line in the catacombs

[WEPIV]

When I was younger I remember hearing that the previous owner (Ball?) put a fence up (in the river) to keep people away from Wakulla head spring and even had the local law on his side with pay-offs, etc.
Don't know how much of that is accurate, but it's what we used to hear.

(I like this dual convo going on here by the way.)

[Greenwood_60]

Not sure I'd call it a death trap. It's been a while since someone died there, and most if not all deaths there are due to not following one of the cave diving guidelines (sometimes literally a lack of a guide line...)

Which would matter if it were trained cave diver dying. We would not be making it easier to find the catacombs, just easier to find your way out.

[SuPrBuGmAn]

When I was younger I remember hearing that the previous owner (Ball?) put a fence up (in the river) to keep people away from Wakulla head spring and even had the local law on his side with pay-offs, etc.
Don't know how much of that is accurate, but it's what we used to hear.

(I like this dual convo going on here by the way.)

Yeah, Ed Ball put it up to keep people out. The state aided in the fight against the fence, right up to the point where they were granted the land and decided to keep it closed.

[Leslie Sapp]

state is responsible for overseeing navigable waterways.

Yes, but there are federal laws pertaining to navigable steams also. The state of California recently lost a case in which their DNR restricted access to a stream and was sued by a group of citizens (predominantly kayakers and canoeists) to have it reopened.

In most of the cases I'm aware of in which the State of Florida has closed a stream, the original cause was justified as "public safety". An example would be closing a designated swimming area to boat traffic. IMHO, they're on shaky ground at a couple of sites with that premise, Wakulla being one of them.
I strongly suspect the real reason it's been maintained there is to restrict access to the park by water, and preserve the revenue from gate receipts and boat tours.

[Walter Pickel]

once the state bought the spring and the lands around it, the fence became part of DNR's park use plan.

Did the State buy it or do they still lease it from St. Joe?

[Walter Pickel]

Did the State buy it or do they still lease it from St. Joe?

I found the answer -- The State bought the land and buildings around Wakulla Springs for $100 on July 1, 1985 (as per Wakulla County Property Appraiser)

[SuPrBuGmAn]

I heard it was just under lease, but apparently I'm wrong.

[Walter Pickel]

I heard it was just under lease, but apparently I'm wrong.

You are/were under the same understanding I was. I was told by a previous CEO of St. Joe that the State leased the land, buildings, etc. Did you look at the PAs site as well?

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Sure did