Tag Archives: conservation

About WWALS River Revue on The Spotlight Show, Talk92.1 FM 2023-09-14

Update 2023-09-15: Last call for tickets for WWALS River Revue, on Talk 92.1 FM 2023-09-18.

Join us on The Spotlight Show on talk921.com at 6 PM, Thursday, September 14, 2023.

Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman and “Diamond” Jim Halter will talk about the WWALS River Revue sit-down fundraising dinner, with cash bar, silent auction, and new songs in the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, all 6-10 PM, Friday, September 22, 2023, at the Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta, Georgia.

Tickets are available only online in advance, by Monday, September 18th:
https://www.betterunite.com/WWALS-wwalsriverrevue2023/

The Spotlight Show, WWALS River Revue

On the radio, we will talk about some of what WWALS does that this fundraiser supports, including water trails, paddle outings including bats on Banks Lake, and cleanups, including chainsaw cleanups. Continue reading →

Langdale Park to Sugar Creek Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, 2023-10-14

Update 2023-10-12: Due to ongoing rain and rising river water levels, Retry: Langdale Park to Sugar Creek Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River 2023-12-16.

Come help us remove some deadfalls that are impeding canoe and kayak paddling. There are probably also new ones after Hurricane Idalia.

Bring a chainsaw if you really know how to use it. Or a handsaw, or sawzall.

But you do not have to use any kind of saw to join us.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 9:30 AM, end 1 PM, Saturday, October 14, 2023

Put In: Langdale Park Boat Ramp, 3781 N. Valdosta Rd., Valdosta, GA 31602.

GPS: 30.88747, -83.32395

A deadfall 2021-05-15

Continue reading →

Clinch County Resolution against strip mine, for Okefenokee Swamp 2023-09-11

Yesterday, September 11, 2023, the Clinch County Commission unanimously passed a resolution supporting the Okefenokee Swamp and the Suwannee River against the proposed titanium mine, and set aside $50,000 as cash match for a Dark Sky Observatory next to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (ONWR).

Resolution and Clinch County Commission 2023-09-11

You can help stop that mine. Ask your city council or county commission to pass a resolution. Here are other things you can do:
https://wwals.net/issues/titanium-mining/

The Clinch County resolution includes:
“7. Request the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to move the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge from a tentative list to become a full UNESCO World Heritage Site, and support a bill by a bipartisan coalition of members of Congress in support of that move.”

As Chairman Henry Moylan remarked, the UNESCO World Heritage List is a big deal, since it goes through the U.N. and includes sites like the Pyramids and the Grand Canyon. Getting ONWR on it should attract more visitors. That list also includes Yellowstone, Yosemite, Great Smoky Mountains, and Everglades National Parks, so it’s a bit puzzling why ONWR is not already on there.

Resolution Against Strip Mine in the Okefenokee Swamp

Video: https://youtu.be/36S7GqrfdWE

The Dark Sky project involves Continue reading →

Suwannee: Wild River on PBS 2023-09-06

This aired a few days ago on PBS: Suwannee: Wild River, in the series AMERICA OUTDOORS WITH BARATUNDE THURSTON, Season 2 Episode 1 | 53m 8s.

The Suwannee is one of the last wild rivers in America, and its watershed creates woods and wetlands, marshes, and cave systems. From its headwaters in the Okefenokee Swamp, Baratunde journeys downstream, meeting colorful denizens of the Suwannee. From jet skiers to herpetologists, manatees to snapping turtles, he learns how this unique environment inspires a whole range of passions.

Baratunde Thurston in the Okefenokee Swamp and Rev. Antoine Nixon at the Suwannee Canal on PBS 2023-09-06

It’s on YouTube: Continue reading →

Cancelled: Langdale Park to Sugar Creek Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, 2023-09-09

Update 2023-09-12: Langdale Park to Sugar Creek Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River 2023-10-14.

Cancelled on account of the Withlacoochee River is still too high after Hurricane Idalia, and our chainsaws don’t work underwater, the Langdale Park to Sugar Creek Chainsaw Cleanup, Withlacoochee River, 2023-09-09.

FB: Cancelled due to river flood levels after Hurricane Idalia

We will reschedule; new date to be announced.

The US 41 Withlacoochee River Gauge currently reads 122.36 feet. Our WWALS paddle recommendations are: Highest safe 12.7 feet, 123′ NAVD. Lowest boatable 5.7 feet, 116′ NAVD. And at the current level, the target deadfalls are about six feet underwater.

Valdosta US 41 (North Valdosta Road) Withlacoochee River Gauge

More: For more WWALS outings and events as they are posted, see the WWALS outings web page, https://wwals.net/outings/. WWALS members also get an upcoming list in the Tannin Times newsletter.

-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations

Valdosta Hurricane Related Road Closures 2023-09-06

Thank you, Valdosta City Engineer Ben O’Dowd!

So far as I’ve seen, this is the only map of road closures after Hurricane Idalia for any city or county in the Suwannee River Basin.

Hurricane Related Road Closures
This is a public map depicting the current active road closures within the City of Valdosta due to impacts from Hurricane Idalia
Hurricane Related Road Closures

Gornto Closure – 9/6/23
River Street Closure – 8/31/23
Westwood Drive Closure – 8/31/23
East Gordon Closure – 9/5/23
Oak Street Extension Closure – 8/31/23
Clay Road Closure – 9/5/23

Other Road Closures

Lake Park Road Closure – 7/15/23
Griffin Avenue Closure – 7/1/23

Valdosta road closures 2023-09-06

-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

WWALS River Revue on WKUB 105.1 FM 2023-09-06

Update 2023-09-10: Radio: water quality, cows, trash, mining too near the Okefenokee Swamp @ WKUB FM 2023-09-07.

Thanks to Bryan Blount for inviting me on WKUB 105.1 FM, from Pierce County, Georgia, to talk about the WWALS River Revue, a sit-down-dinner fundraiser, with three speakers, silent auction, and the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, all 6-10 PM, Friday, September 22, 2023, at the Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta, Georgia.

Tickets are available online only here:
https://www.betterunite.com/WWALS-wwalsriverrevue2023/

WWALS River Revue and WKUB 105.1 FM

Bryan says he’s broadcasting on low power due to Hurricane Idalia, so maybe a few more people will hear the interview this way.

Here’s the 30-second Public Service Announcement he’s been playing by our headliner Katherine Ball:

Y’all come! Continue reading →

Please keep Quarterman Road in agriculture and forestry –WWALS to Greater Lowndes Planning Commission 2023-08-28

Update 2023-09-17: Videos: Quarterman Road rezoning unanimously denied @ LCC 2023-09-12.

Update 2023-09-09: Packet: Board of Health appointment, two rezonings, 4 water, mosquitoes @ LCC 2023-09-11.

Thanks to the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC) for voting 7:1 to recommend denial of a proposed rezoning on Quarterman Road that would have injected 2.5-acre lots into a 5-acre minimum agricultural and forestry area.

WWALS Letter, maps, speakers 2023-08-28

Thanks to all the neighbors and others who helped get that done, with a petition, by speaking in the Public Hearing, and by calling and writing their Commissioners.

GLPC only recommends. The actual decision will be by the Lowndes County Commission at 5:30 PM, Tuesday, September 12, 2023, in Commission Chambers, second floor, 327 North Ashley Street, Valdosta, GA 31601. You can speak in that Public Hearing, as well as call and write your County Commissioners, and sign the petition.

Meanwhile, thanks to WWALS President Sara Jay for sending the letter below to GLPC. Continue reading →