Yesterday Prof. Don Thieme, WWALS member Dan Coleman, and I showed
a reporter around some sinkholes near the Withlacoochee River,
including one that’s been there for decades, leaking into the
Floridan Aquifer, and one that opened up within a couple of months
only a few years ago.
Dan Coleman says Shadrick Sinkhole has been there probably at least Continue reading
Tomorrow in Georgia it’s Capitol Conservation Day in Atlanta, and in Florida it’s Floridians for Clean Water & Amendment 1 Rally tomorrow in Tallahassee. That’s 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM on the steps of the Old Capitol, 400 S. Monroe Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399.
See Our Santa Fe River, Sierra Club Florida, and FloridaWaterLandLegacy.org.
-jsq
A surprising number of the Board’s nine goals for 2014 have been accomplished, and some new ones have already been added. What goals should WWALS have for 2015?
Goals accomplished include
becoming an
IRS 501(c)(3)
and raising money for and purchasing
insurance.
Some we’ve been doing right along:
cleanups, including Rivers Alive.
Some are so much the core of what WWALS does that we
didn’t even list them as goals, but we’ve been doing them anyway:
monthly outings
and
indoor events.
The later-added goal of the Alapaha River Water Trail is Continue reading
The Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline route went through
this area, and the new route is only slightly to the north.
There are springs all over this area.
The same karst limestone underlies the Withlacoochee River
in Georgia, where the river already leaks into the aquifer north
of Valdosta.
A pipeline anywhere in the karst limestone containing the
Floridan Aquifer is a very bad idea.
Profit for Sabal Trail, FPL, or Spectra Energy is no excuse for
risking our drinking water.
SRWMD PR 4 December 2014, Falmouth dye trace reveals unknown connectivity,
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LIVE OAK, FL, December 4, 2014 — The District and Florida Geological Survey introduced dye into Falmouth Spring On September 4th, in hopes of learning which other springs were connected to the known Falmouth Cathedral Cave System. Two days after the dye was release the dye appeared in two springs previously not known to be connected, Ellaville and Suwannacoochee.
Continue reading
Bill Gates isn’t the only west coast investor buying up north Florida farmland.
Grimmway Enterprises, Inc. of Bakersfield, CA
bought 1358.44 acres in Madison County, FL,
all on 18 April 2014,
on both sides of SE Farm Road between Lee and the Withlacoochee River.
Grimmway’s website says they grow carrots.
It doesn’t say whether they have any financial relationship with Continue reading
Thanks to Margaret Tyson. See also PDF. -jsq
Georgia
Adopt-A-Stream
Chemical and
Bacterial
Certification
Workshop
Reed Bingham State Park
Saturday
January 10th, 2015
9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.This is a registration only event.
Register by calling
GOLDEN TRIANGLE RC&D
at 229-723-3841 or
Email j.shutters@yahoo.comTogether We Can Make A Difference Continue reading
More than 1,000 acres through September 2014, in parcels already adding up to more than 250 acres, or in contiguous or nearby parcels that can be combined, all bought by Lakeland Sands LLC.
On SE Farm Road and FL 63, between Madison and Lee, 30.423520, -83.353757,
parcels 01-1S-09-0843-000-000 (374 acres),
06-1S-10-1192-000-000 (568.35 acres),
05-1S-10-1187-000-000 (363.161 acres),
07-1S-10-1197-000-000 (316.13 acres),
08-1S-10-1199-000-000 (259 acres)
12-1S-09-0892-001-000 (67.27 acres)
12-1S-09-0893-000-000 (224.68 acres),
and
11-1S-09-0884-000-000 (162.93 acres),
for
2335.52 acres
total in just those eight parcels.
All eight marked as timberland: we’ll see how long that lasts.
Plus 12-1S-09-0892-002-0A2 (39.12 acres) of pastureland in between.
These parcels surround a couple of City of Madison parcels Continue reading
The east side of Lake Park and east of Naylor:
acreage bought by a shell of a shell of a shell of Bill Gates’ investment company in the past two years.
170.57 acres in Parcel 0224 003 just east of Lake Park, plus another 126 acres in adjoining parcels inside and outside of Lake Park, which is most of the blue acreage on this map, all in the Alapahoochee River watershed, owned by Lakeland Sands according to the Lowndes County Tax Assessors database. Continue reading
We all drink out of the same Floridan Aquifer, and the Santa Fe River, like WWALS’ Withlacoochee River, is a tributary of the Suwannee River. Fracking in north Florida could affect our drinking water, and if it were allowed there, next frackers would try to cross the state line, just like the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline already is. So everyone who can, please support OSFR. -jsq
Our Santa Fe River Action Alert 31 December 2014, Important Meeting, Please Attend, County Commissioners, Lake City On Jan. 15, 2015,
OSFR as an organization will be on the agenda of the Columbia County Board of County Commissioners at the Jan. 15 meeting, requesting that the commission enact an ordinance which bans all forms of fracking in Columbia County.
Please plan to attend this important meeting, either Continue reading
The December WWALS Outing is a cleanup on the Alapaha River on private land near Jasper, Hamilton County, Florida, at 10AM Saturday December 20th 2014. This is an area of the river people boat past on the Alapaha River Water Trail.
Update 2015-01-26: Some pictures.
Most WWALS outings are open to the public.
However, since this one is on private land, WWALS membership is required,
and please contact wwalswatershed@gmail.com for directions.
Also please bring gloves, bags, and warm clothes. The landowner will provide lunch.
If you’re not a WWALS member, you can join online or mail in a membership form with a check.
-jsq