Author Archives: jsq

Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism meeting in Valdosta 2025-10-15

Leave a reply

Suwannee Riverkeeper is supposed to speak for five minutes to a Georgia Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism. It’s a public meeting, so y’all come.

That will be at 9 AM, Wednesday, October 15, 2025,
at the Rainwater Conference Center, 1 Meeting Place Valdosta GA 31601-7710.
That’s between I-75 Exits 16 and 18.

[Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism, Rainwater Conference Center, Valdosta, GA, 2025-10-15]
Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism, Rainwater Conference Center, Valdosta, GA, 2025-10-15

There doesn’t seem to be any facebook event by the state, county, or city, so here’s one by WWALS:
https://www.facebook.com/events/796397306306784/

I’m listed under Arts & Education Tourism, so I might as well mention the WWALS River Revue and Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, as well as the education component of the future Troupville Nature Park and River Camp.

This committee was completed by Senate Resolution 323, which includes:

WHEREAS, Georgia has beautiful vistas and natural resources meant to be seen and savored, including mountains, canyons, waterfalls, lakes, rivers, and beaches; and

Well, let’s talk about the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle and the Alapahoochee River chainsaw cleanup with the surprise dead gator. Plus the Banks Lake Full Moon paddles, and the Suwannee River and Okefenokee Swamp campouts and paddles in November and December.

Also: Continue reading →

Bear and Robert of Jacksonville, FL with a folk song, Suwannee River in White Springs 2025-09-06

Leave a reply

Bear and Robert sang a song about the Florida Folk Festival, which is held is held at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park in White Springs, Florida, on Memorial Day, when flags fly.

They wrote for the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest:
https://wwals.net/pictures/songwriting2025

What do you get when you cross a Folkie with a Bluesman? You get Bear and Robert! Bear and Robert (row-bear) are Cindy Bear and Franc Robert, an award winning singer-songwriter duo from Jacksonville, FL. Together their acoustic sound has been described as a deep well of Folk, Blues, and Americana with a high energy Je Nais Se Quois! Their CD’s, “Travels With Bear and Robert,” and “Hearts in Blues,” Franc’s solo and band CD’s, and Cindy’s solo CD “Start Over Again” are available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, and on their website at https://www.bearandrobert.com

[Bear and Robert, Jacksonville, FL, with a folk song 2025-09-06, Suwannee River in White Springs, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest]
Bear and Robert, Jacksonville, FL, with a folk song 2025-09-06, Suwannee River in White Springs, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest

They say about their song, “This is a soulful and evocative folk hymn written to transport listeners on a poetic journey to a sacred haven on the banks of the Suwannee River, which is full of cherished memories, and reminiscent of a church.”

Here are Bear and Robert of Jacksonville, Florida, singing their song:
https://youtu.be/_XAxtI3uB1s Continue reading →

Hillman Bridge, Ellaville, Suwannee River 2025-09-27

Leave a reply

I stopped at the historic Hillman Bridge, across the Suwannee River at Ellaville, on the way back from the Suwannee River Camp tour.

It was built 1926, abandoned 1983, and is a 916.0-foot 3-span Metal 7 Panel Rivet-Connected Pratt Through Truss bridge over the Suwannee River.

This happened long after the demise of Ellaville as a logging town, capturing logs coming down the Withlacoochee River with a boom, to be sawed in the sawmill owned by Florida Governor George Franklin Drew. Here’s a video about that logging boom town, Dray’s World, 2021, The Remains of the Drew Mansion & The Lost Cemetery of Ellaville.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBWJDJldb9o

[Hillman Bridge, Ellaville, Suwannee River 2025-09-27, 1/5 mile below Withlacoochee River, Built 1926, abandoned 1983]
Hillman Bridge, Ellaville, Suwannee River 2025-09-27, 1/5 mile below Withlacoochee River, Built 1926, abandoned 1983

According to Bullet, Abandoned FL, December 1, 2015, Hillman Bridge,

Hillman Bridge is a through truss bridge located in the small town of Ellaville, once a thriving sawmill and manufacturing center owned by George Franklin Drew, Florida’s governor between 1877 to 1881. Built as a federal aid project in 1925-1926 by the R.H.H. Blackwell Co. of East Aurora, N.Y., it was named “Hillman Bridge” during its construction after W.J. Hillman of Live Oak, a member of the State Road Department who had helped push for the construction of the bridge.

No, it’s not the same as the historic Suwannee Springs Bridge, the old US 129 bridge, built 1931, closed to vehicle traffic in 1971. That’s 22 miles upstream, just above the current US 129 bridge. Yes, both historic bridges have graffiti, they both cross the Suwannee River, and they are both through truss steel bridges. But they are not the same.

There are more pictures below of the historic Hillman Bridge. Continue reading →

Rena Ann Peck, Michelle Malone & Jim Woodcox, Atlanta, GA, with an American Folk Revival Song, Okefenokee

Leave a reply

Rena Ann Peck’s band apparently had other gigs and did not accompany her from Atlanta. Fortunately she was helped out by Saylor Dollar, another Finalist in the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest. Rena had never had a fiddle on her song before.

Rena is an ecologist & Executive Director of Georgia Rivers.

[Rena Ann Peck, Atlanta, GA, 2025-09-06, with Saylor Dollar, Tallahassee, FL, American Folk Revival song, Okefenokee, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest]
Rena Ann Peck, Atlanta, GA, 2025-09-06, with Saylor Dollar, Tallahassee, FL, American Folk Revival song, Okefenokee, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest

She says her song is a “Rally cry for the fight to save the Okefenokee’s from mining.”

As you know, the coal miners from Alabama were bought out from their property southeast of the Okefenokee Swamp. But there is much more to do to protect the rest of the Swamp.
https://wwals.net/?p=67829

Here is Rena Ann Peck of Atlanta, Georgia, singing her song, backed by Saylor Dollar of Tallahassee, Florida:
https://youtu.be/AN1H1usl_s4
https://www.facebook.com/Wwalswatershed/videos/794528220213885 Continue reading →

Authorize selected staff to sign permit applications and inspection reports for FDOT, FDEP, and SWFWMD –Citrus BOCC 2025-09-23

1 Reply

Maybe it’s a coincidence that this move by the Citrus BOCC comes a month after Southworth sold Citrus County sand mine site to state of Florida 2025-08-06.
https://wwals.net/?p=68529

The Citrus County Commissioners approved authorizing seven named staff members to sign permit applications and inspection reports on behalf of the county, with no mention of any further approval by the Commissioners. This authorization is for each of FDOT, FDEP, and SWFWMD, which are exactly the three Florida state agencies that are involved in permitting the huge borrow pit next to the Suncoast Parkway Phase 3A Extension in Citrus County.

I’ve never seen this before, and I go to many county commission meetings in Florida and Georgia, and I watch more counties online. It’s common for counties to put specific items on their agenda to authorize a specific staff member to sign a specific document, but I’ve never seen a blanket authorization like this, especially not for seven different staff for three different agencies.

Further, the listing in the Consent Agenda does not match the actual authorizations later in the board packet, and those authorizations seem to extend the authorization to the actual permits, not just applications.

[Authorize selected staff to sign permit applications, etc., for FDOT, FDEP, and SWFWMD --Citrus BOCC 2025-09-23]
Authorize selected staff to sign permit applications, etc., for FDOT, FDEP, and SWFWMD –Citrus BOCC 2025-09-23

Much background on this proposed sand mine is here:
https://stopthesandminecc.wixsite.com/stopthesandmine

See also the Stop the Sand Mine change.org petition:
https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-sand-mine

This is upstream from Crystal River, south of the Withlacoochee (South) River that flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Local opponents are rightly concerned about local issues.

WWALS is also concerned that this would be another step towards running the Suncoast Parkway north across the Suwannee River.

On its Consent Agenda for September 23, 2025, the Citrus Board of County Commissioners approved item C.12: Continue reading →

Pictures: Suwannee River Camps on-land tour 2025-09-27

1 Reply

Many thanks to Edwin McCook, formerly of SRWMD, who invented the Suwannee River Camps, and Nic Brown, who is in charge of them at Florida Parks, as well as Shell Simmons for assisting.

Even more thanks to Lowndes County, Georgia, Chairman Bill Slaughter and Paul Batts of Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA) and his wife Melanie for attending.

[Suwannee River Camps, on-land tour 2025-09-27, Dowling Park River Camp, Adams Tract River Camp]
Suwannee River Camps, on-land tour 2025-09-27, Dowling Park River Camp, Adams Tract River Camp

The visitors got to hear from the experts how Florida does it. Many topics were discussed, from access to finances. Continue reading →

Southworth sold Citrus County sand mine site to state of Florida 2025-08-06

4 Replies

Update 2025-09-29: Authorize selected staff to sign permit applications and inspection reports for FDOT, FDEP, and SWFWMD –Citrus BOCC 2025-09-23.

The plot thickens for the proposed sand mine next to the Suncoast Parkway Phase 3A Extension in Citrus County.

The state filed eminent domain proceedings for 50 acres and the owner settled for $3.1 million plus $543,345 in attorney fees, plus $112,000 in experts costs.

[Southworth sold Citrus County sand mine site to state of Florida, 2025-08-06]
Southworth sold Citrus County sand mine site to state of Florida, 2025-08-06

Most everything you need to oppose this humongous borrow pit is here:
https://stopthesandminecc.wixsite.com/stopthesandmine

See also the Stop the Sand Mine change.org petition:
https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-sand-mine

This is upstream from Crystal River, south of the Withlacoochee (South) River that flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Local opponents are rightly concerned about local issues.

WWALS is also concerned that this would be another step towards running the Suncoast Parkway north across the Suwannee River.

The Citrus Insider, August 25, 2025, https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=122172452786538075&set=a.122162996816538075,

Southworth settled his eminent domain proceedings with the state. The state now owns the location of the proposed mine. I heard this was the case and why they asked to delay the hearing, but I did not want to put it out without proof (I have a pending records request)

That takes the county out of the process. The state can now move forward with the sand mine if they choose to do so. They would need to follow proper permitting procedures from SWFWMD and other entities.

But county now has no say in what happens to the property.

**update** The eminent domain settlement looks to be for 50 acres right next to the parkway. The mine application was over 250 acres. So there may be more coming.

Continue reading →

Beatty Branch smelled like cattle manure, controversial Sugar Creek, clean Alapaha and Santa Fe Rivers 2025-05-25

Leave a reply

WWALS testers found the Alapaha and Santa Fe Rivers clean this week.

Upstream of the Withlacoochee River, WWALS got surprisingly high E. coli results on Cat Creek and Beatty Branch for Thursday samples. Beatty Branch water at Cat Creek Road smelled like cattle manure. More tests will be necessary to see where that is coming from.

WWALS found Sugar Creek OK. But Valdosta once again got much higher results for Sugar Creek, Meanwhile, Valdosta and WWALS results upstream at US 41 and Langdale Park were pretty close together. And this week’s WWALS Sugar Creek results are similar to last week’s WWALS results. We’ve never seen this kind of discrepancy between Valdosta and WWALS results before.

Downstream on the Withlacoochee GA 133 was OK by Valdosta, which is strange considering Valdosta’s Sugar Creek results.

Valdosta had a tiny 2,000-gallon sewage spill onto dry land Monday at its Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). No other new sewage spills have been reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

Downstream from the WWTP at US 84 was OK by Valdosta. A WWALS test was even better farther downstream on the Withlacoochee River, near the Suwannee River.

There was no rain for a week before these samples, but it rained later Thursday, and more rain is predicted this weekend. So more contamination may wash into the waterways.

I’d avoid Sugar Creek and the Withlacoochee River near it, But if you can beat the rain, happy paddling, boating, swimming, and fishing this weekend.

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

[Beatty Branch smelled like cattle manure, controversial Sugar Creek 2025-05-25, clean Alapaha and Santa Fe Rivers, Withlacoochee clean downstream]
Beatty Branch smelled like cattle manure, controversial Sugar Creek 2025-05-25, clean Alapaha and Santa Fe Rivers, Withlacoochee clean downstream

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 →

Foraged Wreath Make and Take 2025-12-13

Leave a reply

Join floral artist Amanda Hall-Phillips for a hands-on wreath-making workshop using natural, foraged greenery—think cedar, pine, eucalyptus, seed pods, cones, vines, and other beautiful finds from our own woods and waterways. You’ll learn how to identify local plants, build a lush, oversized wreath, and style it for the season.

It’s fun and educational. For example, the venue is in the watershed of Sugar Creek, which has had many sewage spills on the way to the Withlacoochee River.

And you’re helping all that WWALS does, including water quality testing!

When: Gather 10 AM, launch NA, end 12 PM, Saturday, December 13, 2025

Put In: Wood Valley Community Center Pavilion, 1907 Gornto Road, Valdosta, GA 31602.

GPS: 30.849573, -83.323239

[Foraged Wreath Make and Take, Fundraiser 2025-12-13, Amanda Hall-Phillips, Wood Valley Community Center]
Foraged Wreath Make and Take, Fundraiser 2025-12-13, Amanda Hall-Phillips, Wood Valley Community Center

Continue reading →

Full Hunters Moon Paddle, Banks Lake 2025-10-06

Leave a reply

Join us for a leisurely Sunset and Full Moon Paddle on our watery living room, Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge, just west of Lakeland, Georgia. Come see the sun set, the moon rise, and probably bats fly from cypress trees!

This Outing is honoring Farmers, who get free entry.

When: Gather 6 PM, launch 6:30 PM, moonrise 6:53 PM, sunset 7:11 PM, end 8 PM, Monday, October 6, 2025

Put In: Banks Lake Boat Ramp, 307 Georgia 122, Lakeland, GA 31635, in Lanier County, on the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT).

GPS: 31.034824, -83.096725

[Full Hunters Moon Paddle, Banks Lake 2025-10-06, Just west of Lakeland, GA, sunset, moonrise, and maybe bats]
Full Hunters Moon Paddle, Banks Lake 2025-10-06, Just west of Lakeland, GA, sunset, moonrise, and maybe bats

Continue reading →