Category Archives: Springs

Help fix the broken BMAPs to clean up Florida waters 2024-10-30

Update 2024-11-05: Pictures: Suwannee River Basin BMAP meeting in Live Oak 2024-10-30.

Update 2024-10-30: Pictures: Santa Fe River BMAP meeting, Lake Butler, FL 2024-10-28.

FDEP has announced rescheduled dates for some BMAP meetings after the hurricanes.
https://floridadep.gov/dear/water-quality-restoration/content/bmap-public-meetings

Please go and say why you think the Basin Management Action Plans (BMAPs) are broken. But don’t stop there, or they will just mark down x number of people came, so public outreach was successful.

Here are more things you can do at the meeting and afterwards.

Wear blue, so we can all be seen together, as recommended by Sarah Younger of the Suwannee-St. Johns Group of Sierra Club Florida.

Ask for metrics for improvement since the BMAPs started, such as how much less nitrate leaching from irrigated fertilizer into springs and rivers.

Turn their poster session format into a grassroots town hall. Video your question and their answer. Post your video on social media with a hashtag: #BMAPSantaFe, #BMAPSuwannee, or #BMAPSilverRainbow (see below).

If they say go look at some obscure website, ask them to tell you the metrics now.

If the FDEP person refuses to answer, video that, and post it.

For the Suwannee BMAP, ask them why SRWMD did not mention the Manatee Springs BMAP when it issued an Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) for a road inside the 2,109-acre rezoning area for a development in floodplain.

For the Rainbow BMAP, ask them why SWFWMD did not mention the Rainbow Springs Springshed when it issued an ERP for the sand mine.

Ask them what the BMAPs are doing to get farmers to convert from Monsanto-seed Glysophate-spraying over-fertilized water-sucking over-irrigated agriculture to methods more friendly to Florida’s waters.

Be polite. The specific FDEP employees there are probably just trying to do their job. The problem comes from higher up. See below for what to do about that after the meeting.

[Help fix Florida BMAPs to fix Florida polluted waters 2024-10-28-30]
Help fix Florida BMAPs to fix Florida polluted waters 2024-10-28-30

Three meetings are of particular interest. Continue reading →

What parks are closed? 2024-10-03

Many national, state, and local parks and related facilities are closed due to damage from Hurricane Helene. Some were already closed due to Hurricane Debby.

Assume it’s closed unless you have other information.

[What parks are closed after Hurricane Helene? Many of them. 2024-10-03 Assume closed unless other information.]
What parks are closed after Hurricane Helene? Many of them. 2024-10-03 Assume closed unless other information.
Pictured: damage at Stephen Foster Culture Center State Park in White Springs, Florida. Photo: SFCSSP

Georgia

Many parks are closed all over Georgia. Here we list only the ones in or near the Suwannee River Basin.

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

Continue reading →

Rack Cards, ARWT and WLRWT 2024-09-30

After we asked several weeks for input on water trail signs and rack cards, the WWALS Outings Committee provided many opinions.

[Rack Cards for the Alapaha River Water Trail and the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail 2024-09-30]
Rack Cards for the Alapaha River Water Trail and the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail 2024-09-30

Here are the images that went to press Monday, September 30, 2024. That’s 10,000 copies each for the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT) and the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT).

They’re the same size as the WWALS z-fold brochures for the same water trails. But rack cards are a single sheet, front and back. They are much less expensive to print, so more appropriate for Interstate highway welcome centers and such.

They each have a QR code and a URL for finding more information.

I especially like the ARWT front. Continue reading →

Judge tosses Sand Mine Exception because Levy County Commissioners violated their own rules 2024-09-18

A judge today quashed the Special Exception the Levy County BOCC approved for the 3RT Sand Mine.

Craig C. DeThomasis, Florida Eight Judicial Circuit Court Judge, ruled that the county failed several ways to provide notices required by law for hearings and appeal requirements, and failed to do at least two kinds of required studies: traffic and wildlife.

[Florida Judge Quashes 2024-09-18 Levy County 3RT Sand Mine: Lack of Public Notices & Lack of required studies]
Florida Judge Quashes 2024-09-18 Levy County 3RT Sand Mine: Lack of Public Notices & Lack of required studies

This does not mean it’s all over. It does mean the applicant has to start the whole process over, and this time the county has to follow state law and its own procedures. Meanwhile, the opposition is still organized and ready.

The judge did not consider that the mine is in the springshed of Rainbow Springs nor that SWFWMD in issuing an ERP did not consider its own Rainbow Springs BMAP.

The judge noted: Continue reading →

Map of Waterkeeper Florida Territories 2024-09-13

This map was compiled by Waterkeepers Florida, which is an umbrella organization consisting of the fourteen Waterkeepers of Florida: Apalachicola Waterkeeper, Calusa Waterkeeper, Collier County Waterkeeper, Emerald Coastkeeper, Kissimmee Waterkeeper, Lake Worth Waterkeeper, Matanzas Riverkeeper, Miami Waterkeeper, Peace Myakka Waterkeeper, St Johns Waterkeeper, St Marys Waterkeeper, Suncoast Waterkeeper, Suwannee Riverkeeper, and Tampa Bay Waterkeeper.

[Waterkeepers Florida Territories Map plus FDEP Territories and Disaster Map]
Waterkeepers Florida Territories Map plus FDEP Territories and Disaster Map

What’s the different between Waterkeeper, Riverkeeper, and Coastkeeper? Nothing, really: all work for fishable, swimmable, drinkable water in their territories. All are trademarks of Waterkeeper Alliance (WKA) and refer to an organization and to a specific individual who is the spokeperson for the waterbody.

WKA is trying to standardize on Waterkeeper for all new ones. We had to argue to get Suwannee Riverkeeper because all the ones surrounding us are Riverkeepers, and that’s the term people hereabouts know.

The WKFL Territories Map is actually a layer in a WKFL Disaster Map. Other layers include Districts of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). Continue reading →

Input solicited for water trail signs and rack cards 2024-09-05

Some of the WWALS water trail signs have been stolen, others shot up, and some places and rivers we never placed any.

Due to generous grants from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GA-DNR) and the Hamilton County, Florida, Tourist Development Council (TDC), we are working up new signs.

After spending many months rationalizing river miles and icons, we solicit your input as we start designing the new signs.

What landmarks or interesting sites do you think should be mentioned on the signs?

Please enter your suggestions here:
https://forms.gle/LTryv7yqdHFd54rq8

[Input Solicited for Water Trail Signs on the Withlacoochee, Little, Alapaha, Alapaha, and Suwannee Rivers in Georgia and Florida]
Input Solicited for Water Trail Signs on the Withlacoochee, Little, Alapaha, Alapaha, and Suwannee Rivers in Georgia and Florida

The GA-DNR grant funds road signs, which are in a fixed format, at-water signs, which will have details upstream and downstream. They are for:

Follow the links for what we have so far for each of these water trails.
https://wwals.net/water-trails/

The GA-DNR grant also funds rack cards. Continue reading →

Water Protectors Meet and Greet at Ichetucknee Head Springs 2024-09-08

Meet for an hour and then dip in the spring, or tube if you like.

If you haven’t already, you can sign the petition to get a constitutional amendment for Right to Clean Water on the Florida ballot in 2026.
https://wwals.net/issues/right-to-clean-water/

When: Gather 10 AM, launch 11 AM, end 2 PM, Sunday, September 8, 2024

Put In: Ichetucknee Headspring, at the Ichetucknee Springs State Park North Entrance, 8294 SW Elim Church Rd, Fort White, FL 32038.

GPS: 29.986107, -82.760109

[Water Protectors Meet and Greet, Sunday, 10-11 AM, 2024-09-08, Ichetucknee Springs S.P. North Entrance]
Water Protectors Meet and Greet, Sunday, 10-11 AM, 2024-09-08, Ichetucknee Springs S.P. North Entrance

Continue reading →

Ichetucknee to Santa Fe Rivers, 2024-11-30

Update 2024-11-24: Rescheduled due to schedule conflict: Rescheduled: Ichetucknee to Santa Fe Rivers 2025-02-01.

Join us on a leisurely paddle on the Ichetucknee and Santa Fe Rivers, starting at Ichetucknee Springs State Park North Entrance, past many springs, taking out at the US 129 Boat Ramp.

When: Gather 8:30 AM, launch 9:30 AM, end 4 PM, Saturday, November 30, 2024

Put In: Ichetucknee Springs S.P. North Entrance, 8294 SW Elim Church Rd, Fort White, FL 32038.

GPS: 29.986107, -82.760109

[Ichetucknee River to Santa Fe River 2024-11-30, Ichetucknee Springs S.P. North to US 129 Boat Ramp]
Ichetucknee River to Santa Fe River 2024-11-30, Ichetucknee Springs S.P. North to US 129 Boat Ramp

Continue reading →

Packet: Return of the proposed 2,109-acre rezoning for Planned Unit Development in floodplain –City of Chiefland, FL 2024-08-12

The huge PUD proposed next to Long Pond is back on the Chiefland City agenda for 6PM this evening, mostly in a floodplain, and all in the Manatee Springs Protection Area, upstream from the Suwannee River.

It appears unchanged since it was last heard June 24, and since it got pulled from the agenda for July 8.

[Agenda and Proposed Planned Land Use for Williams property]
Agenda and Proposed Planned Land Use for Williams property

Ironically, at the July 22 City Commission meeting, the Tourism Commission rep. proposed a Dark Sky Ordinance. Which would seem to be the opposite of a 2,109-acre Planned Unit Development with a 50-year plan for residential, commercial, industrial, and other uses, in an area now zoned as Agricultural / Rural Residential. Continue reading →

Cancelled: Allen Ramp to SRSP, Withlacoochee River 2024-08-01

Update 2024-07-30: Cancelled due to too strong flow for the upstream Suwannee Paddle to Suwannee River State Park Ramp.

Come along for this fun 8.44 mile paddle on the Withlacoochee River from Allen Ramp to Suwannee River State Park. There will be beautiful springs to enjoy and several sets of shoals to paddle through, possibly requiring some basic skills. Everyone must wear a PFD at all times on the river and have a bow line for your boat. There will also be an upstream paddle of 1/4 mile from the confluence of the rivers to the ramp at SRSP.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 10:30 AM, end 3 PM, Thursday, August 1, 2024

Put In: Allen Ramp, 2726 SW 64th Way Jasper, FL 32052, in Hamilton County, Florida.
From Jasper, travel north on US 41 to SR 6; turn left; travel south on SW CR 141 to SW CR 143; turn right and follow SW CR 143 to SW 64 Way and follow to ramp.

GPS: 30.449167, -83.221328

[Allen Ramp to SRSP, Withlacoochee River 2024-08-01, Double Window Spring, Melvin Shoals]
Allen Ramp to SRSP, Withlacoochee River 2024-08-01, Double Window Spring, Melvin Shoals

Continue reading →