Monthly Archives: March 2014

Cancelled! Paddle Against the Pipeline on the Withlacoochee River: 19 April 2014

Update 9PM 16 April 2014: Cancelled due to flood-stage water levels in the Withlacoochee River, with more rain expected Friday. To be rescheduled.

7:30 AM Saturday 19 April 2014 on the Withlacoochee River between Valdosta and Quitman, put in at Old Quitman Road on the Brooks County side (just south of US 84): Paddle past where the proposed Sabal Trail methane pipeline would cross the Withlacoochee River, digging into our fragile karst limestone, above our drinking-water Floridan Aquifer. This is a joint event of Continue reading →

2nd annual BIG Little River Paddle Event is postponed.

The ranger at Reed Bingham has elected to postpone the paddle event due to unsafe water levels on the Little River in the park and no significant drop in water levels today. I think this is the right thing to do. We want a safe, fun event. The event will be moved to Saturday, March 29 at same times. Anyone who pre-registered for the event who does not wish to come on the 29th will be given a refund. Feel free to call me with any questions or concerns. Bret

Billboard, BIG Little River Paddle Event

You should see these billboards around Valdosta starting today. Thanks to Fairway for the artwork.

There’s still time to register online or by sending a check, for the Second Annual BIG Little River Paddle Event, at Reed Bingham State Park, this Saturday, 22 March 2014, to benefit Friends of Reed Bingham State Park and WWALS Watershed Coalition.

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Moody AFB Installation Complex Encroachment Management Action Plan (ICEMAP)

On 19 February 2014 WWALS Watershed Coalition received the appended letter from the United States Air Force about a study regarding encroachment around Moody Air Force Base, between Valdosta and Lakeland in Lowndes and Lanier Counties, in the watershed of the Alapaha River. Several documents were attached:

From: Mike Lynch <ml@marstel-day.com>
Date: Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 10:32 AM
Subject: Moody Air Force Base Installation Complex Encroachment Management Action Plan (ICEMAP)
To:
Cc: "NICHOLS, DIONDRA R GS-11 USAF ACC 23 CES/CENPP" <diondra.nichols@us.af.mil>


On behalf of Headquarters Air Force and the 23d Wing, Marstel-Day, LLC is developing an "Installation Complex Encroachment Management Action Plan" (ICEMAP) for Moody Air Force Base (AFB), Georgia and its associated installations and facilities. Attached is a memo Continue reading →

How Many Trees Does It Take to Protect a Stream?

Stroud Water Center wrote in their Upstream Newsletter, VOL. 2014, ISSUE 1, February 2014,

Scientists Set Buffer Width Minimum Standard.

A strip of forest along a stream channel, also called a riparian forest buffer, has been proposed and used for decades as a best management practice to protect streams by filtering out contaminants from agriculture and other land uses before they can enter them.Their benefits are many, but one benefit has dominated social and political conversations, and that is their role in preventing contaminants from entering streams.

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Stroud Center Director Bern Sweeney practicing what he preaches at a tree planting event. Photo: David Arscott

A few years ago, Stroud Water Research Center proposed that riparian forest buffers also play another important role by Continue reading →

Georgia Outdoor Map

Interesting interactive map by Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Outdoor Map. Their PR of 14 March 2014, DNR Launches Interactive Map of Recreational Lands,

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today unveiled an interactive map that identifies DNR-managed lands and outdoor recreation opportunities. The “Georgia Outdoor Map” includes state parks, wildlife management areas, public fishing areas, boat ramps, and historic sites. Users are able to search by category to find locations where they can camp, hunt, hike, fish or explore history.

Continue reading →