Bobby McKenzie was right to be worried about the Crowe Deadfall,
a big oak seen for years across the Withlacoochee River between I-75 and GA 133.
Yesterday evening we cleared that and two other deadfalls.
By cleared, I mean at the Crowe Deadfall stay way left:
there’s a narrow passage for the
Fifth Annual Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle.
See you at Langdale Park Boat Ramp this morning.
Thanks to Georgia Power for the grant that makes tickets to this paddle free.
Thanks to Flint Riverkeeper Gordon Rogers for the jon boat.
Thanks to Wild Green Future (WGF) for the grant that bought the 9.9hp outboard,
the 86lb-thrust trolling motor, the batteries, and some other gear.
Successful boat trials at Action Stage on the Little River!
Videos by John S. Quarterman and Russell Allen McBride for WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS).
Thanks to Laura D’Alisera for transfering the new WWALS 9.9hp Mercury fourstroke 20-inch shaft electric start outboard motor ten miles from West Marine in Jacksonville Beach to a shipping location, where Phil Hubbard received it Saturday.
Thanks to Wild Green Future (WGF) for the generous grant that bought it.
Sunday evening, Russell Allen McBride, Shawn O’Connor, Bobby McKenzie, and I
unboxed it, connected it to its fuel supply, and tried it out.
Thanks to Flint Riverkeeper for the jon boat.
With that outboard, the jon boat will indeed go upriver easily under these conditions.
It took only ten minutes to haul Russell in his kayak up the third of a mile from the Little River Confluence to Troupville Boat Ramp.
Also due to WGF, we received an 85lb-thrust Goplus 8 Speed, 36 inch shaft, trolling motor, two
Power Queen LiFePO4 12.8V 100Ah, lithium-iron-phosphate batteries,
and a Power Queen 14.6V 10A LiFePO4 Battery Charger.
Those we put on the WWALS bass fisher chainsawing boat,
plus the old WWALS 40lb-thrust mounted on the front.
Shawn and I demonstrated that the new motor alone will push that boat upstream
in these conditions, and both motors will troll it upstream at a walking pace.
Which is all we need to get back to the ramp from the Confluence during chainsaw cleanups.
We are awaiting a couple more items via the WGF grant. Stay tuned.
This is more preparation for the
Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, Saturday, March 2, 2024,
starting at Langdale Park.
One hopes that the water level will be well below Sunday’s 148′ NAVD 1988 level, or we may have to reschedule for later.
And also preparation for more chainsaw cleanups on other stretches of this and other rivers.
Next: 9AM Sunday, February 25, 2024, we will take the jon boat from Troupville Boat Ramp
down around the Confluence and up the Withlacoochee River to Langdale Park,
chainsawing any remaining paddle obstacles along the way.
That one will be a bit hard to participate in by paddling.
While the comment period on the Mining Land Use Plan nominally closes at 4:30 PM today,
that same address has been open for comments for a year or more,
and will probably remain open.
Plus GA-EPD has said that if there is a draft permit,
they will open another 60-day public comment period.
Meanwhile, all the Waterkeepers of Georgia and Florida oppose
that strip mine for white paint, and support the Okefenokee Swamp,
the St. Marys and Suwannee Rivers, and the Floridan Aquifer.
At its annual Fall meeting, the Georgia Water Coalition members unanimously adopted this Right to Clean Water (RTCW) policy:
Georgia should adopt a constitutional amendment to the state Bill
of Rights establishing that each person has an inherent and inalienable
constitutional right to clean and healthy air, soil, and surface and
underground water, to support substantial interests, including human
health, safety and welfare, native fish and wildlife, conservation of
natural resources, outdoor recreation, and aesthetic values throughout
the State.
Hahira, Georgia, April 5, 2022 — Trying to protect clean water with current laws and regulations is like trying to defend free speech without the First Amendment. Montana, Pennsylvania, and just last year New York have enshrined Rights to Clean Water, Air, Land, and a Healthy Environment (RTCW) in their constitutions alongside free speech and other basic rights. Florida has a statewide petition signing right now for the 2024 ballot. How can Georgia get RTCW into its constitution? Why should it? And what would such an amendment consist of? This webinar explores those questions. We invite your participation and feedback.
Hahira, Georgia, May 30, 2020 —
From every U.S. state and beyond, tens of thousands comments poured in to the Army Corps against a permit application for a titanium strip mine far too near the unique blackwater gem of the Okefenokee Swamp.
The comment period ended Thursday.
You and your elected officials can still ask the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to do the right thing and deny this permit, or at least require an Environmental Impact Statement.
“With its unique ecosystem and incomparable beauty,”
says Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman, “the Okefenokee
Swamp is a national and international treasure, and the source of
the St. Marys and Suwannee Rivers. With its opportunities for
boating, birding, fishing, photography, adventure, and hunting
nearby attracting 600,000 visitors a year and supporting more than
700 jobs, the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) provides
more economic benefit to each of Georgia and Florida than any other
refuge.”
The groups supporting the Swamp and opposing the mine include twenty Waterkeepers from three states, and umbrella organizations Waterkeepers Florida and Waterkeeper Alliance.
Contact: John S. Quarterman, Suwannee Riverkeeper, contact@suwanneeriverkeeper.org, 229-242-0102.
See below for a longer press release from Georgia River Network
about the several dozen organizations loosely associated to protect the Okefenokee Swamp from anything that might harm it,
such as this strip mine for private profit for paint.
Tens of Thousands Voice Opposition Over Mine Proposed to be Located
Next to the Okefenokee Swamp
That’s about “the permit application submitted by Twin Pines
Minerals, LLC” for a titanium strip mine. “The proposed
2,414-acre mine area lies in proximity to the Okefenokee National
Wildlife Refuge (NWR), and the potential secondary effects of the
mine on the NWR have not been demonstrated by the permit
applicant.”
This is the second letter EPA has sent to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers saying the mining application is deficient. We obtained a copy through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The entire letter is here:
https://wwals.net/?p=50931.
You, too, can still comment to the USACE, and all comments they
receive before the Corps announces a decision can be used in any
potential lawsuits. The addresses are: Continue reading →
Thanks to the more than two dozen organizations, local, regional, statewide in Florida and Georgia, national, and international, that oppose the titanium mine that would be far too close to the Okefenokee Swamp.
The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (ONWR) provides boating, birding, fishing, and hunting nearby to the tune of more than $60 million a year and more than 700 jobs, making it the NWR of most economic benefit to each of Georgia and Florida.
The Okefenokee Swamp is a unique ecological treasure, and is the headwaters of the Suwannee and St. Marys Rivers.
The burden of proof is on the miners, and they have not met it.
![[Three deadfalls cleared between Troupville and I-75 2024-03-01]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-03-01--crowe-deadfall-chainsaw-cleanup/igmany.jpg)
![[9.9hp outboard and 86lb thrust trolling motor (thanks, Wild Green Future) and jon boat (thanks, Flint Riverkeeper) and Bass Fisher (WWALS)]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2024-02-18--boat-motor-tryouts/igmany.jpg)
![[GA Riverkeepers letter for Okefenokee Swamp against strip mine 2023-03-09]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-03-09--ga-riverkeepers-us-waterkeepers-okefenokee/many.jpg)
![[Georgia RTCW Logo]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-11-09--gwc-rtcw-policy/ga-rtcw-logo.jpg){kind=logo}
![[Speakers, RTCW]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-04-19--wwals-rtcw-webinar/videos.jpg)
![[RTCW, Speakers]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-04-19--wwals-rtcw-webinar/many.jpg)
![[44,000 commenters against strip mine on a map]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2019-07-12--tpm-usace/Location-of-34-014-of-over-44-000-Commenters-on-Twin-Pines-March-2020-Application-by-State.jpg)
![[Distant 2019-11-23]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2019-11-23--drone-tpm/74335863_496999617569694_628442505263710208_n.jpg)
![[Organizations For Okefenokee Swamp, Against Titanium Mine]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2019-07-12--tpm-usace/For-Okefenokee-Swamp-Against-Titanium-Mine-0001.jpg)
