Along the banks of the Ocklawaha River, stark but beautiful skeletons of an ancient cypress forest remind us of woodlands lost in time, a drowned forest ready to be resurrected.

Before a botched attempt to create the Cross Florida Barge Canal, the Ocklawaha River once connected Silver Springs to the St. Johns River, guiding fish, manatees and other wildlife in their migrations. Children swam along its banks in crystal-clear springs…