Tag Archives: Little River

Chainsaw Cleanups –Phil Hubbard, WWALS Webinar 2024-04-11

Update 2024-05-01: Video: Chainsaw Cleanups –Phil Hubbard, WWALS Webinar 2024-04-11.

Phil Hubbard, longtime WWALS paddle outings leader, will tell us why he started a series of chainsaw cleanups two years ago.

Does everybody have to saw on a chainsaw cleanup? What else can people do? Who else has been involved? What did we not expect?

Important points, such as: How to order pizza with a chainsaw, and how to tattoo your chainsaw bar. Also: maybe wrap up before dark.

WWALS Chainsaw Cleanups, Phil Hubbard, WWALS Webinar 2024-04-11, Withlacoochee River, Suwannee River, and soon others

Have we finally accomplished the initial goals after 17 or 18 chainsaw cleanups?

Have they all been on two stretches of the Withlacoochee River? Nope, also downstream on the Withlacoochee and on the Suwannee River. Where to chainsaw cleanup next: maybe on the Santa Fe River in Florida, or the Alapaha River or the Little River.

This webinar will be by zoom, noon-1 PM, Thursday, April 11, 2024.

Register in advance with zoom for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpdeyqrT4rH91Y0CaBM7TxVd2WoIblH5Vj

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

WWALS Board President Sara Jay Jones will give a brief introduction, Phil will speak for about 45 minutes, and we will have questions and answers.

“I think I’m the only one who has been on every chainsaw cleanup, Continue reading →

Video: Raffle drawing for Eddyline Kayak 2024-04-03

Chuck Roberts drew the winning ticket yesterday for the Eddyline Sandpiper kayak, paddle, PFD, lock, and straps.

This one is slightly used. New, a 12-foot Eddyline kayak lists for $1,749.00.

Since there were only 30 $100 raffle tickets, each ticket had a 1 in 30 chance of winning.

Drawing the winner, Eddyline Kayak Raffle, Troupville Boat Ramp, Little River 2024-04-03

Gretchen Quarterman fired up the zoom from her desk.

Here’s the zoom video: https://youtu.be/VXzBV0jhd2Y

At Troupville Boat Ramp on the Little River, Chuck Roberts first talked about the WWALS River Revue sit-down fundraising dinner, Saturday, September 7, 2024, at the Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta. Chuck is the M.C.
https://wwals.net/pictures/songwriting2024/

The Revue includes the seventh annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest. Song submissions are open now:
https://wwals.net/?p=64497

Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman talked about upcoming outings.
https://wwals.net/outings

Including, coming up next Saturday, Continue reading →

Drawing the winner at Troupville Boat Ramp, for the Eddyline Kayak Raffle 2024-04-03

Update 2024-04-04: Video: Raffle drawing for Eddyline Kayak 2024-04-03.

Since all 30 tickets are taken, Chuck Roberts will draw the winning ticket this Wednesday noon-thirty, for the Eddyline Sandpiper kayak, paddle, PFD, lock, and straps.

Chuck Roberts will draw the winner, at Troupville Boat Ramp, for the Eddyline Sandpiper kayak, 12:30 PM, Wednesday, April 3, 2024

This one is slightly used. New, a 12-foot Eddyline kayak lists for $1,749.00.

Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman will bring the box of 30 raffle tickets to Troupville Boat Ramp.

Gretchen Quarterman will fire up the zoom from her desk.

Chuck Roberts will draw the winner, announce the name, and then call the winner to inform them.

If you attend in person and you win, you can carry the kayak home with you.

If you attend by zoom or not at all, we will discuss with you how to get you the kayak.

Thanks to everyone who got tickets! That helps Continue reading →

Help oppose bad Georgia bills HB 1146 rich man’s water system, HB 1172 river trespass, and SB 132 fake Okefenokee moratorium 2024-03-25

Update 2024-03-27: Last days to oppose GA HB 1146, the rich private water system bill 2024-03-27.

Help stop the Georgia legislature from passing bad bills in a rush before it ends Wednesday.

Help oppose bad Georgia bills HB 1146 rich man’s water system, HB 1172 river trespass, and SB 132 fake Okefenokee moratorium

The former fake dragline mining moratorium that failed got pasted onto another bill, SB 132. Although you cannot even see the current text on the Georgia legislature web page, this slapped-in bill still has too many restrictions on appeals and would do nothing to stop the currently proposed mine or any other mine using different mining methods.

Here’s how to contact your Georgia Senate member:
https://wwals.net/about/elected-officials/georgia-senate/

Here’s how to contact your Georgia House member:
https://wwals.net/about/elected-officials/georgia-house/

Floridians, please ask your Georgia friends and relatives to do this.

HB 1172 says people can boat or fish on “navigable” rivers, but doesn’t say they can step ashore, even if they capsize. The previous poorly-fashioned bill to define navigable did not pass, so HB 1172 would also leave the possibility of streams long used for boating and fishing getting closed off by private property owners according to Georgia’s antiquated 1863 definition of navigable. Also, removing any mention of the public trust doctrine is not a good idea. Continue reading →

Ashburn and Rochelle sewage spills 2024-03-09

Update 2024-03-29: Rain and river contamination 2024-03-28.

Yes, there was a lot of rain on March 9, 2024, but 315,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled by Ashburn into two river watersheds seems a bit much.

And we finally got a report of the Rochelle Sook Road spill of that same day, of 10,000 gallons into a ditch that went into Reynolds Creek and from there into the Alapaha River.

Rochelle and Ashburn spills and maps

On March 9 I reported that Continue reading →

Clean rivers and creek 2024-03-07

Update 2024-03-15: Clean rivers 2024-03-13.

We got good results for Wednesday for the Santa Fe and Withlacoochee Rivers and Franks Creek, and for Thursday for the Alapaha River.

Valdosta’s recent upstream Withlacoochee River results through Monday are good. However, Valdosta got very bad downstream Knights Creek results for Wednesday after significant rain Tuesday. Is this an unreported sewage spill upstream from the Alapahoochee and Alapaha Rivers? And why can Valdosta get its Knights Creek followup testing results for Wednesday on its own website by Saturday, but not its Withlacoochee River test results?

Rain is predicted for Saturday, and maybe thunderstorms.

The rivers are down to good paddling levels, and it’s not cold. So watch the weather, bring rain gear, and happy paddling, fishing, and maybe swimming this weekend.

Or join us tomorrow and Sunday at Drexel Park in Valdosta for the Azalea Festival, on One Mile Branch, upstream from Sugar Creek and the Withlacoochee River.

Chart, Rivers and creek, Map 2024-03-06

No sewage spills were reported in the past week in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida or Georgia.

However, on Wednesday, March 6, GA-EPD reported that Rochelle spilled 10,000 gallons of raw sewage on Monday, February 12, due to “Wet weather” from “Sook Road manhole.”

Rochelle 10,000 gallon sewage spill 2024-02-12

The waterway is given as “none” and the river basin is blank in the report. Actually, Sook Road is on a ditch that runs into Reynolds Creek into Mill Creek into the Alapaha River. It’s mysterious why this spill took more than four weeks to show up, and why the report has so little information. Even more mysterious is that it does not appear in later Sewage Spills Reports. I have asked GA-EPD about this. Continue reading →

Pictures: Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, Withlacoochee River 2024-03-02

The weather held off and 42 paddlers had a good time on the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle from Langdale Park Boat Ramp down the Withlacoochee River, around the Little River Confluence, and up to Troupville Boat Ramp. Only a few people fell in, and they were good sports. The City Manager needs a bigger boat.

Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, Withlacoochee River, 2024-03-02

Those who got out after three miles at Sugar Creek got to see the WaterGoat trash trap purchased by the City of Valdosta and cleaned out by volunteer Russell Allen McBride and family, which keeps much trash out of the river.

The remaining four miles went under the Norfolk Southern Railroad Bridge, past Wood Valley Subdivision and Sheri Run, and the I-75 and GA 133 highway bridges. Many deadfalls (fallen dead trees) previously sawed out of the way by numerous WWALS Chainsaw Cleanups were visible. Outings leader Phil Hubbard sawed through a remaining deadfall during the paddle.

Paddlers saw all the river frontage of the land recently purchased by Lowndes County for Troupville River Camp and Nature Park. Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman used the jon boat with 9.9hp outboard paid for by a grant from Wild Green Future (WGF) to saw several deadfalls off the Withlacoochee River. Then he towed five paddlers and five boats from the Confluence to Troupville Boat Ramp, including Outing Sweep Phil Royce towing City Manager Richard Hardy’s to-small bad-seat boat. The City Manager walked from the Confluence to the boat ramp.

Thanks to Phil Hubbard for leading this outing, and Phil Royce and Russell Allen McBride for being sweep.

Thanks to them and Gretchen Quarterman and others for helping people over rough spots and to Gretchen for making sure everybody was signed in on the WWALS insurance waiver.

Thanks to Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson and Lowndes County Commission Chairman Bill Slaughter and their staffs.

Thanks to Joe Brownlee and Georgia Power for the grant that kept entry for paddlers free and paid for the Port-A-Potties.

Thanks to the Boys & Girls Club for the shuttle van.

Thanks to VSU CORE for bringing boats and student paddlers.

Thanks to everyone who helped on the numerous chainsaw cleanups, including Bobby McKenzie, Shawn O’Connor, Russell Allen McBride, Phil Royce from Live Oak, Florida, Gary Koch from Ocala, Florida, and especially Phil Hubbard.

Plus anybody else I have forgotten to mention.

I would mention everybody who has been involved in improving the trash and sewage situations, but this post would be very long.

-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/

Continue reading →

A 19th-century navigable definition does not work for 21st-century river economies

Update 2024-07-26: Help keep paddle access to Georgia rivers 2024-07-22.

We never had bales of cotton boated down the Withlacoochee River, because there are too many shoals.

19th-century navigable definition; 21st-century river economy

But we do get fishing both from the shore and in paddle and power boats up and down our rivers, and for other recreation, There are massive investments by nearby cities and counties and other organizations in cleaning up the rivers for those purposes.

The state of Georgia needs to revise its 19th-century definition of navigability and passage to match the 21st-century present.

The antique 19th-century definition

The Georgia 1863 definition says a navigable stream “is capable of transporting boats loaded with freight in the regular course of trade either for the whole or a part of the year.” See Georgia Navigability Report, 3rd Edition and O.C.G.A. 44-8-5 (2010)

Some people once tried boating down the Withlacoochee River to the Suwannee to establish commerce. They sold the remains of the boat and returned to the former Lowndes County seat of Troupville, at the Little River Confluence with the Withlacoochee River. Atlanta Constitution, January 29, 1889, Continue reading →

Crowe Deadfall chainsaw cleanup 2024-03-01

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.

Three deadfalls cleared between Troupville and I-75 2024-03-01

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.

-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/

Continue reading →

Clean rivers and creek 2024-02-28

Update 2024-03-09: Clean rivers and creek 2024-03-06.

Update 2024-03-03: Now with Alapaha River at Lakeland and Naylor and Santa Fe River at U.S. 27, all also clean.

We got good results for Wednesday for the Santa Fe and Suwannee Rivers and Franks Creek.

Valdosta’s recent upstream Withlacoochee River results through Monday are good.

There has been very little rain for a week. Rain is predicted for today, Saturday, and Sunday, but probably not very much.

The rivers are down to good paddling levels, and it’s not cold. So bring rain gear, and happy paddling, fishing, and maybe swimming this weekend.

Join us tomorrow, Saturday morning, at Langdale Park Boat Ramp for the Fifth Annual Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, Withlacoochee River.

Chart, Clean Rivers and Franks Creek, Map 2024-02-28

No sewage spills were reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida in the past week.

But four were reported in Georgia.

Remember Valdosta’s two small 100-gallon sewage spills on February 20, at Three Mile Branch from Knob Hill Road, and into One Mile Branch from Boone Drive @ Baytree Road, which drains into Sugar Creek, then to the Withlacoochee River?

Well, Valdosta had another spill at 215 Knob Hill Road, 1,500 gallons each from there and from two overflow sites nearby. Yes, that drains into Three Mile Branch which goes into the Withlacoochee River along the route of the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle. But 4,500 gallons should be small enough to be diluted and washed away by now.

Ashburn last Wednesday had yet another spill, 1,500 gallons from its MLK Lift Station into Ashburn Branch, which runs into the Little River. Continue reading →

WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) is Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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