Tag Archives: WLRWT

Video: Paddle races, water trails, and Sabal Trail jury trials; Suwannee Riverkeeper on WGOV Radio

Thanks to Steve Nichols for having me on The Morning Drive with Steve Nichols, 105.9FM WVGA. We talked about water trails, paddle races, and the Sabal Trail pipeline federal eminent domain jury trials, which were being settled as we spoke. Also we hear the Naylor Boat Ramp will be finished soon by Lowndes County.

On air, Movie

As I asked Steve about the three jury trials:

This is about federal eminent domain for the Sabal Trail pipeline.

SN: That’s right.

Now they already built the pipeline. But for these landowners, they sued them for the eminent domain. They do not have a written agreement with the landowners. They have not paid them a cent. But they already built the pipeline. Does that sound right to you? Continue reading →

Troupville Boat Ramp Cleanup, Little River, 2018-10-13

Update 2018-10-13: Pictures.

Update 2018-10-12: Yes, the cleanup is still on for Saturday, October 13, 2018.

A fun Saturday morning by the Little River: WWALS cleanup of the Troupville Boat Ramp and adjacent riverfront down to the Little River Confluence with the Withlacoochee River, in conjunction with Rivers Alive and Keep Lowndes-Valdosta Beautiful (KLVB). We have the enthusiastic support of the landowners south of the boat ramp to the Confluence, including much of the site of historic Troupville, the former seat of Lowndes County before Valdosta, in the middle of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail.

When: 8:00 AM – Noon, 2018-10-13

Put In: Troupville Boat Ramp, 19664 Valdosta Hwy, Valdosta, GA 31602: on GA 133 off I-75 exit 18, in Lowndes County, just west of Valdosta.

GPS: 30.85131, -83.34743

Bring: Cleanup materials will be provided, but if you’ve got a trash picker, bring it along.
No boat required. You can bring a boat if you like, but unless it rains before then, there will be very little water in the river.

Free: This outing is free. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!

Event: facebook, meetup

All ages, Sign
Photo: Bobby McKenzie from the last WWALS Troupville Boat Ramp Cleanup, 2018-04-21.

Continue reading →

Suwannee Riverkeeper on Steve Nichols radio 105.9FM WVGA 2018-09-13

Thursday morning Suwannee Riverkeeper will be on the “top rated morning talk show in south Georgia” with Steve Nichols, talking about paddle outings, water trails, paddle races, and the Sabal Trail pipeline federal eminent domain jury trials going on right now in Valdosta.

When: 8:30AM, Thursday, September 13, 2018,

Where: The Morning Drive with Steve Nichols, 105.9FM WVGA
Live streamed on the show’s facebook page

Event: facebook, meetup

Suwannee Riverkeeper banner, Interview

What:

Guest: Suwannee Riverkeeper® John S. Quarterman

Host: Valdosta Today bills The Morning Drive with Steve Nichols as:

The top rated morning talk show in south Georgia, Steve Nichols offers both sides of every story from Berrien County to the Beltway, and everywhere in between.

Should be fun. Do tune in.

More: For more WWALS outings and events as they are posted, see the WWALS calendar or the WWALS outings and events web page. WWALS members also get an upcoming list in the Tannin Times newsletter.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

WWALS Boomerang, Withlacoochee River, Langdale Park, 2018-11-03

Update 2018-10-28: Now at State Line Ramp! Yes, we’ve moved downstream, to plenty of water, no deadfalls, plus shoals, in two states (Georgia and Florida) and four counties (Lowndes, Brooks, Madison, and Hamilton).

Update 2018-10-25: See new blog post with PDF flyers including new sponsors the YMCA and Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia, plus food by Under Construction BBQ, and at the turnaround walk up to The Salty Snapper, with aerial drone photography by The Georgia Photography Fanatic.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

Update 2018-10-08: Early-bird $20 ticket deadline extended through October 13th!

Downstream and up again: it’s the WWALS Boomerang, from Langdale Park Boat Ramp to Sugar Creek Landing on the Withlacoochee River. Join us for a fun filled day of kayak and canoe racing and leisurely paddling.

WWALS Boomerang, Logo New WWALS board member Bobby McKenzie, whose son Zavier was the youngest finisher at our spring BIG Little River Paddle Race, has volunteered to organize a fall race, with the enthusiastic support of the board and the Outings Committee.

We would also like to thank George Page, Executive Director of Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA), for his and VLPRA’s support. VLPRA renovated Langdale Park last year, so let’s go boat from there.

When: 11:00 AM, November 3, 2018

Put In: Langdale Park Boat Ramp, 3781 N. Valdosta Rd., Valdosta, GA 31602. This is just outside the Valdosta City limits in Lowndes County, off of North Valdosta Road (US 41 North). Only 5.5 miles from downtown and only 4 miles from Valdosta State University.

GPS: 30.88727, -83.32395

Tickets: $20 per boat through extended October 13, then $30.
We also recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!

Event: facebook, meetup

The very picture of a lazy river
Withlacoochee River, 2016-03-20.

Continue reading →

Updates from Trails Committee Meeting 2018-08-19

Here’s an update on the draft brochures for both WWALS Water Trails, after the recent meeting of the WWALS Water Trails Committee. We could still use more pictures.

Please email pictures to wwalswatershed@gmail.com. Please say who took each picture, when, where, and of what. High resolution, please.

ARWT Mapside, ARWT

If you want to join the WWALS Trails Committee to help continue organizing this work, actually editing the documents shown below, you must be a WWALS member and apply.

What

The Trails Committee is working on brochures for Continue reading →

Brochures: Trails Committee Meeting 2018-08-19

After only four years, we’re almost finished with both WWALS Water Trails! You can help get them done.

The new Chair of the WWALS Trails Committee, Dan Phillips, has called a meeting to work on one of the final steps: designing printed brochures. Anyone can attend, and anyone can send in pictures or suggestions.

Please email pictures to wwalswatershed@gmail.com. Please say who took each picture, when, where, and of what. High resolution, please.

When: 2:30-5PM, Sunday, 19 August 2018

Where: Community Hall 2,
South Georgia Regional Library,
2906 Julia Dr, Valdosta, GA 31602

By phone: Dial-in Number: (641) 715-3580
Meeting ID: 855-676

Event: facebook, meetup

WLRWT Mapside, WLRWT

If you want to join the WWALS Trails Committee to help continue organizing this work, actually editing the documents shown below, you must be Continue reading →

Withlacoochee River near Troupville 2018-07-21

Got some deadfalls in the Withlacoochee River at Troupville, Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, on the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT), found once again by intrepid WWALS explorer Aaron Sirmons. Plus an oxbow being cut off by a new path of the river. Here are some pictures and a Google map.

Log in tree, River

Troupville, the old county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, was mostly west of the Withlacoochee River over to the Little River and down to its confluence, although as you can see in this map Troupville Cemetery was to the east of the Withlacoochee River. Continue reading →

Pictures of all the BLRPR paddlers 2018-04-28

You’ve seen who won the eleven awards. Now here are the rest of the paddlers in the 6th Annual BIG Little River Paddle Race, from more counties, states, and watersheds than ever before. Also more Solo Female Kayaks than Solo Male Kayaks, and several whole families of paddlers.

[Finish]
Finish

Statistics: 2018 BIG Little River Paddle Race

43 Boats 
37 kayaks
6 canoes

49 Paddlers
29 male
20 female Continue reading →

All winners of BIG Little River Paddle Race 2018-04-28

Previously you saw the overall winner of the 6th Annual BIG Little River Paddle Race, organized by WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) and Friends of Reed Bingham State Park (FORB), Saturday, April 28, 2018.

Here are all the winners:


The prize category is included for each winner.

Continue reading →

A week on the Withlacoochee River in June?

Somebody asked recently whether it is possible to paddle a week on the Withlacoochee River in Georgia in June. Sure, as long as you start not too far upstream on the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT), you can paddle past shoals and little-known Georgia springs into the Florida springs heartland, and then continue a day or two on the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail (SRWT). WWALS has paddled many of the most interesting stretches multiple times, often in June.

Troupville to Suwannee River Rendezvous
Troupville to Suwannee River Rendezvous

Here’s some history of the Withlacoochee River: fishing weirs, shoals, ghost towns, and springs.

Here is a list of access points on the Withlacoochee River with recommended water levels.

Troupville Boat Ramp, Hahira GA 122 Little River Gauge, 137-144′ NAVD88

Your first put in will actually be on the Little River, slightly upstream from its confluence, at Troupville Boat Ramp.

27 April 2016, GA 122 Hahira Little River Gauge 70.9′ (140.6′ NAVD88).
Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA) fixed the Troupville access road back in April 2016.

Boatramp
Photo: Julie Bowland

21 April 2018, GA 122 Hahira Little River Gauge 7.2′ (140′ NAVD88).
WWALS did a cleanup at Troupville, in which you can see our water trail signs. See also some history of Troupville, the previous county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia.

Scouts and all, Sign
At Troupville Boat Ramp, by the signs for the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT) that Phil Hubbard planted yesterday (2018-04-20).

Georgia Springs on the Withlacoochee River

Three of the six second-magnitude springs in Georgia used to be in Brooks County, Georgia, before somebody apparently tried to Continue reading →