Category Archives: Blueway

Cleanups at Berrien Beach on the Alapaha and on the Suwannee River 2016-09-10

This weekend, it’s Rivers-Alive Cleanup at Berrien Beach Launch on the Alapaha River, 4PM Saturday September 10th 2016; follow the link for details.

And a group out of Gainesville, Florida, Current Problems, has an annual Great Suwannee River Cleanup 2016:

It’s time to register for the Great Suwannee River Cleanup! This is number 7! You may schedule your cleanup for anytime in September, October, or November. The first week of December is okay, too. We hope river conditions will be good this year and encourage lots of you to join in. Our goal this year is to pass the 100,000 pound mark. We’re close enough we can do it!

-jsq

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

Roline Redoux is on for Monday on the Suwannee River 2016-09-05

“We’re on for Monday morning! River excellent condition,” Roline Launch says expedition leader Phil Hubbard, reporting from the Suwannee River just now. “Maybe 2 feet higher. Flow is perfect,” he added.

Earlier he said helpfully, “I’m stopping at Hardee’s in Jasper to grab a biscuit around 9:15 if anyone needs help finding the launch site.”

About an essential outing ingredient, Gretchen Quarterman says: “I just baked bon-bons!”

For outing details, see the original post, Redoux Suwannee River Roline to Cypress Creek.

-jsq

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

Continue reading →

Delay Roline Redoux as Suwannee River rises after Hurricane Hermine 2016-09-05

Update 2016-09-04: “We’re on for Monday morning! River excellent condition,” says expedition leader Phil Hubbard.

With water still coming downstream from Hurricane Hermine and storms following, USGS WSPF1 at White Springs expedition leader Phil Hubbard says:

I’m thinking looking at the weather forecast, the only safe call we can make today is to delay till Monday pend river level. The rain probability is actually higher on Sunday but looks good for Monday.

So we’re rescheduling Redoux Roline for 10 AM Monday morning September 5th 2016, still at Roline.

At lest now now we know the Suwannee River won’t be too low!

Hoping to see you there. Details are still in the first blog post.

-jsq

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

Continue reading →

Tropical Storm Hermine and Roline Redoux 2016-09-03

It looks like Hermine will have moved along east by Saturday, or at least by Sunday, which is the fallback date for the WWALS paddle outing this weekend from Redoux Suwannee River Roline to Cypress Creek. We won’t be able to tell for a day or so what the situation will be, but so far we’re still planning on Saturday morning. Expedition leader Phil Hubbard will make a determination before then.

-jsq

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

Hike to Dead River Sink from Alapaha River 2016-11-06

An easy hike following Alapaha River as it flows into the Dead River and disappears into the Dead River Sink: you don’t see this just anywhere!.

Update 2016-10-15: Be aware the path does get steep and rough towards the sink, and there are mosquitoes and chiggers.

Bring water, a snack, and bug repellent.

No boat required. Really: you don’t want to try to boat up the Dead River. But you do want to see the Dead River Sink.

When: 10AM Saturday November 6th 2016

Duration: 2-3 hours

Where: Jennings Bluff Landing, 30.579864, -83.039308

Event: facebook, meetup.

This outing is Free! But we encourage you to join WWALS today to support our fun outings and important work: /donations/. Continue reading →

WWALS Outings, Rivers, and Pipeline on Chris Beckham drive-time radio WVGA 105.9 FM 8:00 7:30 AM 2016-09-02

8AM Friday morning WWALS will be on Chris Beckham’s drive-time radio show. WWALS president John S. Quarterman will be talking about Saturday morning’s Suwannee River paddle outing and other outings upcoming on the Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers, along with other developments on the Alapaha River Water Trail and the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail, along with many other things WWALS does. Plus what you can do about the FERC rubberstamp of the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline drilling under the Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers.

When: 8:00 7:30AM Friday September 2nd 2016

Where: Continue reading →

Anhinga Trek on the Georgia Southern Rivers Birding Trail

Sites in WWALS watersheds include Paradise Public Fishing Area (PFA) at the headwaters of our Withlacoochee River, Reed Bingham State Park on our Little River, Grand Bay Wildlife Management Area (WMA) upstream from our Alapaha River, and Stephen C. Foster State Park at the headwaters of our Suwannee River in the Okefenokee Swamp, all on the Anhinga Trek of the Southern Rivers Birding Trail.

You can buy a license for any of these parks or WMAs from the state, and you can also see anhingas and other fascinating wildlife on our water trails.

Or come along on upcoming WWALS outings: Continue reading →

Redoux Suwannee River Roline to Cypress Creek, 2016-09-03

Update 2016-09-04: “We’re on for Monday morning! River excellent condition,” says expedition leader Phil Hubbard.

Update 2016-09-02: Delayed until 10AM Monday 5th September due to aftereffects of Hurricane Hermine.

Update 2016-09-01: Watching Tropical Storm Hermine.

More people want to go after the pictures and reports from a few weeks ago, so WWALS has scheduled a redo from Roline to Cypress Creek on the iconic Suwannee River in north Florida. Also with a slightly later start this time; more convenient for far-away folks.

When: 10AM Saturday September 3rd 2016

Put in: Roline Launch, 30°33’51.0″N 82°43’30.6″W or 30.564185, -82.725167

Duration: 7.5 miles, about 4 hours.

Events: facebook, meetup.

Directions: Continue reading →

What WWALS Does: watershed advocacy from outings and water trails to wastewater and pipelines

Water trails, wastewater, corporate agriculture, solar power, fracking, and pipelines: WWALS works with many issues in many ways, as part of our advocacy for conservation and stewardship through education, awareness, environmental monitoring and activities such as our monthly paddle outings. McIntyre Spring snorkel 30.6416626, -83.3660889

Here’s an introduction to WWALS for the many new members and even more people following WWALS on facebook and twitter.

WWALS Watershed Coalition, or WWALS for short, is an IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation about everything related to water in the watersheds Continue reading →

Literature boxes for water trail landings

Eventually we want kiosks like at state parks, but we’re toying with these as temporary measures for Post and box the dozen landings of the Alapaha River Water Trail and the two dozen landings of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail.

That’s a realtor information box that holds 8.5×11″ paper, bought for $13 at Lowe’s, on a plain old 5-foot steel electric fence post, about $3.50 from various sources such as Tractor Supply, easily installable with a bazooka, er, I mean a $25 Post Driver.

Smaller boxes, such as 5.5″ wide, are available for $6 each or less. So that’s a total of $10-20 for each sign and post. WWALS has money to pay for some of these to start

Now we could use permission from the various county and state agencies to install the signs.

Or funding from counties, chambers, or the like for building and installing kiosks. Those are more expensive, more like $1,000 each. However, with local labor (school class project?) they could cost a lot less, and even less if parts were donated.

Fortunately, many of the landings in Florida already have kiosks supplied by their local counties. But most of the landings are in Georgia, and few of them have kiosks.

-jsq

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!