By Dan Tonsmeire
June 10, 2025–From the early 1960’s through the early 2000’s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers attempted to maintain a 100-foot wide by nine-foot-deep channel for commercial barge traffic for 90 percent of the year. After more than 40 years, the channel was determined to be economically infeasible and environmentally unsustainable and unacceptable. The Corps’ authorization was denied by the State of Florida in 2005.
As a result of the dredging, the riverbed and banks became destabilized and the hydrological connections that connected the river to the floodplain were severely altered, causing changes to the vegetation and fish and wildlife habitat and reducing the nutrients provided to the Bay from the backwater swamps. After a 20-year reprieve from the dredging activities and funding provided from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) in cooperation with federal, state and local governments, restoration of the natural river connections and functions have begun.
Restoration is underway in an attempt to recover the natural connections between the river, floodplain and bay that fueled the productivity of this huge, relatively undeveloped ecosystem. Activities involve removing debris and sediment blocking approximately three miles of sloughs, including Spiders Cut, Douglas Slough and East River.
Spiders Cut and Douglas Slough are 30 miles upriver from Apalachicola Bay and carry water from the Apalachicola and Chipola Rivers through a large backwater swamp to the Brothers River and back out to the lower Apalachicola River. The nutrients these waters carry from the backwater swamps help fuel the productivity of the bay.
The East River carries water from the Apalachicola River through the delta to East Bay at the head of Apalachicola Bay. East River begins approximately 13 miles up the Apalachicola River from Apalachicola and one mile below Bloody Bluff Landing. The East River sediment removal began in May, 2025 and will last through the summer and potentially this fall. Fallen trees were cleared in an earlier phase of the project.
The public is advised to please use caution when operating vessels in these areas. Slow moving tugs and barges, and above normal small boat traffic, is expected to be active in the rivers throughout the summer. Work crews will also be active traveling to and from East River and Bloody Bluff Landing in conjunction with the operations.
For additional information, contact construction manager, Dan Tonsmeire (850) 508-7787, or email [email protected]
More on the impacts of USACE operations on the Apalachicola River: Presentation by Dr. Helen Light
Threats to a Florida River Also Imperil One of the World’s Rarest Honeys