Chuck Roberts returns as M.C. for Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest plus WWALS River Revue

Update 2023-07-20: Juneteenth and River Ferries: Speakers in WWALS River Revue 2023-07-20.

Hahira, GA, July 10, 2023 — Chuck Roberts returns as M.C. for the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, and this time for the entire first-ever WWALS River Revue.

[MC Chuck Roberts, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2023]
MC Chuck Roberts, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2023

Master of Ceremonies Chuck Roberts says about himself, “I grew up in Quitman and Valdosta, raised by two loving musical parents to enjoy and appreciate ALL kinds of music, because the arts enrich the mind and nourish the soul. Presbyterian Church Minister of Music for over 30 years. St. James Episcopal Soloist for over 25 years. Sang with Botie Chitty and The Singing Americans for 10 years. Recently sang two solos with Ed Barr Orchestra for Turner Center Arts AMERICAN SOUNDTRACK VOL. IX. I have the sweetest wife in the world, Sheila and three beautiful and talented daughters and two talented sons, and a new Golden Doodle puppy.”

“I’m very pleased to welcome Chuck Roberts back again as M.C.,” said WWALS President Sara Jay Jones.

This first-ever WWALS gala is an indoor fundraising gala, with catered sit-down meal, speakers, silent auction, and kayak raffle. It will be held 6-10 PM, Friday, September 22, 2023, at the Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta, Georgia.

Follow this link for tickets, sponsorship opportunities, and more:

https://www.betterunite.com/WWALS-wwalsriverrevue2023/ Continue reading →

Agendas: WWALS Annual Member and Quarterly Board Meetings 2023-07-09

The public is invited to the WWALS Annual Member and Quarterly Board Meetings, Sunday, July 9, 2023.

Zoom Registration required:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpc-2rpjkqHdAVS5dOEUMNlnd_r3oLfyBI

WWALS Annual Member Meeting

When: 6 PM, Sunday, July 9, 2023

What: Presentation of Annual Report, and WWALS members elect some board members.

WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting

When: 6:30 PM, Sunday, July 9, 2023

What: WWALS Board members elect officers for one year terms, and do the usual board business.

[WWALS Annual Member and Quarterly Board Meetings 2023-07-09]
WWALS Annual Member and Quarterly Board Meetings 2023-07-09

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/226774626912804/ Continue reading →

Clean Little and Withlacoochee River 2023-07-06

Update 2023-07-11: Yet another Valdosta sewage spill, five days ago, at 1800 E. Park Ave., Knights Creek 2023-07-06.

The Little and Withlacoochee Rivers tested good for Thursday.

There’s been hardly any rain this week to wash any contamination into the river.

No rain is predicted until Saturday afternoon at the earliest.

No sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida.

River water levels are well within boatable range.

So happy fishing, swimming, and boating this weekend!

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-07-06]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-07-06

The most recent Valdosta results we have are for Wednesday upstream and Monday downstream. They are all good.

Valdosta did see an odd too-high spike in E. coli at GA 133 on the Withlacoochee River for Monday, but by Wednesday it was back down.

The Valdosta Williams Street One Mile Branch sewage spill of June 21st still has not shown up in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report. The Valdosta City Manager a week ago promised to look into that. Continue reading →

Quitman raw sewage spill, 1401 N. Washington St. 2023-06-27

Update 2023-07-07: Clean Little and Withlacoochee River 2023-07-06.

Thanks to GA-EPD for clarifying the county, watershed, and location of the June 27, 2023, Quitman sewage spill of 3,000 gallons of raw sewage into a drainage ditch.

[GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report, Google Streetview, 1401 GA-333, Quitman, GA]
GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report, Google Streetview, 1401 GA-333, Quitman, GA

Specifically, thanks to Dillon Rodenbaugh of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) for getting these things fixed, after I reported them. Continue reading →

WWALS Seeks Development Director

Position Summary

The Development Director is responsible for supporting the development and implementation of all WWALS fundraising initiatives, including membership program, major gifts, grant writing, planned giving, special events, and capital campaigns. The Development Director works closely with the Executive Director and the Suwannee Riverkeeper in all development and fundraising endeavors.

[WWALS Seeks Development Director]

Job Responsibilities

Continue reading →

Freezer full of meat at Clyattville-Nankin Boat Ramp 2023-07-05

Suzy Hall found this smelly trash yesterday, July 5, 2023, at Clyattville-Nankin Boat Ramp.

[Ravine, freezer, Withlacoochee River under Clyattville-Nankin Road Bridge --Suzy Hall 2023-07-05]
Ravine, freezer, Withlacoochee River under Clyattville-Nankin Road Bridge –Suzy Hall 2023-07-05

She says it’s in the “infamous ravine”, which I’m assuming to be the one south (left) of the boat ramp, about here: 30.674710, -83.394021. Continue reading →

Banks Lake Full Sturgeon Moon Paddle, 2023-08-01

Join us for the first leisurely Sunset and Full Moon Paddle of August, 2023, led by first-time outings leader Meredith Crosby.

There will probably be bats, but we don’t guarantee those, and sometimes we can’t see the moon, either. But usually everybody enjoys floating about on the lake on a summer evening.

Don’t pet the gators, and they won’t bother you.

When: Gather 7:30 PM, launch 8 PM, moonrise 8:56 PM, sunset 8:27 PM, end 10 PM, Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Put In: Banks Lake Boat Ramp, 307 Georgia 122, Lakeland, GA 31635, in Lanier County, on the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT).

GPS: 31.034824, -83.096725

[Right this way, gator, sunset, boats in the dusk, 2020-06-05]
Right this way, gator, sunset, boats in the dusk 2020-06-05

Continue reading →

WWALS Annual Member Meeting and Quarterly Board Meeting 2023-07-09

You are invited to two WWALS meetings the same evening, both online by zoom.

Agendas and zoom parameters will be posted before the meetings.

WWALS Annual Member Meeting

When: 6 PM, Sunday, July 9, 2023

What: Presentation of Annual Report, and WWALS members elect some board members.

WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting

When: 6:30 PM, Sunday, July 9, 2023

What: WWALS Board members elect officers for one year terms, and do the usual board business.

Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/226774626912804/

[The 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin and Estuary in Georgia and Florida --Suwannee Riverkeeper of WWALS]
The 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin and Estuary in Georgia and Florida –Suwannee Riverkeeper of WWALS

WWALS Board members and staff are listed online: Continue reading →

Clean Alapaha, Withlacoochee, Little Rivers 2023-06-29

Update 2023-07-07: Quitman raw sewage spill, 1401 N. Washington St. 2023-06-27.

The Alapaha, Little, and Withlacoochee Rivers tested good for Thursday.

There’s been no rain this week to wash any contamination into the river.

There was one small sewage spill from Quitman Tuesday, but if it had any effect on the Withlacoochee River it was gone by Thursday.

No rain is predicted until Saturday afternoon at the earliest.

River water levels are back down to boatable range.

So happy fishing, swimming, and boating this Fourth of July weekend!

Maybe you’d like to join us on Monday evening on Banks Lake, just west of Lakeland, Georgia, to paddle out to see the sun set and the moon rise, with bats!

[Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-06-29]
Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map 2023-06-29

The Quitman spill was 3,000 gallons, from a lift station on Moultrie Highway, with no more specific location. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) had Quitman in the wrong county and watershed, but since I pointed that out to them they say they’ve fixed it in their database and the changes will show up in their next report. Which I would guess would be Wednesday, after the holiday.

The Valdosta Williams Street One Mile Branch sewage spill of June 21st still has not shown up in the GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report. The Valdosta City Manager today promised to look into that.

No other sewage spills have been reported. in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida. Continue reading →

Nominating Okefenokee NWR for UNESCO World Heritage List –WWALS 2023-06-28

Update 2024-12-24: Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge to be Nominated to Join UNESCO World Heritage List –U.S. Department of the Interior 2024-12-20.

This is what we sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for their bid to make the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Remember, you can still help stop a strip mine from locating near the Okefenokee Swamp:
https://wwals.net/issues/titanium-mining

[The WWALS letter 2023-06-28 and the old-growth cypress 2021-01-10]
The WWALS letter 2023-06-28 and the old-growth cypress 2021-01-10

It features an old-growth cypress stand with trees 400-500 years old.

[NW: Big Cypress Camp Island, Little Cooter Lake, 30.682969, -82.200123]
NW: Big Cypress Camp Island, Little Cooter Lake, 30.6829690, -82.2001230 seen on a Southwings flight for Suwannee Riverkeeper 2021-01-10.

The WWALS letter

In web form below, and also in PDF and with attachments.

See also the previous WWALS letter of January 26, 2021.

And, among the references cited, thanks to WWALS Science Committee Chair Tom Potter for spotting G. Ronnie Best, et al., “An Old-Growth Cypress Stand in Okefenokee Swamp,” University of Florida, 1984. https://cfw.essie.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/312/2020/07/Best-etal-1984-OldGrowthCypressStandInOkefenokeeSwamp-BookChapter.pdf

Continue reading →