Tag Archives: Gretchen Quarterman

Gulf and south Atlantic Waterkeeper Retreat

FERC reform as an initiative was one result of this year’s meeting, this time where Georgia Water Coalition usually meets, of the Riverkeepers and other Waterkeeper members and affiliates from Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and beyond as far as Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.

Front row by himself: Pete Harrison (Waterkeeper Alliance attorney).
Kneeling: Rick Frey (St Marys), Dan Tonsmeire (Apalachicola), Laura Jackson (Mobile), Rachael Thompson (Satilla), Dale Caldwell (Chattahoochee), Kemp Burdette (Cape Fear), Gordon Rogers (Flint)
Standing: Jason Ulseth (Chattahoochee), Bill Strangler (Congaree), Casi Callaway (Mobile), Susan Wendel (Altamaha) Earl Hatley (Grand), Elena Fodera Richards (Savannah), Emily Markesteyn (Ogeechee), John S. Quarterman (WWALS), Bart Mihailovich (Waterkeeper), Bruce Bodson (Galveston), Krissy Kasserman (Youghiogheny, wearing the blue and gray plaid shirt) Henry Jacobs (Chattachoochee, wearing the beanie cap leaning against the wall), Jacob Oblander (Lower Savannah River Alliance Affiliate, right behind Krissy), Michael Mullen (Choctawhatchee, right next to Jacob), Rebecca Jim (Tar Creek, right next to Krissy), Tonya Bonitatibus (Savannah), Matt Starr (Upper Neuse, right behind Gordon), Cade Kistler (Mobile, against wall), Sam Perkins (Catawba), Lisa Rinaman (St Johns).
Not pictured: Kaitlin Warren, Seth Clark, and Jen Hilburn (Altamaha), Rachel Sliverstein (Miami), Kelly Cox (Miami), Neil Armingeon (Matanzas), Gretchen Quarterman (WWALS), Anna Alsobrook (French Broad), Bill D’Antuono and Harrison Langley (Collier), Misha Mitchell (Atchaflaya), Myra Crawford (Cahaba), John Paul (Caloosahatchee), Kevin Jeselnik (Chattahoochee), Frank Chitwood (Coosa), Hartwell Carson (French Broad), Rob Walters (Three Rivers).

That group picture was taken late after many people had left, and some never arrived, due to hurricane or other reasons. Some of the missing are below in pictures Gretchen took, including one of Altamaha Riverkeeper Jen Hilburn, in whose extensive watersheds we met. And of course FERC reform wasn’t the only initiative: trash, biological contamination, CAFOs, and others are on the agenda.

Bart Mihailovich, Waterkeeper Alliance, 3 November 2016, 2016 Gulf and South Atlantic Regional Retreat Recap, Continue reading →

WWALS and children at Trunk or Treat at Reed Bingham State Park 2016-10-29

Girl Scouts were a big part of our success today! Boy Scouts wanted to know if we had Eagle Scout projects: yes, we do! Thank you to our new friends.

People wanted to know about outings, advocacy, pipeline, and since Reed Bingham is on the Little River, I gave out all the pamphlets for the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail I had printed. An excellent time was had by WWALS and all at the Reed Bingham Trunk or Treat Fall Festival.

Gretchen

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

Continue reading →

WWALS at Suwannee River Roots Revival 2016-10-15

Music and advocacy on the banks of the iconic Suwannee River!

WWALS outings, rivers, Valdosta wastewater, agricultural runoff, and the issue half the people wanted to talk about was the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline: nobody wants it.

Thanks to Leeann Drabenstott Culbreath for the great picture of WWALS Treasurer Gretchen Quarterman and Ambassador Dave Hetzel, who engages everybody who walks past. Thanks to WWALS member Bret Huntley for camping overnight last night and setting up this morning. Gretchen took the other pictures of Dave and Bret. WWALS president John S. Quarterman took the one of the Shook Twins on the Amphitheater Stage in Spirit of Suwannee Music Park at Suwannee River Roots Revival on the banks of the Suwannee River.

Come on down to these upcoming WWALS events and outings: Continue reading →

Naylor Boat Ramp bid twice; probably instead in-house by Lowndes County

All bids for the Naylor Boat Ramp were overbudget even though it went out for bids twice, so now Lowndes County is working with GA-DNR on doing most of the work in-house with county personnel, said Project Manager Chad McLeod at Monday morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session.

They have to finish it eventually, because it was in the SPLOST VII ballot referendum approved by the voters of Lowndes County.

WWALS has the Naylor Boat Ramp listed on the Alapaha River Water Trail and we’re already Continue reading →

Valdosta wastewater and flood prevention public meeting by WWALS 2016-10-27

Update 2016-10-23: Seen from the air.

Update 2016-10-19: PDF flyer.

Come hear about the $60 million in wastewater fixes Valdosta just finished, what remains to be done, and what they’re doing about flood prevention for the entire Suwannee River Basin in Georgia and Florida. You can ask questions in this first of a new WWALS Quarterly Speaker Series, and the people organizing this work will be there to answer:

Henry Hicks, Utilities Director, about wastewater
Emily Davenport, Assistant Director of Engineering, about flooding, and
Tim Carroll, Valdosta City Council, about solar power for utilities.

When: 6PM Thursday October 27th

Where: Valdosta City Hall Annex
Multipurpose Room
300 N Lee St.
Valdosta, GA 31601 Continue reading →

WWALS Adopt-A-Stream Cleanup at Berrien Beach Landing (GA 168) –Gretchen Quarterman 2016-09-10

WWALS collected many bags of trash and four mattresses Saturday in the Rivers-Alive Cleanup at Berrien Beach Launch on the Alapaha River.

Thanks to Bret Wagenhorst for organizing this annual cleanup. Special thanks to the three members of Valdosta State’s Students Against Violating the Environment (S.A.V.E.) for joining in, and a student from UGA Tifton!

This outing was also part of the Great Suwannee River Cleanup, and we’ll have some more of those this year. This particular cleanup was at Berrien Beach Landing in Berrien County on the Alapaha River Water Trail. Thanks to Al Browning and the landowner for access to the sands of Berrien Beach in Lanier County.

More WWALS outings:

Continue reading →

Videos: WWALS asks Lowndes County to invite Army Corps of Engineers to investigate Sabal Trail discrepancies @ LCC 2016-04-12

Delivered to the Lowndes County Commission Tuesday 12 April 2016 on paper and then by email (PDF, plus 1-page Suwannee County, FL request to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and 28-page WWALS invitation to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), following up from two previous addresses to the same Commission.

See also the Carter Way item in that same Commission meeting, also related to Sabal Trail. Continue reading →

Pictures: Staten Road to Langdale Park, Withlacoochee River 2016-03-20

20 people in 17 boats on an astoundingly beautiful rural blackwater river into the biggest city in the entire Suwannee River Basin: here are pictures from the WWALS outing from Staten Road Bridge in Lowndes County to Langdale Park on the edge of Valdosta, both in south Georgia, Spring Equinox, Sunday 20 March 2016. Thanks to everyone who came, especially to WWALS Outings Chair Chris Mericle for leading the expedition, and to Georgia Page, Steve, and Travis of the Valdosta-Lowndes Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA) for letting us into Langdale Park even though it was closed for renovations. Gretchen Quarterman went on Charlie Walker’s 99.5 KIX Country radio show the next morning to tell everybody about it. Continue reading →

Winners, student logo contest, Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail, by WWALS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Valdosta, February 28, 2016 — Two VSU students took First and Second Prizes Saturday for logos for the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT), at a Workshop at VSU, with an art exhibit and silent auction, and talks on history, archaeology, hydrogeology, and safety, organized by WWALS Watershed Coalition, the Waterkeeper® Affiliate for the Withlacoochee, Little, Alapaha, and upper Suwannee Rivers. “These logo winners reflect the beauty and unusual nature of our blackwater rivers,” said logo contest organizer Julie Bowland, a VSU Art Professor. She aded, “I’ve already heard talk that we may use both of these logos, one for color, and one for black and white.”

Logo Contest Winners

Eboni Patterson (center) won First Prize for the circle logo. Ann Reid (left) won Second Prize for the river trace logo. Both were congratulated by contest organizer Julie Bowland, who handed them checks from WWALS. The prizes were contributed by Continue reading →

Pictures: Withlacoochee River, GA 122 to Franklinville Road 2013-04-20

One of the remotest segments of the Withlacoochee River, yet with easy access, and when the water was high enough. Also one of the least-attended WWALS outings, because we hadn’t really gotten the hang of announcing outings yet. But that just made it more intimate for the three of us who went. I got especially intimate with the river, choosing to swim twice. I always choose to swim when the water comes up to meet me…. Eventually I learned not to lean towards the side you’re tipping towards.

The closest USGS gauge is Continue reading →

WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) is Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

A healthy watershed with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable water.