The concrete was curing Tuesday, May 21, 2019, that was poured after May 8, following the bed built by April 30.
Many people want to know: when will Lowndes County slide this slab down into the river? I am not Lowndes County Project Manager Chad McLeod, but my guess is Continue reading
If you’re down at the beach on the Alapaha River, just upstream from US 84, in the new Lowndes County Naylor Boat Ramp Park, and a game warden should happen to say you need a WMA pass, please tell him you’re in a public park owned by Lowndes County, and if there’s any doubt about that, please consult the Lowndes County Tax Assessors online map, or call Lowndes County, or call me.
![[Beach]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2019-05-08--naylor-boat-ramp/beach.jpg)
Beach,
Lowndes County Tax Commission Map, Parcel 0259 030B.
There seems to be some confusion, possibly because the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) map for the Lola Tract WMA does not show Continue reading
Thanks and invitations from WWALS to the Lowndes County Commission, delivered in a letter via email and on paper Monday morning and in Citizens Wishing To Be Heard Tuesday evening.
I invited the Commissioners to pass Water Trail resolutions (see below).
And I invited them to Paddle Georgia and the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.
Update 2019-07-08: Pictures.
Experience the wilderness of the Alapaha River Water Trail on this 10.4 mile section with shoals. This run includes a side-jaunt up the Alapahoochee River to Turket Creek Waterfall, one of our favorite spots.
Or maybe a different stretch, or a different river, or a lake, if the water is really low. Check back before we paddle to see where we settle on for July.
When: 9:00 AM gather, 10:00 AM launch, Saturday, July 6, 2019
Put In: Statenville Boat Ramp, 206 GA 94 West, Statenville, GA 31648, in Echols County.
GPS: 30.70426, -83.03275
Take Out: Sasser Landing.
Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup.
Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
Photo: John S. Quarterman, Turket Creek Waterfall closeup, in Statenville to Sasser Landing on the Alapaha River, 15 February 2015.
We last did this February 15, 2015, when there was plenty of water, at 9.99 feet (86.09′ NAVD88) on the Statenville gauge, and only three hours paddle time. We’ll probably see opposite, low, conditions this time. Continue reading
Frame and concrete wire.
Lowndes County Project Manager Chad McLeod says they will probably pour the concrete Saturday. Then 10 to 14 days to set before pushing into the Alapaha River for Naylor Boat Ramp. Continue reading
Second magnitude Rock Bluff Springs has been accessible only by boat up its 700-foot run from the Suwannee River, but SRWMD has acquired 175 acres around the spring that is opening as J.H. Anderson Jr. Park, at the end of this month.
When:
10:30 AM to 1:30 PM, Friday, May 31, 2019
10:30 AM – Opening Ceremony & Ribbon Cutting
11:30 AM – Guided Hikes, Swimming, & Plant Walks followed by refreshments
Where: 6560 Co Rd 340, Bell, FL 32619
Event: facebook
![[Photo: Edwin McCook]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2019-05-30--rock-bluff-spring-park/rock-bluff-springs-edwin-mccook.jpg)
Photo: Edwin McCook, of Rock Bluff Springs,
in
SRWMD Tentative Budget, Fiscal Year 2018-2019.
This new park and Rock Bluff Springs are in the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail (SRWT), and the park is now on our WWALS SRWT Map and on our map of all landings in the Suwannee River Basin.
To find maps of this new J.H. Anderson Jr. Memorial Park, I looked in some older working documents, including SRWMD’s 2018-2019 budget, which also says:
1. DEP Springs Protection and Restoration Grants FY 2017-18 Continue reading
Update 2019-05-08: Now with framing and concrete wire.
Update 2019-05-06: OK, as April Huntley pointed out after went out there over the weekend, the concrete is not poured yet: what’s out there is the bed on which to put the concrete. I called Lowndes County Project Manager Chad McLeod, who said that’s right. Today the forms for the concrete are in place. Probably Wednesday they will pour the concrete. Then it has to set for 10-14 days. After that, they will pick a day with an appropriate river level (they need a couple of feet of water in the river), and they will slide the segments down the ramp into the river. So probably somewhere between 18 and 25 May 2019 the concrete ramp should be in the river.
Some of the concrete was still setting on the new Naylor Boat Ramp on the Alapaha River just upstream from US 84.
Lowndes County Commissioner Joyce Evans asked Gretchen Quarterman at the Monday Planning Commission meeting whether she had been to the new Naylor Boat Ramp. Continue reading
Attendees from the Suwannee River Basin were the majority at the first public meeting about Georgia EPD’s revisions to its Nonpoint Source Management Plan. Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman attended, as did Erica McLelland and Julie Shutters.
![[Timeline]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2019-04-26--wwals-ga-epd-nonpoint/20190329_101345.jpg)
Photo: John S. Quarterman for WWALS (yes, I’ve ordered a new camera lens).
At the end of the public comment period, WWALS sent in the letter below (see also PDF), which brings in many issues, focusing them all on water quality testing.
April 26, 2019
Continue readingThanks to Sessions Sign Company and funding from WWALS members, we have new signs to go near the Little River at Troupville Boat Ramp. We will have them tomorrow at the BIG Little River Paddle Race if you want to see them before we plant them.
These are nice thick polymetal signs, and they cost accordingly: $35 a pair. Plus 4×4 signpost, bolts, nuts, and concrete, that’s about $50 to plant a pair of metal signs at a landing or boat ramp. If you’d like to sponsor a sign, let us know, or make a donation. We can put your logo on the sign for the boat ramp or landing you sponsor.
This sign is specific to this boat ramp, with Continue reading
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Valdosta, Georgia, April 26, 2019 — We’ll get a nice cool spring morning start Saturday, as paddlers from Georgia and Florida race (or saunter) down the tea-colored Little River through Reed Bingham State Park, in a friends and family fun event.
“Thanks to Georgia Beer Company for being a sponsor of this seventh annual BIG Little River Paddle Race!” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman.
Photo: Bret Wagenhorst, of BLRPR 2018.
Dianne Walters, president of Friends of Reed Bingham State Park (FORB), said, “This is a great community event, with volunteers from all around helping paddlers from everywhere.”
BLRPR mastermind, Tifton eye doctor Bret Wagenhorst, said, “Some come to try for the $100 cash prize for first boat to cross the finish in around 35-40 minutes. Others come to do a leisurely 1-2 hr paddle with friends or family and take in the incredible subtropical scenery. Some do it to support the Friends of Reed Bingham group and the WWALS Watershed Coalition.”
Many others win in categories: Continue reading
![[With representative human]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2019-05-21--naylor-boat-ramp-slab/20190521_113013.jpg)
![[Frame]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2019-05-08--naylor-boat-ramp/20190508_154516.jpg)
![[From the top]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2019-04-30--naylor-boat-ramp/20190430_174335.jpg)
![[Side by Side]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2019-04-25--troupville-metal-signs/side-by-side.jpg)