Okefenokee Floyd’s Island Campout, Suwannee River, Okefenokee Swamp 2024-11-09-10

Update 2024-09-13: Got a permit for Sunday, November 10. Okefenokee Floyd’s Island Campout, Suwannee River, Okefenokee Swamp 2024-11-02.

Update 2024-09-04: Didn’t get a permit for November 2, so trying for November 9.

Pending a permit, join us to paddle 9 miles upstream on the Suwannee River for primitive camping on Floyd’s Island in the Okefenokee Swamp.

This is the farthest you can get from any road in Georgia, with very dark sky.

You can camp inside the century-old Hebard Cabin, or in your tent or hammock outside.

Yes, you will see gators, and probably other wildlife.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 10 AM, end All Day, Saturday, November 9, 2024
Launch 9 AM, end 1 PM, Sunday, November 10, 2024

Put In: Stephen C. Foster State Park Ramp, 17515 GA-177, Fargo, GA 31631. From Fargo, travel south on US 441 to CR 177; turn left and travel to Stephen C. Foster State Park in Charlton County.

GPS: 30.826833, -82.361333

[Floyds Island Campout, Okefenokee Swamp 2024-11-02-03, Suwannee River, Fargo, GA, Stephen C. Foster State Park]
Floyds Island Campout, Okefenokee Swamp 2024-11-02-03, Suwannee River, Fargo, GA, Stephen C. Foster State Park

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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

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Bad Alapaha WTP Outflow 2024-08-30

Update 2024-09-06: Clean Withlacoochee River, Dirty Franks Creek 2024-09-04.

Not so good below the Town of Alapaha, Georgia, wastewater settling ponds Friday.

[Bad Alapaha WPCP Outflow, Alapaha River 2024-08-30 Yet clean downstream above US 82 & Sheboggy Boat Ramp]
Bad Alapaha WPCP Outflow, Alapaha River 2024-08-30 Yet clean downstream above US 82 & Sheboggy Boat Ramp

Heather Brasell tested on what’s in the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT) map as Alapaha Elementary School Stream and got 667 CFU/100 mL of E. coli, which is above the 410 one-time test limit. She tested on the power line right of way you can see just downstream (northeast) of the Alapaha WPCP Outfall. Continue reading →

Red Roberts Little River Chainsaw Cleanup, 2024-09-21

Update 2024-11-02: Pictures: Red Roberts Little River Upstream Chainsaw Cleanup 2024-09-21.

Come take pictures, collect trash, or pull limbs out of the way. You do not have to saw. Kayaks and canoes welcome, to accompany the WWALS jon boat and 9.9 hp outboard.

Upstream half a mile are two big deadfalls we will chainsaw. Another mile up through Rountree Lake (a wide area in the Little River) is another deadfall. We will see what else we find upstream.

If there’s time, we’ll get another deadfall downstream.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 9:30 AM, end 2 PM, Saturday, September 21, 2024

Put In: Red Roberts Landing, 4727 Rountree Bridge Rd., Adel, GA 31620. I-75 Exit 41, go west, turn right in front of the Horse Creek Winery to stay on Rountree Bridge Road, continue about 5 miles, turn left before the Little River.

GPS: 31.192222, -83.520333

[Chainsaw Cleanup, Little River, Rountree Lake 2024-09-21, Above Rountree Bridge, Red Roberts Landing]
Chainsaw Cleanup, Little River, Rountree Lake 2024-09-21, Above Rountree Bridge, Red Roberts Landing

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Clean Alapaha and Withlacoochee Rivers 2024-08-29

Update 2024-09-02: Bad Alapaha WTP Outflow 2024-08-30.

The Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers tested clean for Wednesday and Thursday.

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida. We did hear of a fish kill in Lakes Rowell and Sampson far upstream of the Santa Fe River, apparently on Friday, August 23. People are investigating.

There’s been little rain for a week, so no contamination is expected. The weather prediction shows chance of storms starting Monday, but not for the weekend.

Santa Fe Lake, The lower Santa Fe, and the Suwannee River at Fargo and downstream from the Santa Fe are in Action Stage, and the Santa Fe at TREPO is still in flood.

The Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers are now below Action Stage. The Alapaha is actually getting too low.

So happy fishing, swimming, and boating this weekend.

Be sure to join us Saturday, September 7, 2024, for the WWALS River Revue, 5-8 PM at the Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta. It’s a sit-down fundraising dinner with speakers from Florida and Georgia, a silent auction, and the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.
https://www.betterunite.com/WWALS-wwalsriverrevue2024

[Clean Withlacoochee & Alapaha Rivers 2024-08-29 No sewage spills and No rain]
Clean Withlacoochee & Alapaha Rivers 2024-08-29 No sewage spills and No rain

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Plug pulled on parks plan: protect Florida Parks from golf courses and hotels 2024-08-29

First they postponed the meetings for the attempt to put golf courses or pickleball courts in state parks.

And day before yesterday the Florida governor said “back to the drawing board.”

[Plug Pulled on Park Plan, DeSantis claimed it leaked, Back to the drawing board, How about a bill to prevent it?]
Plug Pulled on Park Plan, DeSantis claimed it leaked, Back to the drawing board, How about a bill to prevent it?
Photo: DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD, Tampa Bay Times,
https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2024/08/28/florida-desantis-state-parks-golf-course-hotel-pickleball-plan/

But don’t trust them. The same or different developers behind this attempt will be back again.

Since state legislators of both parties were opposed to this bad idea, there is talk of a bill to stop this from happening again.

That’s good, and how about a constitutional amendment for Right to Clean Water?
https://www.floridarighttocleanwater.org

None of the nine parks proposed this time are in the Suwannee River Basin. But if they happened, how long before somebody wants to put a golf course or a lodge at Suwannee River State Park, or Manatee Springs, or Ichetucknee Springs?

Alex Harris and Ana Ceballos, Miami Herald, August 29, 2024, DeSantis pulls plug on controversial state parks plan after public, political backlash, Continue reading →

Cancelled: Juneteenth again in August at Reed Bingham State Park 2024-08-31

Cancelled due to heat and holidays. We will reschedule to a date to be determined.

Hahira, GA, August 1, 2024 — “Like we did in June, WWALS will again provide stunt adults to paddle with children whose parents don’t want to get in a boat,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman.

WWALS will also provide boats for new paddlers at this gathering of people from Brooks, Cook, and Tift Counties, Georgia, and beyond in another celebration of Juneteenth, this time in August.

We’re calling it Augusteenth.

Food and activities for children will be provided by Fannie Gibbs and Macedonia Community Foundation.

When: 11 AM, Saturday, August 31, 2024

Put In: Reed Bingham State Park Beach, 542 Reed Bingham Rd, Adel, GA 31620. Take I-75 Exit 39, turn west on GA 37, right on Evergreen Church Road (CR 99), left on Reed Bingham SP Road (CR 221), in through the gate and across the dam, and the beach is on your right, in Colquitt County.

GPS: 31.162563, -83.548506

[Juneteenth Boating again in August, Reed Bingham SP 2024-08-31, WWALS & Macedonia Community Foundation]
Juneteenth Boating again in August, Reed Bingham SP 2024-08-31, WWALS & Macedonia Community Foundation

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Alligator hunting in Banks Lake NWR 2020-07-16

Yes, alligator hunting is happening in Banks Lake NWR.

Well, actually, already happened. According to GA-DNR, “The 2024 season opens at SUNSET on Friday, August 16, 2024, and closes at SUNRISE on Monday, October 7, 2024.”
https://georgiawildlife.com/Hunting/Alligator

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: “Alligator: All State of Georgia Regulations will apply and the season will be limited to two three-day units within the state season. Hunters will access the lake using the refuge boat ramp…. Alligator hunting on the Refuge will be the first two weekends in accordance with the state season.”

So that was August 16-18 and 23-25, 2024.

[Alligator Hunting in Banks Lake NWR 2024, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Georgia Department of Natural Resources]
Alligator Hunting in Banks Lake NWR 2024, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Georgia Department of Natural Resources

Excerpts from Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge Hunt Plan, July 2020, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:
https://ecos.fws.gov/ServCat/DownloadFile/221089

Avg total nightly count = 56 Avg known legal nightly count = 24

Due to increased information from alligator surveys and monitoring from Georgia DNR, the process to allow alligator hunting on Banks Lake NWR was initiated in 2019. The alligator population in Georgia is one of many renewable natural resources that can sustain limited harvest in concert with biological monitoring and periodic evaluations. Allowing an alligator hunt on Banks Lake NWR will provide hunters additional opportunities where other public lands hunting opportunities are limited. Opening this hunt also supports the refuge’s compliance with Secretarial Order 3356, “to support and expand hunting and fishing, enhance conservation stewardship, improve wildlife management, and increase outdoor recreation opportunities for all Americans”.

II. Statement of Objectives

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Hamilton County, Florida, Creeks 2024-08-24

The opposite of what I expected: just west of Hamilton County High School, Cat Creek under SW 55 Drive flows north, not south.

This matters for figuring out what is upstream and downstream from a site on Cat Creek.

[Movie: Cat Creek south of SW 55 Drive, 14:56:38, 30.4736975, -82.9406837 (31M)]
Movie: Cat Creek south of SW 55 Drive, 14:56:38, (31M) 30.4736975, -82.9406837

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Alapaha and Little Alapaha Rivers at US 41, Hamilton County, FL 2024-08-24

Frequently there’s no flow in the Little Alapaha River at US 41, but Saturday there was.

In the Alapaha River where it is often completely dry under US 41, there was plenty of water, a bit west of Jasper, Florida, in Hamilton County.

[Rivers at US 41, Hamilton County, FL, 2024-08-24, Alapaha River, Little Alapaha River]
Rivers at US 41, Hamilton County, FL, 2024-08-24, Alapaha River, Little Alapaha River

The Alapaha River Jennings Gauge was about 66.06 feet NAVD88 at 2:15 PM, Saturday, August 24, 2024. That’s well within the WWALS recommended water levels of low 65, high 76 at US 4 1 on the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT).

Here’s a bit of video:
https://youtu.be/FWFsUfMSOP0 Continue reading →