Tag Archives: John S. Quarterman

A Devil of an Alapahoochee Cleanup 2026-08-29

1 Reply

Gather at Sasser Landing, caravan to private land to put in, paddle down half a mile to Devil Shoal, then upstream towards GA 135 and back.

Help clear passage through deadfalls, leaving habitat. You can pick up trash, photograph, pull sawed limbs aside, or just paddle.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 9:30 AM, end 1 PM, Saturday, August 29, 2026

Put In: Sasser Landing. From Jennings, Hamilton County, FL, travel east on CR 150; cross the Alapaha River; turn left onto NW 72 Court and follow to river, in Hamilton County.

GPS: 30.599562, -83.069828

[A Devil of an Alapahoochee Cleanup, Meet at Sasser Landing, Saturday, August 28, 2026]
A Devil of an Alapahoochee Cleanup, Meet at Sasser Landing, Saturday, August 28, 2026

Continue reading →

Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers and Poe Springs, but algae 2026-07-29

1 Reply

Update 2026-08-03: Florida State House District 9: Political Candidate Clean Water Questionnaire –WWALS 2026-08-03.

The Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers again tested clean for E. coli in the results we have for this week. So did Poe Springs, but with much algae.

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia.

According to the results we have, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating, before the rains starting tomorrow afternoon.

This image is an illustration. Scroll down for the details.

[Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers and Poe Springs, but algae 2026-07-29]
Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers and Poe Springs, but algae 2026-07-29

Follow this link for the WWALS composite spreadsheet of water quality results, rainfall, and sewage spills in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia and Florida:
https://wwals.net/issues/testing/#results

The image below is a current excerpt from that spreadsheet. Continue reading →

Clean Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek, and Santa Fe River 2026-07-22

1 Reply

Update 2026-09-31: Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers and Poe Springs, but algae 2026-07-29.

The Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek, and the Santa Fe River again tested clean in the results we have for this week.

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia.

According to the results we have, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating, before the rains starting tomorrow afternoon.

This image is an illustration. Scroll down for the details.

[Clean Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek, and Santa Fe River, 2026-07-22]
Clean Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek, and Santa Fe River, 2026-07-22

Follow this link for the WWALS composite spreadsheet of water quality results, rainfall, and sewage spills in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia and Florida:
https://wwals.net/issues/testing/#results

The image below is a current excerpt from that spreadsheet. Continue reading →

Another Langdale Park Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River 2026-07-26

Leave a reply

Join us to clear passage for kayaks, canoes, and jon boats, leaving plenty of habitat for wildlife.

Using a WWALS canoe if the water is low, and the WWALS jon boat if the water is high.

Everyone is invited to paddle along to pick up trash, photograph, pull aside sawed limbs, or just experience the river. You do not have to saw.

This time we hope to get down past Three Mile Branch to the big log pile at the south border of the park.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 9:30 AM, end 1 PM, Sunday, July 26, 2026

Put In: Langdale Park Boat Ramp, I-75 Exit 22, 3781 N. Valdosta Rd., Valdosta, GA 31602, turn south on Hyta Mederer Drive, proceed to the river.

GPS: 30.88747, -83.32395

[Another Langdale Park Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, Sunday, July 26, 2026]
Another Langdale Park Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, Sunday, July 26, 2026

Continue reading →

Withlacoochee River 2026-07-13 and Sugar Creek and Santa Fe River 2026-07-15

2 Replies

Update 2026-07-24: Clean Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek, and Santa Fe River 2026-07-22.

The Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek, and the Santa Fe River tested clean in the results we have for this week.

So did Poe Springs for Wednesday, even though Alachua County closed its swimming area Thursday due to “due to poor water clarity.”

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia.

According to the results we have, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating, before the rains starting tomorrow afternoon.

This image is an illustration. Scroll down for the details.

[Clean Withlacoochee 2026-07-13, OK Sugar Creek 2026-07-15, Clean Santa Fe 2026-07-15, Happy paddling, swimming, etc.]
Clean Withlacoochee 2026-07-13, OK Sugar Creek 2026-07-15, Clean Santa Fe 2026-07-15, Happy paddling, swimming, etc.

Follow this link for the WWALS composite spreadsheet of water quality results, rainfall, and sewage spills in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia and Florida:
https://wwals.net/issues/testing/#results

The image below is a current excerpt from that spreadsheet. Continue reading →

Pictures: Langdale Park Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River 2026-07-11

We got about half a Withlacoochee River mile downstream from Langdale Park Boat Ramp. We cleared passage through six deadfalls or other obstructions.

Plus a Little Blue Heron, Egretta caerulea, and we didn’t get pictures but saw a Great Blue Heron, some hawks, a few buzzards, and other birds we couldn’t identify.

We clear passage for kayaks, canoes, and jon boats, leaving plenty of habitat for wildlife.

https://wwals.net/?p=69810

Thanks to Phil Hubbard for leading this expedition, and Andrew Reinlieb for helping.

[Pictures: Langdale Park, Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, 2026-06-11]
Pictures: Langdale Park, Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, 2026-06-11

There will be Public Hearing about a proposed communications tower in Langdale Park, at 5:30 PM, Tuesday, July 14, 2026, after which the Lowndes County Commission will decide.

http://www.l-a-k-e.org/blog/?p=25896

The Valdosta @ US 41 read 4.12 feet (114.42 feet NAVD88), which is lower than our lowest boatable recommendation of 5.7 feet, 116′ NAVD. We picked a day with the lowest recent water level so we could get deadfalls that other wise would be underwater. Continue reading →

Clean Sugar Creek 2026-07-08, Withlacoochee River 2026-07-06, Santa Fe River 2026-07-09

Update 2026-07-17: Withlacoochee River 2026-07-13 and Sugar Creek and Santa Fe River 2026-07-15.

The Withlacoochee River, Sugar Creek, and the Santa Fe River tested clean in the results we have for this week.

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia.

According to the results we have, happy paddling, swimming, fishing, and boating, before the rains starting tomorrow afternoon.

Maybe you’d like to join us for Langdale Park Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River 2026-07-11.

https://wwals.net/?p=70660

This image is an illustration. Scroll down for the details.

[Clean Sugar Creek 2026-07-08, Withlacoochee River 2026-07-06, Santa Fe River 2026-07-09, Happy paddling, swimming, etc.]
Clean Sugar Creek 2026-07-08, Withlacoochee River 2026-07-06, Santa Fe River 2026-07-09, Happy paddling, swimming, etc.

Follow this link for the WWALS composite spreadsheet of water quality results, rainfall, and sewage spills in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia and Florida:
https://wwals.net/issues/testing/#results

The image below is a current excerpt from that spreadsheet. Continue reading →

Langdale Park Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River 2026-07-11

Update 2026-07-13: Pictures: Langdale Park Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River 2026-07-11.

Come help us clear passage for kayaks, canoes, and jon boats on the Withlacoochee River.

You do not have to saw. You can pick up trash, photograph, pull aside sawed branches, or just paddle along. Bring a rope for the front of your boat, because with the water this low there will probably be dragging.

We hope to at least get as far as the logjam at the south end of the park, which is about 1.32 river miles, and then we paddle back up.

If we’re really lucky, we’ll get as far as Sugar Creek, which is twice as far. If so, we might take out there, or we might paddle back up.

If we get crazy with the heat, we might even go all the way down and up the Little River to Troupville Boat Ramp, which is 6.7 miles. This is unlikely.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 9:30 AM, end 1 PM, Saturday, July 11, 2026

Put In: Langdale Park Boat Ramp, At the end of Hyta Mederer Drive, off of 3781 N. Valdosta Road, Valdosta, GA 31602, downstream from the North Valdosta Road (US 41) Bridge, in Lowndes County.

GPS: 30.88747, -83.32395

[Langdale Park Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, Saturday, July 11, 2026]
Langdale Park Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, Saturday, July 11, 2026

Continue reading →

Pictures: Children and Working Forests at Gaskins Forest Education Center 2025-06-06

We showed maps, pictures, and the EnviroScape to students brought by the Colquitt / Moultrie Boys and Girls Clubs, at the Gaskins Forest Education Center (GFEC) near Alapaha, Georgia.

We also discussed water trails, water quality testing, trash, and how to stop it being produced.

[Children and Working Forests at Gaskins Forest Education Center, Georgia Forestry Foundation, Colquitt/Moultrie B&G Club 2025-06-06]
Children and Working Forests at Gaskins Forest Education Center, Georgia Forestry Foundation, Colquitt/Moultrie B&G Club 2025-06-06

Gretchen Quarterman and her granddaughters Elleanor and Hazel Williams did most of the teaching. They especially like using the EnviroScape to show how watr flowing downhill carries all sorts of things with it.

Thanks to Amanda Rollins of Georgia Forestry Foundation for inviting us again this year.

Thanks to Heather Brasell, as always, for providing the venue. GFEC is near the Alapaha River on the WWALS Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT). Moultrie is on Okapilco River, as they call Okapilco Creek in Colquitt County. All above the Floridan Aquifer, from which we all drink with straws.

Heather is also a former WWALS Board member and a current WWALS water quality tester.

Here is video of a WWALS Webinar she did: The effects of forest management on water quality –Heather Brasell, WWALS Webinar 2024-11-14. Continue reading →

WWALS Annual Members Meeting and Quarterly Board Meeting, by Zoom 2026-07-12

Sunday evening, July 12, 2026:

6:00-6:30 PM, WWALS Annual Member Meeting
Presentation of annual report, election of some board members.

6:30-8:00 PM, WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting
Election of Officers, reports by officers, staff, and committees

All online by zoom:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81934488179?pwd=GSsu2IaE4kXf2EoUjgI5S1tsS1fUbU.1

Facebook event:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1053544810682545/

[WWALS Annual Members Meeting, Annual Report 2026-07-12, Quarterly Board Meeting, Election of Officers, by Zoom]
WWALS Annual Members Meeting, Annual Report 2026-07-12, Quarterly Board Meeting, Election of Officers, by Zoom

AMM

Agenda for WWALS Annual Member Meeting: PDF Continue reading →