Rodman Dam

Environmentalists want to permanently open a dam built for a canal that was supposed to cut through the middle of Florida from the Atlantic to the Gulf. The canal project was dropped more than half a century ago because of environmental concerns, but the dam was built and now some people want it removed or opened.

The proposal would allow the Ocklawaha to breach a dam currently limiting the river's flow of water into the St. Johns River.

As major dams are taken down in other parts of the country, Florida holds tight to its dams and reservoirs, some aging and putting nearby residents and homes at risk.

A legacy of the hasty construction of the dam and reservoir in the 1960s is that it left many trees in the reservoir's boundary.