but if I won’t fight for them, who will?
State Sen. Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach, was first elected to the Senate in 2024, having served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2016 to 2022. He currently serves as chair of the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee and is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. This opinion piece was originally published by the Tampa Bay Times, which is a media partner of The Invading Sea. Banner photo: The Ocklawaha River (Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons).
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