The Yearling

Our story begins with three people who had a vision to preserve some of the most pristine natural resources in the State of Florida where hidden treasures are present in every direction of the road way.

These three friends had traveled State Road 40 and SR 19 many times. Around every corner the experience was totally different. They stopped at many places along the byway including the Ocala National Forest and each place they visited, for instance Juniper Springs, held a certain magic.

The Florida Black Bear National Scenic Byway has evolved into an ecotourism educational byway and advocating for animal crossings on all our byway roads that will undergo construction in the future. There are presently two on the byway, and four more are in future plans to be constructed in the Silver Springs area.

Advocacy and support from Florida Black Bear National Scenic Byway has ensured future crossings, education, and tourism will be part of this wonderful area for years to come. This, is in part, the result of the three individuals that put their dedication and love of the environment to great use to make this happen.

Juniper Run

 As Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings once said: “If there is such a thing as institutional memory, the consciousness of land and water must lie deeper in the core of us than any knowledge of our fellow beings.. We can not live without the earth or apart from it, and something is shriveled in man’s heart when he turns away from it and concerns himself only with the affairs of men.”