Chris Wittman | How Two Fishing Guides Started a Movement | Tom Rowland Podcast Ep. 971

Chris Wittman is the co-founder of Captains for Clean Water, a nonprofit organization fighting for clean water and Everglades restoration in Florida. Before dedicating his life to this mission, Chris was a full-time fishing guide in Southwest Florida, living his dream job on a 17-foot skiff. In this conversation, Chris reveals how he and Captain Daniel Andrews walked away from their careers as fishing guides to spearhead what became the largest ecosystem restoration project in the history of the world. You'll hear about the moment they realized adaptation wasn't enough anymore, the first time a policymaker told them their voices didn't matter, and why a shallow water reservoir became a deepwater reservoir instead. This is the story of how two fishing guides created a movement that changed Florida's political landscape.

The Dream Job They Had to Walk Away From

Chris describes his former office as a 17-foot skiff, and it was the best job he could possibly have. For sixteen years, he and Daniel Andrews built their careers as fishing guides in Southwest Florida, chasing tarpon and snook and creating experiences for clients on the water. But throughout those years, they watched their fisheries decline. Places that were incredible when they were kids became spots they wouldn't even think about guiding by the time they were professionals. The habitat was lost, the productivity gone. Despite seeing the impacts of discharges from Lake Okeechobee and dealing with red tide blooms, both guides remained uninvolved in trying to change anything. They thought the problem was too massive and wondered what a fishing guide could possibly do. So they adapted, ran farther away from the problem areas, and dealt with the situation as best they could. But 2016 changed everything. Chris explains what finally forced them to act at [00:14:42].

When the Fishery Shut Down During Tourist Season

January should have been the start of an incredible season. Chris and Daniel were already catching tarpon and ready to roll into what they thought would be their best tourist season yet. Then massive discharges from Lake Okeechobee started flowing down, and within weeks the fishery was essentially shut down. They couldn't in good conscience take money from clients to provide a subpar experience. Red tide hit, families didn't want to stay on the beach, and people started leaving. Hotels that should have been completely booked had vacancies. Restaurants sat empty. For the first time, Chris and Daniel had time on their hands. They started making calls to scientists, talking to everyone from researchers to bartenders, trying to understand what could be done. What they discovered wasn't a science problem or an engineering problem—it was a political will problem caused by a lack of public pressure. The full story of what they learned starts at [00:17:09].

The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan Nobody Knew About

As Chris and Daniel dug deeper, they uncovered something shocking. There was already a solution in place—and it had been there for sixteen years. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan was voted into law in a bipartisan effort between Governor Jeb Bush and President Bill Clinton the same year Chris started guiding. It included 68 restoration projects designed to reconnect Florida's hydrology and stop the damaging discharges. The Army Corps of Engineers, the biggest engineering firm in the world, had developed the entire plan. But sixteen years later, halfway through what was supposed to be the timeline for completion, not a single project had been finished. The science was there. The engineering was there. What was missing was public pressure. Chris realized that if people like him—born and raised on an island at the mouth of the river where discharges come down, making a living as a fishing guide—weren't vocal and involved, who would be? Chris explains how they built the mechanism to create that public pressure at [00:20:56].

The First Big Win: Senate Bill 10 and the EAA Reservoir

The first real proof that their model worked came in 2017, just a year after they started Captains for Clean Water. The EAA Reservoir is the cornerstone project of Everglades restoration—a massive reservoir larger than the Island of Manhattan designed to take water from Lake Okeechobee during the wet season instead of discharging it to the coasts. It would then deliver that water to the Everglades during the dry season when it was needed. But policymakers and agency officials told Chris and Daniel straight up that the project would never happen because it was too politically challenging. Then Senate President Joe Negron, who was terming out, filed Senate Bill 10 to fund and build the reservoir. What made this happen was the energy from the 2016 collapse event. Chris and Daniel organized a Sport Fishing Day at the Capitol, bringing outdoor brands, fishermen, companies, and businesses to flood the Capitol Lawn with tents and boats. They weren't protesting with glitter signs and bullhorns—they came as business owners and industry leaders showing the economic impact of the ecological problem. The story of how they connected ecology to economics and changed everything starts at [00:32:03].

The Sugar Industry Lawsuit and What It Means for the Reservoir

The EAA Reservoir is now under construction, but there's a complication that reveals the ongoing challenges. The original design called for a 60,000-acre shallow reservoir that could grow aquatic plants to naturally clean the water. But the sugar industry refused to sell land, claiming there were no willing sellers who would take land out of production. So the state was forced to build a 30-foot deep reservoir on just 16,500 acres of state-owned land instead—moving the same volume of water but without the same cleaning capacity. Now the sugar industry is suing the Army Corps of Engineers, claiming they should get priority access to that water for irrigation before it goes to the Everglades. They lost at the district court level, appealed, and the decision is now sitting with a judge in Atlanta. Chris says they could hear a ruling any day, and it's been a couple years in the process. The taxpayers are building a four billion dollar reservoir, and there's a fight over who gets to use the water. Chris breaks down this ongoing legal battle at [00:38:15].

Final Thoughts from Tom

This conversation with Chris is one that every angler needs to hear. Not just Florida anglers, but anyone who cares about wild places and believes that our voices actually matter. What Chris and Daniel built with Captains for Clean Water is the best example I know of anglers uniting to make real, measurable change.

I want people to understand the sacrifice Chris and Daniel made. These weren't political guys. They weren't Washington insiders. They were fishing guides who loved pushing a skiff around Southwest Florida. That was their dream. And they walked away from it because they realized if they didn't, there wouldn't be a fishery left to guide on. That takes a level of commitment most people never have to face.

This is part one of a two-part series. In this episode, we cover the history—how Captains for Clean Water started, what the first wins looked like, and what it took to get there. In part two, we're going to talk about where we are today and what the future looks like. If you care about fishing, about conservation, or about how a couple of regular guys created a movement that changed Florida politics, you need to listen to the whole thing.