Tom Potter, WWALS, Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, Sierra Club; Daniel DeMersseman, Valdosta Daily Times; Randy Dowdy, the farmer whose fields were destroyed by Sabal Trail
The VDT story.
-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Valdosta, May 3, 2017 — U.S. corn production record holder and world soybean record holder Randy Dowdy, whose record-producing fields were severely eroded in rains after Sabal Trail’s pipeline construction destroyed his terraces and caused massive erosion of his cropland, will be at the Rainwater Conference Center in Valdosta 11:30 AM this morning at a pipeline safety exercise to talk about the implications of Sabal Trail’s destruction for pipeline safety and his livelihood.
Randy Dowdy is the 2014 50-year record holder for U.S. corn production and the world record holder for soybean production. Sabal Trail gouged its pipeline through his terraces on the land he used for those soybeans in Brooks County. Despite his warnings, they left that damage unfixed until rains in January caused massive erosion, washing his topsoil into a nearby creek. Beyond immediate damage, this destruction affects Dowdy’s ability to grow such record yields, and the basic productivity of his fields. What further economic damage has Sabal Trail done to other farmers and landowners? Where else will Sabal Trail’s pipeline cause erosion, perhaps in some places exposing the pipe and risking corrosion and breaks?
The event 11:30 AM this morning at Rainwater Conference Center in Continue reading
Water, Agriculture, Forestry, and WWALS, by WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman, and recent advocacy (BMAPs, Bill Gates, Pilgrim’s Pride, phosphate mines, Wanee, Sabal Trail, and solar power) by Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman, at the Florida Native Plant Society Sparkleberry Chapter in Branford, Suwannee County, Florida, on the Suwannee River.
When: 6:30 PM 9 May 2017: 30-45 minutes plus Q & A
Where: Hatch Park, 403 SE Craven St., Branford, FL 32008
Host:
Sparkleberry Chapter, Florida Native Plant Society
“Serving Suwannee, Dixie, Gilchrist, Lafayette and Taylor Counties.”
Event: facebook
Duke to build solar farm in Suwannee County instead of new natural gas turbines. How about more solar farms to help reduce fertilizer nitrogen runoff and solve the BMAP problem?
Parcel 25-01S-11E-1090700.0000,
Suwannee County Property Appraiser.
Thomas Lynn, Suwannee Democrat, 23 April 2017, Suwannee County BOCC approves 62 acres worth of solar panels,
LIVE OAK — The county commissioners approved a special permit to allow Duke Energy to install 62 acres worth of solar panels that will provide electricity to 1,700 homes.
During a county commissioners meeting on Tuesday, the county held a Continue reading
The conclusion from FDEP in their BMAP presented to an almost-full SRWMD boardroom on April 13, 2017 was: nitrogen runoff into springs and rivers from all sources (the biggest being agriculture, dairies, and poultry) must decrease 83 to 93 percent. For once nobody seemed to argue with research by state agencies. Rather everyone, from representatives of the biggest of farmers to Pilgrim’s Pride to a wide variety of environmental groups seemed aghast at the severity of the situation.
This Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP) for the Lower and Middle Suwannee River Basin turns out to include the Withlacoochee River almost to the Georgia line, because Continue reading
Received yesterday:
The property owner sprayed this section of bank along the Withlacoochee with roundup several years ago. This picture clearly shows why we need to protect and leave intact the vegetation along the river banks. The erosion has only occurred at the section that was denuded of vegetation.
Chris Mericle
Madison County side,
30.4162370, -83.2077630.
-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
You can’t use traditional models for the karst Floridan Aquifer; new and harsher pesticides are expected this summer; but you can help raise native species; and later this month you can go see many of them in Berrien County, plus WWALS monthly outings, the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail, and the Alapaha River Water Trail and some WWALS history.
Yeah, coming this summer, and they’re head-scratchers.
All this was at the quarterly WWALS public meeting, this one on Water, Agriculture, and Forestry at Valdosta State University, March 28, 2017.
Here are links to each WWALS video of each talk, with a few notes and a few extra pictures, followed by a WWALS video playlist. Continue reading
Here is a very interesting paper about increasing nitrogen from crops into the Suwannee River Basin and its springs (promoting algae growth), with actual data on how well best management practices (BMPs) are containing the runoff: Environmental Nitrogen Losses from Commercial Crop Production Systems in the Suwannee River Basin of Florida, by Rishi Prasad, George J. Hochmuth, PLOSOne, Published: December 1, 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0167558
Fig 3.
Comparison of A) environmental nitrogen losses (Nenvloss) from three
crops (potato, sweet corn and silage corn) during four growing
seasons (2010 to2013) and B) relationship between seasonal total N
rates and environmental nitrogen losses at the study farm in the
Middle Suwannee River Basin, Florida. Silage corn was not studied
during 2013. Mean values of Nenvloss (represented by individual bars
and their standard errors for the three crops) followed by different
letters indicate significant difference at α = 0.05 level
Abstract Continue reading
Heather Brasell spoke about A Day in the Woods at her Gaskins Forest Education Center in Berrien County on Earth Day, 22 April 2017.
WWALS Ambassador Dave Hetzel will be there.
-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (PDF)
Valdosta, Georgia; March 28, 2017 — It’s a full agenda tonight about Water, Agriculture, and Forestry with in a public meeting at Valdosta State University, hosted by WWALS Watershed Coalition.
When:
6-8PM Tuesday March 28, 2017
Where:
UC Theater, UC Center, Valdosta State University
1215 N. Patterson St., Valdosta, GA 31698
Event: facebook
Host:
WWALS Watershed Coalition
the Waterkeeper® Alliance Member as Suwannee Riverkeeper®
Agenda:
Getting out on the rivers (5 minutes each):
Science and practice (15 minutes + 5 minutes Q&A each): Continue reading
