Abstract
This article applies "institutional mapping" - a method of institutional analysis - to organize, describe, and make sense of the management of Florida's springs. For various historical and practical reasons, protecting and restoring springs involves a dizzying, multi-level array of laws, organizations, processes, and other institutions. Due, in part, to this complexity, scant literature addresses Florida springs management in a holistic, comprehensive manner - that is, where the concerns of managing recreation, keeping the runs clean, managing vegetation and wildlife, regulating volume and flow, reducing nutrients and pollution, and other concerns are all considered together. This study attempts to fill this gap by mapping out the institutional framework of Florida springs governance, including laws, agencies, management methodologies, and other institutional elements that play routine or significant roles. This conceptual organization of an overall "springs management system" provides a necessary step in treating springs as a coherent social and environmental good deserving of a holistic management approach. It also reveals several important implications for Florida springs management as presently organized.
