Lake Apopka is one of the largest and most beautiful lakes in Florida, once boasting 29 fish camps, a variety of clear waters and some of the finest bass fishing in the Southeast. Unfortunately, it hasn’t always remained that way. Back in the 1940s, massive nutrient loading and sediment pushed the once proud lake into an environmentally undesirable state. Activists stepped in, and today Lake Apopka has made a valiant comeback.

So successful have the efforts been to return it to its original, pristine state that the Friends of Lake Apopka (FOLA), a concerned-citizens lobbying group, have heralded it as “a role model for restoration.” In fact, it is the model upon which the state of Florida is currently basing its restoration efforts in the Everglades. In total, more than 10 organizations and agencies are involved in the restoration of Lake Apopka. Click on the links below for more info.

Friends of Lake Apopka

The Florida Audubon Society

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

U.S. Department of Agriculture

The Oakland Nature Preserve