The measure should increase safety and reduce environmental damage.
House Bill 207, Continue reading
Update 20 September 2014: Now with a lunch stop at Chris and Deanna’s house! Bring your own lunch or snacks, but the Mericles have picnic tables and bathrooms. Chris reports the Withlacoochee is high enough that the shoals are no problem, and the weather report says clear all day tomorrow. See also his report on FERC and Sabal Trail’s recent visit to this same area and what Sabal Trail wrote to FERC the next day.
Sabal Trail may be thinking of moving their pipeline, but WWALS is
still padding past the original location 10AM Sunday September 21st.
All are invited to come see for themselves the springs, shoals, and sinkholes
that we value more highly than pipeline profit for a company from Houston.
Join us for a fine day on two of our fabulous southern blackwater rivers:
the Withlacoochee River and the Suwannee River, in Hamilton and Suwannee
Counties, Florida.
The meeting place is the CR 143 Boat Ramp on the Withlacoochee River near Jennings, Florida. For directions, please see the earlier post about this outing.
This event is FREE! All we ask is Continue reading
Dozens of species of birds nest at Lewis Lake in the spring.
WWALS went
17 May 2014,
to that historic private lake, also known as Avera’s Mill Pond and Lake Lewis.
Here’s
a video playlist:
And here are some still pictures.
-jsq
Continue reading
A touch of rapids, a light breeze, some sand beaches, and a fine day at the WWALS Alapaha River Outing, 24 August 2014. The water level was about 1.2 feet on the Statenville gage.
Join us in September on the Withlacoochee and Suwanee Rivers, 21 September 2014.
Continue reading
Other Florida, Georgia, and Alabama counties could do what Hamilton County,
Florida just did in this
this resolution.
Even before it got this resolution, FERC yesterday
directed Sabal Trail to deal with what Chris Mericle had been saying,
including proposing routes to minimize crossing the Withlacoochee River
or to avoid crossing it entirely.
Chris Mericle sent a PDF copy of the resolution with its attached hydrogeological report. I’ve added links to the other referenced documents.
Chris is the local host for the
September WWALS Outing on the Withalacoochee and Suwannee Rivers,
where you can come float past that same area
Sunday 21 September,
and see many local springs, sinkholes and shoals
that need to be protected from that pipeline.
RESOLUTION NO. 14-10
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
HAMILTON COUNTY, FLORIDA Continue reading
Last Friday a resolution to FERC saying the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline
should avoid sensitive karst limeston regions affecting water resources
passed the Hamilton County, Florida Commission.
Joyce Marie Taylor has added the following to her article in the Suwannee Democrat 25 August 2014, Hamilton fights back against Sabal Trail pipeline,
A special meeting was called on Friday, Aug. 22, and the board voted to pass Resolution 14-10 that expressed their concerns about the proposed pipeline route across the Withlacoochee River that forms the western boundary of Hamilton County.
A portion of the resolution states, Continue reading
Chris Mericle, local host for the
September WWALS Outing,
spoke to the Hamilton County Commission last Tuesday
about the same section of the Withlacoochee River,
where the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline is proposed to cross.
You can come float past it yourself
Sunday 21 September,
and see many local springs, sinkholes and shoals
that need to be protected from that pipeline,
continuing on to where the pipeline would cross the Suwannee River.
Joyce Marie Taylor wrote for the Suwannee Democrat 25 August 2014, Hamilton fights back against Sabal Trail pipeline, Continue reading
Us south Georgia watershed groups have to stick together!
Pictured are Satilla Riverkeeper Ashby Nix, WWALS Watershed Coalition: President John S. Quarterman, Treasurer Gretchen Quarterman, Ambassador Dave Hetzel, in Perry, Georgia, 21 August 2014.
Thanks to workshop presenter Loren Moore Continue reading
Chris Graham took this picture a week ago of the Alapaha River at
US 84, where tomorrow’s WWALS Outing will end up.
Come join us on this gem of a blackwater rural river!
We’re boating the central area of the in-progress
Alapaha River Trail, tomorrow afternoon,
Sunday, August 24st 2014.
Meet up at 1:30 at Hotchkiss Crossing on the Lanier County side.
We will drop the boats off, drive the end point at US 84, on a public right of way, where the road is gravel.
Get on water at 2:00.
We will pass by the location for the new Lowndes County boat ramp and public access point. This is a relatively short paddle, about 1.27 miles, but it could take as long as 2 hours if the water level stays low.
This event is FREE! All we ask is that Continue reading
Update 5 September 2014: Join us on the rivers even if you’re not yet a member, and many things have happened in the past few weeks: see new post.
Update 25 August 2014: Chris Mericle, our local host for this outing, spoke to the Hamilton County Commission Tuesday 19 August 2014 about what he’s trying to protect from the pipeline.
Paddle past springs, shoals, sinkholes, and where Sabal Trail proposes a fracked methane pipeline to cross the
Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers in Florida:
the WWALS September Outing.
Spend five Sunday hours on about ten miles of two of our fabulous southern blackwater rivers.
Meet 10AM Sunday September 21st at the CR 143 Ramp at mile 8 on the Withlacoochee River, 30.449111, -83.221352 or 30° 26′ 56.796″ N 83° 13′ 16.8666″ W. Take out at Anderson Spring, just past I-10, 30° 21′ 10.6806″ N 83° 11′ 21.7314″ S
This event is FREE! All we ask is that you are a current member of WWALS Watershed Coalition. If not, its easy to join online today at /donations/. Continue reading