| THE FIRST TWO photographs below, taken by Jim Stevenson, show the damage that can be caused by overuse and carelessness when too many people trample the submerged aquatic vegetation that is an essential part of a healthy Ichetucknee River System.

When the North End of the Ichetucknee was closed to tubing over the winter 2019-2020, and remained closed during the summer of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) experienced a remarkable resurgence. Margaret Ross Tolbert captured evidence of this “return to Eden” in the additional photographs below. This resurgence is evidence that when it is given the right conditions, the Ichetucknee–like much of the rest of Mother Nature–can go a long way toward restoring itself.

-photographs by Jim Stevenson and Margaret Ross Tolbert