Thanks to Jan Powell, Kimberly Tanner, and her Brazilian exchange student
for assisting WWALS E.D. Gretchen Quarterman and Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman at the WWALS booth.
Quitman is on Okapilco Creek, which runs into the Withlacoochee River.
The Withlacoochee, and, upstream, the Little River form the east border of Brooks County with Lowndes County.
There are more pictures below.
For more WWALS outings and events as they are posted, see Continue reading →
The Lowndes County Commission unanimously denied the inappropriate 2.5-acre rezoning
proposed on minimum 5-acre and predominantly agriculture, forestry, and conservation Quarterman Road,
after five local residents spoke against and nobody for.
Thanks to all who signed the petition against that rexoning, who called or wrote County Commissioners,
who spoke in the Planning Commission or County Commission meetings, and thanks to the County Commisisoners for denying the rezoning.
Among the five who spoke at the County Commission were
Gretchen Quarterman (who also took the videos for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE))
and Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman (details on both are below).
He made sure the Commissioners had a copy of the WWALS letter
that had mysteriously been left out of the board packet;
thanks to WWALS President Sara Jay Jones for signing that letter.
This denial comes after two previous denials,
both also in an Agriculture/Forestry/Conservation Character Area,
both also provoking many petition signatures and speakers in opposition,
including WWALS.
Maybe developers will get the picture that development is not appropriate
in such a Character Area, especially when wetlands and waterways are affected.
It is interesting the extent to which a development mindset can color a presentation by a County Planner.
I was just going to mention one example of that, but as I listened to the LAKE video of his presentation,
I kept noticing more examples. Continue reading →
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).
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.
In addition to its usual business of roads and taxes,
the Clinch County Commission discussed with Suwannee Riverkeeper
outings, boat ramps, and a proposed resolution against the strip mine too near the Okefenokee Swamp.
Thanks to Chairman Henry Moylan and the Commissioners for their hospitality,
to
Clinch County Administrator Jaclyn James for ongoing communications,
and to WWALS member Etta Lee for talking to Commissioners and for being at the meeting; also for dinner.
Below are pictures, videos by Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange of the relevant agenda item, and links to documents.
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.
Re: REZ-2022-20 for a Dollar General, GA 122 @ Skipper Bridge Road
Please deny the proposed rezoning at GA 122 and Skipper Bridge Road from Estate Agriculture to Crossroads Commercial.
We don’t need more clearcutting, impervious surface, petroleum runoff, and trash, uphill from the Withlacoochee River, setting a precedent for further sprawl into a forestry and agricultural area, costing the county money, and everybody downstream as well.
This rezoning decision affects the entire county and everybody downstream all the way into Florida, for drinking water, flood prevention, wildlife, river water quality, and quality of life. Continue reading →