Blog
River Voices
We Must Protect Our Public Lands
Protect Our Public Lands St. Johns RIVERKEEPER is currently leading the Protect Our Public Lands Passport challenge, in celebration of National Public Lands Day on September 26. According to the Florida State Parks Foundation, in 2025 alone, Florida State Parks and...Empowering Citizens: Development in Clay County
The St. Johns River watershed covers an area of nearly 9,000 square miles and is home to over five million people. That number grows each year. Defending the health of our river requires citizen action and involvement. St. Johns Riverkeeper (SJRK) works to empower...
Seeking the Next St. Johns Riverkeeper
The leading advocacy group for the St. Johns River has begun accepting applications for a new St. Johns Riverkeeper. Earlier this summer, Lisa Rinaman, St. Johns Riverkeeper for the past 14 years, announced her plan to step down in the spring of 2027. She will...
Inaugural Next Wave Leadership Academy
Fourteen high school students spent their summer tackling some of the St. Johns River’s biggest environmental challenges through real-world advocacy projects. As participants in St. Johns RIVERKEEPER’s inaugural Lynda L. Orth Next Wave Leadership Academy,...
St. Johns RIVERKEEPER Announces Leadership Transition
Statement from Jimmy Orth, Executive Director, and our Board of Directors Lisa Rinaman, St. Johns Riverkeeper since 2012, has announced her candidacy for Jacksonville City Council District 7. Because the Riverkeeper role requires a full-time commitment to protecting...
Endangered Species Act: Definition of Harm
On July 15, 2026, the U.S. Departments of the Interior and Commerce announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published a final rule rescinding the agencies’ longstanding regulatory definitions of “harm” under...
SJRK Responds: Plan for the Upper Basin and Indian River Lagoon
SJRK responds to the St. Johns River Water Management District’s (SJRWMD) plan for the Upper Basin of the St. Johns River and the Indian River Lagoon On February 27, the St. Johns River Water Management District released its first ever plan for the Upper Basin...
St. Johns River vegetation still feeling effects of Hurricane Irma
The following is an article by Dr. A. Quinton White, originally published in the Florida Times Union. — One of the key components for sustaining life in the St. Johns River is the submerged aquatic vegetation, or SAV, commonly called “eel grass.” The name...