Tag Archives: Georgia

Hike to Dead River Sink, Alapaha Quest 2017-01-27 2018-01-27

Update 2018-11-21: Pictures.

Rescheduled due to low water, this time moved and mutated into a hike to the Dead River Sink, starting in the middle of the Alapaha Quest.

Practicing Geologist and WWALS member Dennis James Price will once again lead us through this impressive geological phenomenon. It is an eye opener that will perfectly illustrate the karst topography that is typical for quite a bit of the area where many of our rivers flow. When you see the exposed limestone along the river banks you see the porous rock. However when you see a hole that is capable of swallowing the entire Alapaha for most of the year…. it’s impressive.

When: High noon, Saturday, January 27, 2018

Put In: Meet at Jennings Bluff Launch. From Jennings, Hamilton County, FL, travel south on US 41 to NW 25 Lane; turn left; travel east to NW 82 Court and the entrance into the Suwannee River Water Management District’s Jennings Bluff tract; turn left and follow road to canoe launch.

GPS: 30.567172, -83.039189 (for the entrance to Jennings Bluff Tract)

Take Out: Same.

Bring: Cold weather gear, hiking shoes, and clothes resistant to thorny bushes. No boat needed. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup.

Join: This outing is Free to WWALS members. Non-members: $10/person. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!

Event: facebook meetup

Into the Dead River Sink
Picture by John S. Quarterman for WWALS, Into the Dead River Sink, June 14, 2015.

Shuttle: None.

Once you get to Suwannee River Water management District (SRWMD)’s Jennings Bluff Tract, Continue reading →

City of Adel passed resolution against state fee diversions 2018-01-16

The City of Adel passed a city resolution in support of Georgia House Resolution 158, “a measure allowing the Georgia General Assembly to dedicate fee collections for their statutorily designated programs,” this Tuesday, January 16, 2018. That’s the second in the Suwannee River Basin, after Lanier County. The more of these urging resolutions that get passed, the more likely the legislature will act to schedule a Georgia Constitutional Amendment to stop many millions of dollars of diversions of state fees from their intended purposes.

Mayor, Council, Staff, Meeting
Photo: Adel City Council in their December 4, 2018 meeting, by John S. Quarterman for WWALS.

Text of the Resolution

Continue reading →

Resolution against state fee diversions discussed at Valdosta City Council 2018-01-11

For our waters, last Thursday, Valdosta City Council Tim Carroll recommended (Video) a resolution in support of a resolution in the Georgia state legislature to stop state fee diversions.

12. Council Comments - Tim Carroll
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE) at Valdosta City Council, Thursday, January 11, 2018.

Newly elected Mayor Pro Tem Sandra Tooley wanted to know whether Continue reading →

Hahira Honeybee Saturday 2017-10-07

With 25,000 of our closest friends at the Hahira Honeybee Festival. Maybe it was the Morrocco Shriners, but it was magic.

Levitating kayak, Suwannee Riverkeeper

For comparison, Hahira’s 2016 population was 2,937.

Lined up down Main Street, Driving

Continue reading →

Skillet Festival, Quitman, Brooks County, GA 2017-10-21

A fine day, good food, raffles, and lots of interest in water trails, cleanups, outings, etc. at Brooks County Skillet Fest.

Raffle kayak and Gretchen, WWALS booth

Raffle kayak and Gretchen, WWALS booth

In addition to the then-ongoing kayak raffle, Gretchen bought a skillet that we raffled off. Continue reading →

Georgia Adopt-A-Stream

First in a series of Where is the existing water quality data? In Georgia, it’s in Georgia Adopt-A-Stream’s database, online maps, charts, etc. And Adopt-A-Stream is not just for Georgia anymore.

Suwannee River Basin, Maps

The data record for the Suwannee River Basin is embarrassingly empty.

Suwannee River Basin, Maps

TN, SC, GA, FL, Maps

However, it turns out there’s data in Tennessee, South Carolina, and in Florida way down to Key West. So Georgia Adopt-A-Stream is a candidate for keeping Suwannee Riverkeeper data. Of which there turns out to be quite a bit already for Florida, Continue reading →

Douglas, GA: SGRC Regional Plan Update 2018-01-18

Received January 8, 2018. I think this is the last workshop, so if you haven’t been to one….

Good Afternoon Everyone,

This email is a quick reminder to attend the 4th Regional Plan Update Workshop in the City of Douglas, Georgia, on:

January 18th, 2018 10:00 a.m. to 12:30p

City of Douglas City Hall,
224 East Bryan Street, Douglas, GA 31533,
912-389-3401

Douglas, GA City Hall
Photo: Mjrmtg on Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0.

This fourth workshop will cover the following topics: Continue reading →

Earl Wetherington Foot Bridge

Maybe this bridge was named for Earl Wetherington Foot, since it has vehicular traffic. Since I can’t find any mention of such a person, maybe it was named for Earl Wetherington (1925-2013) and once upon a time was a foot bridge. Anyway, it’s on Gornto Road in Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, over Sugar Creek, slightly upstream from the Withlacoochee River.

Bridge, Over Sugar Creek

Bridge, Over Sugar Creek

It was closed in the “700-year” flood of 2013, which followed the “700-year” flood of 2009 (I think it was closed then, too). Continue reading →

Lanier County Commission passes Resolution urging Georgia legislature to stop state fee diversions 2018-01-08

When you pay a state fee, be it for a license plate or for use of a landfill, chances are much of it is being diverted to some unrelated purpose. The Lanier County Commission today passed a resolution urging the Georgia legislature to dedicate state fees to their statutorily-designated programs.

Stop state fee diversion resolution, Board
Lanier County Commissioners Paul Brockington (District 1), Susan Bowling (District 3), Harold Simpson (District 2), Dennis Fender (District 4), and Alex Lee (Chairman). Neil Ginty (County Administrator) in pink shirt.

The Commissioners’ only question after I briefly spoke was to the County Administrator as to whether the county attorney had reviewed this resolution: she had. Thanks to Continue reading →

WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting 2018-01-14

Event: facebook.

Meeting Notice
WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting
2-4PM, Sunday, 14 January 2018
Wooden Nickel, 3269 Inner Perimeter Rd, Valdosta, GA 31602

Alapaha Quest, BIG Little River Paddle Race, songwriting contest, festivals, water trails, water quality monitoring, pipelines, phosphate mines, and more.

All WWALS members, especially committee members, are invited to attend, as is the general public.

All WWALS Board Members are expected to attend in person or by telephone.
The more done on the board list, the less time we’ll have to spend on them in this meeting.

Board Members:

* Executive Committee

The agenda will follow closer to the date. If you’ve got something you want us to discuss or vote on, let us know. And come on down! The more the merrier.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!