Pictures: Lower Ichetucknee River Springs Protection Zone @ Suwannee BOCC 2025-10-07

The Suwannee Board of County Commissioners agreed to support the Lower Ichetucknee River Springs Protection Zone. Specifically, they support the no wake zone. They expressed no opinion on the personal watercraft ban.

That was yesterday, Tuesday, October 7, 2025.

Suwannee County is for the Lower Ichetucknee River Springs Protection Zone, October 7, 2025

You can also write to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWC), using this handy form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScYFArSQsstOauhRVYTCMoikXYIo0i_gDmkuDlbTC-7OSsgQQ/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=114012348461689332646

Or you can write to:

Captain Rachel Bryant <Rachel.bryant@myfwc.com>
Major Bill Holcomb <William.holcomb@myfwc.com>
Rob Klepper <Robert.klepper@myfwc.com>

Before a dozen people spoke for the zone, and none against, Parks & Recreation Director Alden Rosner presented the FFWC request for input as item 14 in the Suwannee County Commission agenda, which took up pages 88-130 of the board packet. Here’s who was who up front.

Alden Rosner, Parks & Rec.; Eric Musgrove, Clerk to Board; Don Hale, District 1; Franklin White, District 5; Travis Land, District 3 and Chairman; Leo Mobley, District 4; Maurice Perkins, District 2; County Attorney Adam L. Morrison; County Administrator Greg Scott, 2025-10-07 by jsq for WWALS

At least two speakers for the zone said they were from Three Rivers Estates Property Owners (TREPO) and TREPO supports the zone. Several said they had personally experienced safety issues with power boats, or witnessed others who had. Several mentioned specific aquatic life concerns, animal, vegetable, or shoreline.

Several County Commissioners, including Chairman Travis Land, said they thought it was common sense to throttle down when there were people swimming and tubing, and it was sad it had to come to this, but they supported a no wake zone. Commissioner Maurice Perkins even talked about maybe a no wake zone down the Santa Fe River quite a ways, but that is not what FFWC is considering.

Several Commissioners worried about which personal water craft (PWC), how to enforce that, what happens if a family comes in a boat with a teenager in a PWC, etc. County Attorney Adam L. Morrison weighed in on all that.

After everyone else had spoken for, the Commissioners asked for clarification on what had High Springs and Columbia County supported. Linda Dicker aka Linda L. Weseman came to the podium to answer, saying she was the author of the request for the zone.

Linda Dicker answering questions, 2025-10-07 by jsq for WWALS

She said she had not seen written versions of what those two had decided, but they had agreed to support the zone with no exceptions. That apparently means High Springs and Columbia County support both the no wake zone and the PWC ban.

I spoke twice, because the Chairman called me up first for Public Concerns and Comments towards the beginning of the meeting. He didn’t say people concerned with the zone should speak when that item came up, so I spoke about that, basically saying I’m concerned with the turtles and shore erosion, and also human safety.

When I came back up under item 14, since many other speakers had mentioned their families had been in Florida for many generations, I added that my grandmother was from Luravaille. The Chairman said grandmother was too. We agreed we could be related.

On the topic, I noted that FFWC is asking for “whether or not the available evidence demonstrates significant harm (to include negative impacts to water quality, water quantity, hydrology, wetlands, and aquatic and wetland-dependent species) predominately caused by the operation, anchoring, mooring, beaching, or grounding of vessels such that a spring protection zone is necessary and appropriate in the requested area.”

The FWC is requesting feedback from Suwannee County regarding this request….
PDF

But the Florida Statute on which FFWC’s request is based actually says “ to protect and prevent significant harm….”

FW: Request for Springs Protection Zone- Ichetucknee River 2025-09-09
PDF

And the FFWC’s proposed rule says “to protect or prevent….”

PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The rule is being amended to comport with legislative changes to section 327.45, which now requires a showing of significant harm to the springs and allow for modified anchoring, mooring, beaching or grounding as necessary to protect springs and associated spring runs.
PDF

So by “and” or “or” prevent, it is not necessary to show that motorboats are right now harming the spring run or associated aquatic life, instead the county can support the rule to prevent such harm.

Also, I noted that the Commissioners had just heard many people attest to significant human safety risks. Which means there are also significant risks to aquatic life, because turtles and manatees can’t get out of the way any faster than humans.

I also said a few words about the Florida Counties’ Rivers Task Force and upstream water quality; for that see below.

Maybe I should have spelled out that last point more clearly, because after all the zone supporters had spoken, Alden Rosner got up to say the FFWC was not considering human safety, only the letter the law requires: “Significant harm includes negative impacts to water quality, water quantity, hydrology, wetlands, and aquatic and wetland-dependent species where the operation, anchoring, mooring, beaching, or grounding of vessels is determined to be the predominant cause of negative impacts.”

My point is that human safety risk and harm serves as a proxy for significant harm to those non-human aquatic topics.

The Commissioners eventually decided by consensus (no motion and vote) that they support the no wake zone but have no opinion on the PWC ban. They did not appear to include in their decision any specifics about why they support the no wake zone. Maybe we will later see a written version of their decision.

Meanwhile, this is a win for the Ichetucknee River and all the people, animals, and plants along it!

Selfie, 2025-10-07 by jsq for WWALS

Towards the end of the meeting, County Administrator Greg Scott mentioned that the Chairman’s one-year term would be up soon, so it would be time to select another. Everyone but Don Hale indicated they thought it should be Don Hale. We shall see.

Florida Rivers Task Force and water quality

After I spoke the first time, Commissioner Don Hale mentioned that I had been helpful in dealing with the Valdosta sewage problem, and Chairman Travis Land said he had been following that.

So when I spoke the second time, I referenced Commissioner Hale’s comments and added that coming up Wednesday of next week, October 16, there is a meeting about tourism with five Georgia State Senators. I plan to mention the Florida Rivers Task Force’s request for Valdosta to do more water quality monitoring.
https://wwals.net/?p=68201

Plus I will request the state of Georgia to fund more water quality monitoring.

Also I mentioned that the Valdosta City Manager had resigned.
https://valdostaceo.com/news/2025/10/statement-city-valdosta-city-manager-richard-hardy/

It turned out the Suwannee County Commissioners already knew that. Which is interesting, considering the actual resignation and acceptance took place during a special called Valdosta City Council meeting that was still going on during the Suwannee County Commission meeting.

After the meeting, I spoke with Don Hale a bit more. He said he would be at the tourism meeting. That’s 9 AM, Wednesday, October 15, 2025, at the Rainwater Conference Center, 1 Meeting Place Valdosta GA 31601-7710. It’s between I-75 Exits 16 and 18.
https://wwals.net/?p=68560

I briefly brought up the WWALS water quality reports and the associated spreadsheet.
https://wwals.net/issues/testing/

I pointed out there was a better way to present this stuff than a spreadsheet. The Savannah and Ogeechee Rivers in Georgia, and all the rivers of Alabama, are in Know Your River, which is a mapped database of water quality, wastewater permits, rainfall, and many other relevant datapoints.
https://www.knowyourriver.com

The state of Georgia funds those first two rivers, but has been very reluctant to add others. So it’s time to talk to the state of Florida. More on that later.

There are more pictures below.

The county’s own video of that meeting does not appear to be up yet, but it will appear here:
https://www.youtube.com/@suwanneemedia9433

-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

Short Link:

WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) is Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

A healthy watershed with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable water.

Florida Rivers Task Force and water quality

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