River Salvage Legalized in Florida

The practice of salvaging sinker logs from river bottoms in Florida is legal again—for the first time since 1974. Governor Childs of Florida and his cabinet approved an interim policy that allows and regulates this form of salvage on December 7, 1998. After one year, the program will be carefully evaluated and either terminated or continued.

When virgin forests in the Southeast were logged between 1860 and 1920, a significant percentage of the dense longleaf yellow pine and cypress logs sank to the bottom of the rivers that were used to transport them to mills.