Category Archives: River

Ockolocoochee, Little River 1889-01-29

Update 2023-12-28: Revised version..

Who knows the Ockolocoochee River? No, not the Ochlockonee River; that’s a bit to the west. You do know the Ockolocoochee River as the Little River, of the Withlacoochee, of the Suwannee. Here is news from 1889 that also includes the boat that didn’t survive from Troupville to Ellaville, which was apparently not a paddlewheel steamer.


Irwin County, 1885a, GeorgiaInfo, Rand McNally Map of Georgia, 1885

Atlanta Constitution, January 29, 1889, Pg 12., quoted in Ray City History Blog, 18 October 2010, More About Troupville, GA and the Withlacoochee River,

THE WITHLACOOCHEE RIVER.

VALDOSTA, Ga., January 19. -[Special.]- Away up near the northern limit of the great wiregrass section there is a big cypress swamp. They call them bays there. From this bay emerges Continue reading →

Flyer, BIG Little River Paddle Race 2018-04-28

Thanks to Bret Wagenhorst, here’s a printable flyer (PDF) for the Sixth Annual BIG Little River Paddle Race, Saturday, April 28, 2018, at Reed Bingham State Park, between Adel and Moultrie, Georgia.

Paddlers can also register online or (for a bit more) at the event.

Sponsors welcome: get your name or your organization’s name on a banner at the event, mentioned on the radio, etc.

BIG Little River Paddle Race flyer, Page

Sixth Annual
BIG Little River Paddle Race
Saturday, April 28, 2018

Proceeds to benefit Friends of Reed Bingham and WWALS Watershed Coalition,
the Waterkeeper® Alliance Member for the Little River as Suwannee Riverkeeper®

TIME: Continue reading →

Fundraising for Water Trail signs

Update 2025-06-04: Prices for road signs have tripled (due to price of steel tripling) and at-water signs also cost more.

Update 2019-11-08: Donate through GA Gives, including if you wish for Brochures.

Update 2019-04-26: Price of metal signs at the water at boat ramps and landings. Just the signs, Westbound

Update 2018-04-27: Pictures of Lakeland Boat Ramp signs in the ground.

Update 2018-03-15: People want to know how much the signs cost:

  • Road Signs
    • $150 $500 road signs for one signpost (one direction)
    • $300 $1,000 pair of road posts with signs for a landing or boat ramp
  • Signs at the water near a boat ramp or landing: if you donate for a specific location, your logo can go on the signs there, and on the water trail brochures and web pages
    • $600 one park-style kiosk, or
    • $50 $70 pair of metal signs with 4×4 post, bolts, and concrete.

Any amount of donation helps put up the road signs that let people know the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT) exists and directs them to the landings, as well as the kiosks that inform people about what to expect nearby, so we get more people paddling the Alapaha River who will take care of the river.

The pair of metal signs at the water also work for the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT). Here is an example pair of metal signs at the water for Troupville Boat Ramp:

[Side by Side]
Side by Side

The Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT) is a reality. We are ordering have bought the road signs from the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) which has planted them on roads leading to landings, and we need to pay for them. We have a small amount of money from Continue reading →

Help stop two bad Florida water bills: HB 1149 and SB 1308

Remember the Florida bill with the bad amendment, withdrawn because you called? Well, the bill itself, HB 1149, is bad enough, and near to a vote.

Please sign Margaret Tolbert’s petition against that and another bad bill, HB 1308.

Saturday crowd at Madison Blue Spring,
Photo: John S. Quarterman for WWALS, from the Suwannee River, of Saturday crowd at Madison Blue Spring, 2017-06-24.

According to a March 1, 2018, Tampa Bay Times article:

“Cynthia Barnett, the author of three books on water and an environmental fellow in residence at the University of Florida’s Bob Graham Center for Public Service, said the bills are based on a faulty assumption concerning how much water Florida needs for its future growth.

The bills say that Florida will need Continue reading →

Pipeline opposition rebuts wild-eyed Congressional distractions 2018-03-08

The headline would read better in this order: “Congressional Committee trolls energy policy.”

Suwannee Riverkeeper John Quarterman… said the science committee’s chairman, U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, was making “wild-eyed attempts to divert from the misdeeds of his patron, the fossil fuel industry.”

Steve Patterson, Jacksonville.com, 8 March 2018, Congress: Russians trolled Florida pipeline debate,

Efforts by Russian internet trolls to destabilize the U.S. energy industry reached all the way to Florida and the controversy over construction of the Sabal Trail gas pipeline, according to a Congressional report.

For my previous takedown of that report, see Fossil fuels are a far bigger threat than the Russians.

And if the Russians were behind me spotting from the air this frac-out of Sabal Trail drilling mud up into the Withlacoochee River in Georgia, they’re way behind in their payments.

Turbidity curtains and black pipe from the north bank
View from the south bank of Sabal Trail turbidity curtains and pipe from the north bank of the Withlacoochee River, about 2000 feet upstream from the US 84 bridge.
Photo: John S. Quarterman, October 22nd 2016.

Maybe I should send that Committee a bill Continue reading →

White Springs to Woods Ferry, Suwannee River 2018-05-12

Join us for a leisurely scenic paddle on the dark oak-stained waters of the historic Suwannee Riverpast the White Sulfur Springs Bath House, Stephen Foster Cultural Center, and under Interstate 75, on to Woods Ferry Launch.

When: 9 AM, Saturday, May 12, 2018

Put In: White Springs Wayside Park

GPS: 30.32576, -82.73872

Take Out: Woods Ferry Tract Launch

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.

Cost: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) to non-members. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!

Event: facebook, meetup

US 41 Suwannee River Bridge
Photo: Beth Gammie on Southwings flight for WWALS 2016-11-23 of US 41 Bridge, Suwannee River, White Springs, Florida.

Continue reading →

6th Annual BIG Little River Paddle Race with silent auction 2018-04-28

Update 2018-03-14: Printable flyer for registration, attracting sponsors, and information.

Will Dwight Griner win like the last five years? Come see if you can beat him for the cash prize. If not, you may still win a medal in any of a dozen categories. And it’s a nice spring paddle anyway!

With the silent auction again afterwards: it’s the fifth annual BIG Little River Paddle Race, a fundraiser for WWALS and Friends of Reed Bingham (FORB). Last year we had 54 paddlers, 31 men and boys, 23 women and girls, from eight Georgia counties. That was more than the previous year’s 34 paddlers. Floridians, come on up and help us set another record for entrants! Georgians, there’s plenty of room on the Little River for more paddlers!

Below the bridge Where: Red Roberts Landing
31°11’32.0″N 83°31’13.2″W
Rountree Bridge Road
Between Moultrie and Adel, GA
I-75 Exit 41 (at Sparks) to Rountree Bridge Road

When: 8AM-9AM On-site Registration
9:30 AM Mass Start
Saturday, April 28, 2018

What: Canoes or Kayaks Only
Life jackets required of all participants.

Let people know: facebook event or the meetup.
But remember to register.

Registration: Register on-line Continue reading →

Suwannee-Satilla Regional Water Planning Council Meeting 2018-03-22

Received today. -jsq

PUBLIC NOTICE:

SUWANNEE-SATILLA
REGIONAL WATER PLANNING COUNCIL MEETING

Announcement Date: March 5, 2018

TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS AND PARTIES:
The Suwannee – Satilla Regional Water Planning Council is holding its
next council meeting
at the following date, time, and location:

Thursday, March 22, 2018
Registration: 10:00 A.M. — 10:30 A.M.
Meeting: 10:30 A.M. — 2:00 P.M.

Flyin’ Cowboy
1645 South Peterson Avenue (Hwy. 441 S)
Douglas, GA 31535

Map of SSRWPC

For additional information Continue reading →

Pictures: Fargo to Roline, Suwannee River 2017-03-18

Cold and foggy to warm and bright, a fine spring morning on the Suwannee River from Florida to Georgia. Plus Canadians!

Here are pictures by John S. Quarterman and Gretchen Quarterman and a Google map.

Pictures by John S. Quarterman

Ninety-nine pictures are on the WWALS website.

Here we go
Under the US 441 bridge.

Continue reading →

WWALS at Suwannee Spring Reunion at the Music Park 2018-03-22-25

Come down to the Suwannee River with Suwannee Riverkeeper, listen to music, and talk about the rivers and the aquifer, outings and advocacy, education and fun. If you want to come all four days, we have a deal with camping if you help out at the WWALS booth. If you want to help just one day, we have a way for that, too.

When: March 22-March 25, 2017

Where: Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park
3076 95th Dr, Live Oak, Florida 32060

Event: facebook, meetup

What: Suwannee Spring Reunion, featuring The Infamous Stringdusters, David Bromberg Quartet, Donna the Buffalo, Larry Keel Experience, Dar Williams, Billy Strings, Amy Helm, Jim Lauderdale, Verlon Thompson, Shawn Camp, The Grass is Dead, Rev. Jeff Mosier and Biscuit Tragedy, Jon Stickley Trio, Front Country, Roy Book Binder, Grayson Capps, Ralph Roddenbery, Grandpa’s Cough Medicine, Nikki Talley, Quartermoon, Sloppy Joe, Big Cosmo, Suwannee Spirit Kids, and Tania & Magic Moon Traveling Circus.

WWALS banner, Thursday

It looks like all but four of the acts from last year Continue reading →