We exist in relationship with this river system, not apart from it, so it’s good to stop and consider exactly what our relationship is.

Do we give back to the Ichetucknee in gratitude for what it has given us? Or do we simply take from it, and from the aquifer that feeds it, with no acknowledgement that this relationship is reciprocal? Or do we do a little bit of both, a thank-you here and a takeaway there?

In this section, we’ll explore both the good and bad effects that people and our social systems—legal, political, economic, educational—have had on the Ichetucknee.

We’ll celebrate the good and take a deeper dive into the bad as we move toward the final section of this site, “A New Relationship.”

• Timeline of human activity
• Past, present and future conditions of the Ichetucknee River System
• Impacts of recreation
• Impacts of social systems—law, policy, politics
• Advocacy for the Ichetucknee