Bring a rope in case we need to drag the boats across deadfalls,
and expect low-hanging branches,
as we experience the wilderness
from Rowetown Church Landing to Willacoochee Landing,
on the
Alapaha River Water Trail,
continuing
Alapaha Quest.
When:
8 AM, Saturday, August 11, 2018
Put In:
Rowetown Church Landing, 1291 Rowetown Church Road, Alapaha, GA 31622, River bank on private road back of cemetery, we have permission.
Take Out:
Willacoochee Landing, GA 135, Atkinson County side, 2.8 miles south of Willacoochee, GA, Atkinson County.
Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit, and don’t forget the rope.
Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup.
Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members.
We recommend you support the work of WWALS by
becoming a WWALS member today!
Unlike FDEP’s BMAP plans,
“When a new building code is final in Florida, [Rusty] Payton [CEO, Florida Home Builders Association] said,
“there’s always six months between the final rule and the date
the rule takes effect.”
Because of his organization’s petition for more time to file a protest,
none of Florida’s new Basin Management Action Plans (BMAPs) have gone
into effect yet, which gives spring and river advocates (and FDEP)
more time to try to fix them.
A sweeping effort to adopt action plans to improve water quality in
13 springs systems across the state is on hold after a dozen groups
and individuals asked to intervene with the Florida Department of
Environmental Protection, including one of the department’s own
springs experts.
Thomas Greenhalgh, a hydrogeologist with the department’s Florida
Geological Survey, is one of two people who asked for an
administrative hearing on one of the 13 “basin management
action plans” signed by Noah Valenstein in late June.
Thomas Greenhalgh
suiting up before releasing dye
into the Dead River of the Alapaha River to go into the Dead River Sink,
2016-06-22, Picture by John S. Quarterman for WWALS.
“There are many claims and statements in the BMAP that I
believe are inaccurate and unsubstantiated,” wrote Greenhalgh
in seeking a state hearing on the plan for the Suwannee River, where
he owns property.
The traditional annual WWALS Sheboggy Georgia Adopt-A-Stream cleanup at Sheboggy, plus an upstream paddle, from this most upstream of the access points on the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT).
Oh, and we still want those Sheboggy road signs back.
When:
1 PM, Sunday, September 9, 2018
Put In:
Sheboggy Boat Ramp, 11004 US Highway 82, Alapaha, GA 31622, a few miles east of Alapaha, Georgia, in Berrien County.
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.
Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members for the paddle (the cleanup is free to everyone).
We recommend you support the work of WWALS by
becoming a WWALS member today!
“Finalists will play, and will be judged. The prizes will be awarded, and of course the acknowledgment of the sponsors.”
Plus a buffet of snacks prepared by the Salty Snapper,
including some vegetarian,
all for $10 in advance online,
and there will be a silent auction and kayak raffle tickets.
Gretchen Quarterman was on the radio with Steve Nichols, WVGA 105.9FM
(I was scheduled, but the flu said otherwise; I’m better now).
Gretchen said you don’t need to write a song, just come listen
to the finals this Saturday afternoon, with
judges
Cindy Bear from Jacksonville,
Dan Crews from Live Oak, and
J.J. Rolle from Valdosta
Plus the Outings Committee has organized a paddle 9AM Saturday morning
from Langdale Park to Sugar Creek Landing,
just across the railroad tracks from the Salty Snapper,
so you can paddle to the songwriting contest.
Steve Nichols remarked:
“As a kid, I used to go down that stretch of the river with my friends.
When I say as a kid, I was in high school in the early eighties.
It would be fun for me to do that trip as a nostalgic trip,
and going back and look at that beautiful stretch of river right there.”
Gretchen said the water is high so probably there will be no dragging,
and the river is different every time.
She showed the metal Sheboggy Boat Ramp signs Phil made to sell
so people maybe won’t keep stealing them off the GDOT signposts
for their man cave or woman cave.
Videos: Gretchen Quarterman about Songwriting Contest on Steve Nichols radio 105.9FM WVGA 2018-06-18
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS).
I’ll be on the radio Friday morning; stay tuned for a post about that.
Tomorrow morning, 8:30AM, Tuesday, June 19, 2018,
I’ll be on the radio with Steve Nichols, 105.9FM,
talking about the
Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest
coming up 1-5PM, this Saturday, June 23, 2018 at the Salty Snapper, 1405 Gornto Rd, Valdosta, GA 31602.
When Gretchen was on his show last month,
he said he wanted to hear more, so tomorrow morning it is.
Experience the wilderness via the
Alapaha River Water Trail
as we continue the
Alapaha Quest.
Due to river level variations, the location will be determined as we get closer to the date.
Could be anything from rapids to flood to a dry river hike, depending on rainfall.
When:
8 AM, Saturday, August 11, 2018
Put In:
To Be Announced (TBA)
Take Out:
TBA
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.
Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members.
We recommend you support the work of WWALS by
becoming a WWALS member today!
Coming up tomorrow, Thursday, May 31st:
it’s the
Wild & Scenic Film Festival at Mathis Auditorium in Valdosta.
WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman noted
you can still buy tickets online or at the door.
