Wacissa River
Encyclopedia
The Wacissa River is a large, spring-fed stream located in south-central Jefferson County
, Florida
. Its headwaters are located about a mile south of the town of Wacissa
, where the river emerges crystal clear from a group of large limestone springs. From its headsprings, the river flows approximately 12 miles (19.3 km) south through a broad cypress
swamp before breaking into numerous braided channels which join the Aucilla River
a few miles further south. The river is managed by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission as part of the Aucilla Wildlife Management Area, and has been declared an Outstanding Florida Waterway
by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
, a relic marine terrace marked by a line of hills to the north. According to the Florida Bureau of Geology, the group of springs
and hydrilla
, dominate the upper reaches of the river. The spring runs themselves are often home to pickerel weed, arrowhead, elodea and eel grass. Wild flowers are also present, including several varieties of water lilies.
The Wacissa is well-known for its large concentration of aquatic birds, including egrets, herons, ibis, osprey, wood storks, limpkins, anhingas, kingfishers, barred owls and bald eagles. Aquatic animals are also abundant, including alligators, river otters, turtles, water snakes, and crayfish. The main species of fish are bass, mullet, catfish, red-breasted sunfish, stumpknocker and gar, although the warmouth perch, speckled perch, flier bream, and shellcracker may also found in the Wacissa.
According to George L. Thurston III's 1976 report on the Wacissa for the Canoe Trail Atlas:
Although much of the Wacissa forest is now 70 years into recovery, logging activities are still common in the area. Large portions of the adjacent lands—though managed by the state of Florida—are owned by the St. Joe Company
. However, the company has agreed not to cut trees in the immediate vicinity of the river. Today, the Wacissa is used almost exclusively for recreational purposes, including swimming, boating, fishing and birdwatching.
Jefferson County, Florida
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population is 12,902. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county is 14,490 . Its county seat is Monticello, Florida....
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Its headwaters are located about a mile south of the town of Wacissa
Wacissa, Florida
Wacissa is a small unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Florida, United States of America. It is 3.86 sq. miles in size and shares its name with the Wacissa River, the headwaters of which are about one mile to the south.-Churches:...
, where the river emerges crystal clear from a group of large limestone springs. From its headsprings, the river flows approximately 12 miles (19.3 km) south through a broad cypress
Taxodium
Taxodium is a genus of one to three species of extremely flood-tolerant conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae...
swamp before breaking into numerous braided channels which join the Aucilla River
Aucilla River
The Aucilla River rises close to Thomasville, Georgia, USA, and passes through the Big Bend region of Florida, emptying into the Gulf of Mexico at Apalachee Bay. The river is long and has a drainage basin of . The Wacissa River is a tributary...
a few miles further south. The river is managed by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission as part of the Aucilla Wildlife Management Area, and has been declared an Outstanding Florida Waterway
Outstanding Florida Waters
Outstanding Florida Waters are rivers, lakes and other bodies of water designated by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as worthy of special protection because of their natural attributes. Outstanding Florida Waters have special restrictions on any new activities that would lower...
by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The Wacissa Springs
The springs that feed the Wacissa River emerge in a bottomland forest below the Cody ScarpCody Scarp
The Cody Scarp or escarpment is located in north and north central Florida USA. It is a relict scarp and ancient persistent topographical feature formed from an ancient early Pleistocene shorelines of ~1.8 million to 10,000 years BP during interglacial periods...
, a relic marine terrace marked by a line of hills to the north. According to the Florida Bureau of Geology, the group of springs
"consist of at least 12 known springs scattered along the upper 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of the Wacissa River. Land to the east and west of the river is flat and swampy and surface elevations are little more than 3 foot (0.9144 m) above river level. The area immediately adjoining the river and springs is densely forested with cypress, oak, some pine, and generally moderate undergrowth. To the north, less than a mile from the head of the river, the land becomes hilly, rising in most parts more than 100 feet (30.5 m) above the lowland. The river is generally clear and cool, averaging 21 °C (70 °F) ... The distribution of springs in, as well as adjacent to, the Wacissa River and the heavy surface cover of aquatic plants makes difficult to impractical the reliable measurement [of the water flow] of individual springs ... The average flow [of the river] from August 1971 through September 1974 was 389 cubic feet per second."
Natural history
The flora is typical for a freshwater swamp in the deep southeast; pond cypress and bald cypress dominate the banks, followed by sweetbay, maple, sweet gum, hickories and oaks, as well as magnolias, holly, willow, and sabal palms. The water itself is heavily vegetated. The exotics, Water hyacinthWater hyacinth
The seven species of water hyacinth comprise the genus Eichhornia. Water hyacinth are a free-floating perennial aquatic plant native to tropical and sub-tropical South America. With broad, thick, glossy, ovate leaves, water hyacinth may rise above the surface of the water as much as 1 meter in...
and hydrilla
Hydrilla
Hydrilla is an aquatic plant genus, usually treated as containing just one species, Hydrilla verticillata, though some botanists divide it into several species. Synonyms include H. asiatica, H. japonica, H. lithuanica, and H. ovalifolica...
, dominate the upper reaches of the river. The spring runs themselves are often home to pickerel weed, arrowhead, elodea and eel grass. Wild flowers are also present, including several varieties of water lilies.
The Wacissa is well-known for its large concentration of aquatic birds, including egrets, herons, ibis, osprey, wood storks, limpkins, anhingas, kingfishers, barred owls and bald eagles. Aquatic animals are also abundant, including alligators, river otters, turtles, water snakes, and crayfish. The main species of fish are bass, mullet, catfish, red-breasted sunfish, stumpknocker and gar, although the warmouth perch, speckled perch, flier bream, and shellcracker may also found in the Wacissa.
According to George L. Thurston III's 1976 report on the Wacissa for the Canoe Trail Atlas:
"Two centuries ago, open stands of virgin longleaf pine grew on the stony upland north of the extensive hardwood hammock at Nuttal Rise. West of the Wacissa, a wild swampy pineland was sprinkled with outcroppings of chert. The whole region of some 400 square miles (1,036 km²) swarmed with dear, bear, bobcat, wild turkey and bobwhites, as well as migratory birds and waterfowl by the billions. The limited use made of the river prior to the Civil War, for barging cotton to Newport from Jefferson County plantations, largely ended after the war and the area remained essential virgin. Late in the nineteenth century, the Wacissa area became well-known to ornithologists because of ivory-billed woodpeckerIvory-billed WoodpeckerThe Ivory-billed Woodpecker is or was one of the largest woodpeckers in the world, at roughly 20 inches in length and 30 inches in wingspan. It was native to the virgin forests of the southeastern United States...
s which were then fairly common there ...In 1930 the entire Wacissa watershed was clear-cut by timber companies which sold the pine and bald cypress lumber. The grades on which they built their tram roads still criss-cross the area, forming the basis for most of the dirt roads which now provide access to the river. Removal of the forest had remarkable results. When naturalist, Herbert Stoddard, Senior, visited the area in 1932 after the absence of some years, he reported the entire ecology of the lower river was "drastically changed." Instead of the shallow, clear stream he had once visited, he found it running high and dark in all seasons. Apple snails, which depend on clear, lime-laden water, survived only in the upper reaches of the river near the springs. Birds such as limpkin and egret which feed on the snails, had become as scarce as the snails."
Although much of the Wacissa forest is now 70 years into recovery, logging activities are still common in the area. Large portions of the adjacent lands—though managed by the state of Florida—are owned by the St. Joe Company
St. Joe Company
The St. Joe Company is a land development company formerly headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It is Florida's second largest private landowner, owning about in the state at the end of 2009.-Beginning:...
. However, the company has agreed not to cut trees in the immediate vicinity of the river. Today, the Wacissa is used almost exclusively for recreational purposes, including swimming, boating, fishing and birdwatching.