0.8 MILE OF BLUE AND BOATS — Silver Glen Springs showcases 0.8 mile of clear blue spring. A typical weekend includes boats and Jet Skis in the run where people swim and lounge in the area.
Silver Glen Springs, which begins in Volusia County and flows into Lake and Marion counties, is facing new regulations on boating. In June 2023, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) received a request to make the spring a “spring protection zone” from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service.
A spring protection zone is an area of a spring that has several restrictions, including on “speed and operation of boating vessels, and prohibitions on anchoring, mooring, beaching, or grounding of boating vessels,” according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.
Silver Glen Springs is one of only a few of Florida’s more than 1,000 springs accessible by boat, and is a popular site for weekend boaters. Locals have been boating in “the Glen” (a nickname coined by locals) since the 1970s, often anchoring in the spring or mooring their boats along the shoreline for a weekend of swimming.
But according to the USDA, the heavy use by boaters through the years has deteriorated the shoreline and vegetation essential to the health of the spring. The proposal by the USDA concludes “Current recreational use at Silver Glen Springs Run is unsustainable and detrimental to the cultural and natural resources of the area.”
The loss of boat anchoring and mooring has been met with dismay by some residents.
Leading the fight for boating is Kris Wake of Pierson, president of Save Our Boating Rights, a group dedicated to preserving the right to boat and anchor in Silver Glen Springs.
The Beacon sat down with Wake at her organization’s flea market and benefit dinner fundraiser on June 8.
“We don’t have a vessel issue, we have a restoration issue,” Wake explained. “We don’t have eelgrass.”
Wake expanded on issues within the Glen and acknowledged the effects of anchoring.
“We want to use less-invasive anchors, we want to make it better for the environment,” Wake said. “We want to meet them (FWC) in the middle.”
A TALE OF THREE COUNTIES — Silver Glen Springs (located in the red hatch area on the map) is nestled between three different counties, Volusia, Marion and Lake, and multiple different owners and governmental agencies have jurisdiction, including the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the United States Forest Service (USFS). Manatee is spelled incorrectly in this graphic by the FWC.
Wake is advocating for limitations on how long boaters can stay inside of the spring and a grid pattern for where boats — based on size — can be. For instance, a 30-foot boat with a deep bottom would have to stay within the deepest part of the spring.
In order to monitor the boat activity, Wake proposes a team of volunteers from Save Our Boating Rights to help govern these rules.
And, since “the Glen” sits in three jurisdictions, Wake wants to rally approval and help from city councils to help improve environmental measures that benefit everyone involved.
Residents on social media tossed in their opinion on the matter, some in favor of the USDA requests, and some against.
“I’ve taken my boats there as an adult but stopped after it became a crowded party site. They must regulate the number of boats allowed to save this spring. They could close it to boats and allow day visitors until it can rejuvenate itself,” one user wrote in a Facebook comment.
“Save our boating and never close Silver Glen to boaters!” replied another.
Currently, Silver Glen Springs is in the review process for being added to the spring protection zone.
During the process, both advocates for the spring protection zone and members of Save Our Boating Rights attend meetings by the Silver Glen Springs Spring Protection Zone Working Group, explaining each other’s points of view before an FWC board that will vote on the future of the spring.
There isn’t a set number of meetings before the committee votes, so when precisely a final ruling will be made is unknown.
Until then, boating and anchoring are allowed in the spring, but those days could be numbered.
Unfortunately, I agree with USDA. Things have gotten waayyyy out of hand there and it’s turned into a party place not fit to take your children because not everyone follows the rules. It’s unsafe as boats block the way of traffic and people don’t care to pay attention. People go up and crap on the banks and leave the trash behind, not to mention the loudest music being played to where there is no peace and nudity as well. We stopped going when the houseboats and the jet skies took over. I say close it!!!
Totally agree. Close it for a determined time. I’ve been going for close to 30 years and I’ve witnessed the unwelcomed changes that have been taking place over the years. My husband and brother in law got into a fight when one Spanish family dumped their HOT COLES from their grill into the water and nearly threw it in our grandson. Girls thinks it’s great to take off their tops in front of ANYONE. No Ladies it’s NOT ALWAYS WELCOME. There’s no room to pull your boat in because people SAVE PLACES for others. One family a few boats down told their son to go use our bathroom on OUR BOAT while we were over snorkeling in the deep spring, and he didn’t FLUSH HIS CRAP. No, I’m all for closing it down for a while to let the springs survive.
We absolutely love bringing our boat and anchoring in The Glen, the natural beauty is a fantastic place for the whole family. Children love swimming, playing on the Matt’s, paddleboarding, swimming over to the spring, eating great food with family and friends. Hopefully it’s not going to close to boat anchoring.