TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Apalachicola River hit number one on the list of most endangered river systems in the country in 2016 by the group, American Rivers.
The Apalachicola River Project is putting the spotlight on this critically endangered river ecosystem.
125 Florida State University students traveled to the river to study and understand what's hurting it.
"Beforehand, I had no idea that the Apalachicola River existed and I didn't know the issues that were plaguing it," said Alexander Iricanin, Apalachicola River Project Member. "Through speaking to some of the people who rely on the river I realized this is peoples livelihoods that are being affected."
The flow of the Apalachicola has far-reaching effects.
Ecosystems in and along the river depend on freshwater flow from up north.
The water that becomes the Apalachicola River has it's roots just north of Atlanta.
If too much water is used upstream in Georgia, the river and bay become too salty for species to survive.
This fight over the water has even caused an ongoing legal battle between Florida and Georgia.
"This system has been interrupted by a series of dams put in by the Army Corps of engineers. The decline of freshwater flow has hurt the Apalachicola River and it's hurt the Apalachicola Bay," said Georgia Ackerman, Apalachicola Riverkeeper. "That fresh water going into the is critical for the health of the estuary."
From the Jim Woodruff dam, the Apalachicola River flows 107 miles south through Florida's panhandle eventually reaching the Apalachicola Bay. Once it gets there, estuaries depend on the mixing of freshwater from the river and the salt water from the Gulf of Mexico.
Without the right amount of fresh water, species at the bottom of the food chain are dwindling, causing a domino effect on all other species, including us.
"We've got species that are found in our region that are not found anywhere else in the world in some case," said Ackerman. "So this connected, complex, amazing, one-of-a-kind bio-diverse hotspot is a very important part of our state, and I would argue North America."
That's why the Apalachicola River Project is bringing awareness about importance of protecting this ecosystem and all the species who rely on it.
"Hopefully by doing so more people will know about the farmers and the fisherman and the beekeepers and how important it is to them and how important it should be to us," said Iricanin.
To learn more click here.
