Category Archives: River

GA-AL Land Trust walks Land Between the Rivers 2021-10-14

Helen Tapp sent Georgia-Alabama Land Trust to look at her Land Between the Rivers for a conservation agreement. Their Regional Stewardship Manager, Rachel Mingea, came and got the full experience, from the wildest areas near the Withlacoochee River to Old Broad Street to the Little River Confluence viewscape.

[Little River Confluence, possible landing for Troupville River Camp, Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter and Rachel Mingea of GA-AL Land Trust, Oak clearing at Withlacoochee River]
Little River Confluence, possible landing for Troupville River Camp, Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter and Rachel Mingea of GA-AL Land Trust, Oak clearing at Withlacoochee River

She even met Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter at Troupville Boat Ramp. They were both enthusiastic about getting something worked out and moving on to the county or Valdosta or some combination purchasing those 74 acres to add to the 49-acre park around Troupville Boat Ramp to make a Troupville River Park nature preserve, with a Troupville River Camp on it, all at the site of Troupville, the former county seat of Lowndes County.

Here are a few pictures. Continue reading

Videos: Wells Road remains open, Folsom Bridge Landing on the Little River 2021-10-12

Good news: the Lowndes County Commission yesterday unanimously denied the request to close Wells Road. This means the road stays open, and with it access to Folsom Bridge Landing on the Little River, and to the Mary Turner Lynching Site memorial.

[Folsom Bridge Landing 2021-05-18]
Folsom Bridge Landing 2021-05-18

Here are videos courtesy of Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE). Continue reading

Don’t close Folsom Bridge Landing, Little River, Wells Road –WWALS to Lowndes County, GA 2021-10-12

Update 2021-10-13: Videos: Wells Road remains open, Folsom Bridge Landing on the Little River 2021-10-12.

October 12, 2021

To: Chairman Bill Slaughter
Commissioner Joyce Evans
Commissioner Scottie Orenstein
Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall
Commissioner Clay Griner

Cc: Chad McLeod, Director of Engineering Services
Belinda C. Lovern, County Clerk

Re: Please don’t close Folsom Bridge Landing on the Little River at Wells Road

[Wells Road closed, Folsom Bridge Landing, Mary Turner Lynching Site memorial]
Wells Road closed, Folsom Bridge Landing, Mary Turner Lynching Site memorial

Dear Chairman, Commissioners, and Director,

Related to your agenda for this evening:

6.a. Abandonment of a portion of Salem Church Road (CR #68) and Wells Road (CR # 68 & CR #69)

According to the description and map in the board packet, the intent is to close Wells Road completely. That would also close access to Folsom Bridge Landing, which turns off of Wells Road. That is one of only two public access points on the Little River in Lowndes County. Please do not close it. Continue reading

Pictures: Family fun cleanup, Sugar Creek, Onemile Branch, Little and Withlacoochee Rivers 2021-10-09

Saturday’s River and Creek Cleanup went well. Here are pictures from Troupville Boat Ramp up from Land Between the Rivers on the Little and Withlacoochee Rivers, from Sugar Creek at the Salty Snapper, and from Drexel Park on Onemile Branch.

[Troupville, Sugar Creek, Chairman and Mayor doing work, Drexel Park]
Troupville, Sugar Creek, Chairman and Mayor doing work, Drexel Park

Thanks to recent cleanups by Valdosta Stormwater, Sugar Creek wasn’t bad, but we found plenty of trash between the Salty Snapper parking lot and the creek, and Scotti and Sara hauled up from the woods a tire with rim and a satellite dish.

Thanks to Stafford, the owner of the parking lot on St. Augustine Road at Hightower Creek, keeping it much cleaner, there should be less trash coming down Sugar Creek.

Thanks to weeksly cleanups by Lowndes County Litter Control, Troupville Boat Ramp itself was pretty clean, but there was no shortage of trash to pick up downstream at Land Between the Rivers. Thanks to landowner Helen Tapp for getting her hunting lease to hold off for the day.

You don’t see this very often: Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter and Valdosta Mayor Scott James doing actual work together.

Later, they told everyone they were working together to purchase Helen’s land to add to the existing park to form a bigger nature park with a Troupville River Camp. Continue reading

Graco Way illicit dump site, Madison County, Florida 2021-09-04

WWALS member Elizabeth Reynolds reported many tires and other trash on a lot at the corner of Graco Way and NE Pineapple Street in Madison County, Florida. That’s one mile south down CR 145 from State Line Boat Ramp on the Withlacoochee River. She had picked up tires there several times, but had run out of places to take them.

We followed up and got her some answers.

You can also report trash or other problems related to our waterways in the Suwannee River Basin: https://wwals.net/report/

[Graco Way corner, tires, map]
Graco Way corner, tires, map. Photos: Elizabeth Reynolds

I called Madison County Code Enforcement, Gloria Randall, Code Enforcement Officer, code@madisoncountyfl.com, (850) 973-3641
https://madisoncountyfl.com/code-enforcement/

Turns out it’s a well-known problem. Cleaning it up is the responsibility of the property owner. Unfortunately, that’s a trust, which means there’s no single person in charge. Continue reading

Clean rivers again 2021-10-07

2021-10-15: Good Little, Withlacoochee Rivers, bad Alapaha River 2021-10-14.

Another clean week on the Little, Alapaha, and Withlacoochee Rivers, according to all the water quality test results we have. So happy swimming, boating, and fishing!

There was some rain today, which could wash some contamination into the rivers. But it wasn’t nearly as much rain as before previous contamination events.

[Chart, Little, Alapaha, Withlacoochee Rivers, Swim Guide]
Chart, Little, Alapaha, Withlacoochee Rivers, Swim Guide

And the water levels are coming down to where they should be just right for WWALS Boomerang paddle race, coming up in two weeks at State Line Boat Ramp. Continue reading

A trash source success: parking lot on St. Augustine Road, Valdosta

Valdosta, GA, October 7, 2021 — Other businesses can do what Stafford did, and our creeks and rivers will be a lot cleaner! That will make Valdosta, Lowndes County, and every place downstream, more attractive to new and existing businesses, and healthier for people who live here.

After many times cleaning up trash from Sugar Creek near the Withlacoochee River, WWALS member Bobby McKenzie went upstream in Valdosta, found some sources, and one of the big ones listened. Other businesses can follow this example: put trash cans in parking lots, empty them, and keep them swept.

[Parking lot, Hightower Creek]
Parking lot, Hightower Creek

Bobby tells the story:

We identified hundreds of pounds of trash being thrown into the tree line just feet from Hightower Creek. The parking lot owner is Valdosta Mall Corners c/o Stafford Development Company (Stafford). Continue reading

WWALS calls in the Marines to clean up Pafford’s Landing 2021-07-24

Only two of us showed up at Pafford’s Landing for the July Alapaha River cleanup, due to the weather and the state of the access road. But the Marines were there, with recruits! We got 60 pounds of trash, and the Marines rescued my boat.

[Pafford's Landing, trash, Alapaha River, Marines, boat, bags, potholes]
Pafford’s Landing, trash, Alapaha River, Marines, boat, bags, potholes

See also Bobby McKenzie’s facebook video of Marines helping clean up.

Pafford’s Landing is just east of Lakeland, Georgia. It’s a few thousand feet downstream from Lakeland Boat Ramp on GA 122. Both are part of the Alapaha River Water Trail. Continue reading

Sugar Creek Valdosta Stormwater bug-bitten cleanup 2021-09-30

Bobby McKenzie noticed somebody had been there, so I wrote to Valdosta Stormwater Director Angela Bray, “Thanks for another Sugar Creek logjam cleanup; Are we guessing correctly that it was you and Valdosta Stormwater?”

She answered:

You guessed right!

I only took a picture of the trash we picked up. We forgot mosquito spray so we had to get in and out as quick as possible! 🙂

The creek is definitely dropping but makes it super slippery.

[Bags of trash in boat]
Bags of trash in boat

Thanks to Valdosta Stormwater for cleaning up the Sugar Creek trashjam twice in one month! It’s good to see they’re having the full experience, like we have for more than a year now, cleaning up this repeating logjam of trash. For much more about the problem, its upstream sources, and how it can be fixed, see the post about their previous cleanup.

You are all invited to come help clean up Sugar Creek on Saturday, October 9, 2021, at this same location behind the Salty Snapper on Gornto Road, just upstream from the Withlacoochee River. Continue reading

Pictures: Hahira Honeybee 2021-10-02

First time we were a dignitary in the parade at the 40th Annual Hahira Honeybee Festival.

[Parade Float, WWALS Booth]
Parade Float, WWALS Booth

Here’s a video Gretchen took:

Continue reading