Tag Archives: Little River

Ockolocoochee, Little River 1889-01-29

Who knows the Ockolocoochee River? No, not the Ochlockonee River; that’s a bit to the west.

[Withlacoochee River labeled Suwanee R. in 1823 Irwin and 1834 Lowndes County maps; current WWALS Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail map]
Withlacoochee River labeled Suwanee R. in 1823 Irwin and 1834 Lowndes County maps; current WWALS Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail map

You do know the Ockolocoochee River as the Little River, of the Withlacoochee, of the Suwannee.

Here is news from 1889 that also includes the boat that didn’t survive from Troupville to Ellaville, which was apparently not a paddlewheel steamer. Continue reading →

Fannie Gibbs Begins WWALS Webinars 2024-01-11

Update 2024-01-14: Video: Fannie Gibbs Begins WWALS Webinars 2024-01-11.

Hahira, Georgia, December 26, 2023 — WWALS Webinars is a new monthly series of lunchtime talks via zoom about topics related to the Suwannee River Basin.

On Thursday, January 11, 2024, from noon to 1PM, we are starting with Fannie Marie Jackson Gibbs of Brooks County, Georgia, long active in issues near the Little and Withlacoochee Rivers, especially involving African-American family history. She will talk about the ongoing sewage problems in Quitman, the annual Juneteenth celebrations she organizes at Reed Bingham State Park Lake where WWALS brings boats, family history, and anything else she wants to discuss.

[Fannie Gibbs in a boat at Reed Bingham State Park, Junteenth 2020]
Fannie Gibbs in a boat at Reed Bingham State Park, Junteenth 2020

“We thank Fannie Gibbs for speaking at WWALS River Revue 2023 in September, and we welcome her back to speak longer in this first WWALS Webinar,” said WWALS President Sara Jay Jones.

“I’m honored to have worked with Fannie for many years, and I hope you will all zoom in to hear what she has to say,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman.

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAuf-igpjsuG9JKDeCUtmqgxujGcIkFZIz3 Continue reading →

The Real Trash Problem is the Producers, and How to Stop It 2023-12-23

Update 2025-06-28: Plastic bag bans keep trash out of rivers and the sea –a study in Science 2025-06-19.

The Crying Indian was Italian, and that ad was paid for by the producers of single-use trash, to shift blame onto individuals. Here’s what can be done about that trash.

Sure people shouldn’t litter, but Anheuser-Busch and other beer makers, as well as Nestlé, Coca Cola, and Walmart, should stop making and selling disposable bottles and cans.

[Single-use trash, The fake Crying Indian, and what can be done about that]
Single-use trash, The fake Crying Indian, and what can be done about that

Fifty years ago those things had deposits on them, and people would collect them for the cash. That could be useful to a lot of people, and a lot more cleanups would happen. Sure, there was still trash back then, but not as much.

People still do in Hawaii and nine other states: California, Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Vermont, plus Guam. They don’t have nearly as big of a litter problem.

But Georgia or Florida do not have such container deposits. Maybe we should change that.

No, recycling will not solve this problem. There’s no market for plastic to recycle, and recycling has been pushed by big oil for years as an excuse to make more plastic throw-away containers. Laura Sullivan, NPR, 11 September 2020, How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled.

You’ve probably seen the famous ‘Crying Indian’ ad from 1971:

Crying Indian
A Keep America Beautiful advertisement by the Ad Council, which was launched in 1971. (Ad Council) – Original Credit: (HANDOUT)

Well, the “Indian” was Italian-American, and that ad was part of a campaign by the trash-producer front group Keep America Beautiful. Continue reading →

Sewage spills: Ashburn, GA, Live Oak, FL 2023-12-01

Update 2023-12-08: Clean Santa Fe River 2023-12-06.

Live Oak, Florida, was much faster in reporting its Friday sewage spill than was Ashburn, Georgia, in reporting its Sunday-before-last spill.

Probably neither of these spills had any noticeable effect on the nearby Little or Suwannee Rivers, and certainly not on the far-downstream Withlacoochee River.

For more about WWALS water quality testing, see https://wwals.net/issues/testing.

[Ashburn, GA, and Live Oak, FL, sewage spills]
Ashburn, GA, and Live Oak, FL, sewage spills

Ashburn, Georgia, spilled 2,000 gallons on November 19, reported on November 28, into Ashburn Branch, which ends up in the Little River far upstream from Tifton. Continue reading →

Pictures: WWALS at Brooks County Skillet Fest 2023-10-21

It was a good time at the WWALS booth at the Brooks County Skillet Festival.

[Collage @ Brooks County Skillet Festival 2023-10-21]
Collage @ Brooks County Skillet Festival 2023-10-21

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 →

WWALS at Brooks County Skillet Fest 2023-10-21

Food and fun in a park. Maybe you’d like to help at the WWALS booth, at the Brooks County Skillet Festival.

[Fog on the Little River at Miller Bridge, WWALS Booth, Skillet Festival 2022-10-15]
Fog on the Little River at Miller Bridge, WWALS Booth, Skillet Festival 2022-10-15

When: 9 AM, Saturday, October 21, 2023

Put In: Brooks County Courthouse, 100 Screven Street, Quitman, Georgia 31643

GPS: 30.785667, -83.559660 Continue reading →

Pictures: Brooks County Skillet Fest 2022-10-15

It was a fun time last year at the Brooks County Skillet Festival at the courthouse in Quitman, Georgia.

[Skillet Fest, WWALS Booth, fog on the Little River at Miller Bridga 2022-10-15]
Skillet Fest, WWALS Booth, fog on the Little River at Miller Bridga 2022-10-15

Thanks to Amy and Doug Jackson and Sara Jay Jones and everyone else who helped Gretchen Quarterman at the WWALS booth.

Skillet Fest is back this weekend, Saturday, October 21, 2023. Y’all come! Continue reading →

Fishing, boating passage, and navigability in Georgia waters 2023-10-12

Update 2023-12-31: Fishing Access in Georgia: House Committee Report 2023-12-01.

What waterways are navigable? How does navigability apply to fishing rights and private ownership of waterways? What about right of passage? How does the Georgia state constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish apply? And what about GA-DNR boat ramps?

[Access, Navigable, Boat Ramps]
Access, Navigable, Boat Ramps

This controversy started with a lawsuit about the Flint River, but it has already spread to other rivers and creeks, and sooner or later will affect the Suwannee River Basin.

The Chair of the Georgia House Study Committee on the subject is Rep. James Burchett, District 176, which includes southwest Coffee, Atkinson, Lanier, and northeast Lowndes Counties, all in the Suwannee River Basin. Plus he is the County Attorney for Brooks County.

If you know him, maybe you’d like to talk to him about the importance of river passage and public fishing rights. As he is reported to have said, “The intention is to find clarity. The property owners and fishermen all want to know, where can we fish and where can we not?”

Continue reading →

Pictures: Hahira Honeybee Parade 2023-10-07

Thanks to Cindy Vedas for paddling the Eddyline Sandpiper raffle kayak in the Hahira Honeybee Festival parade.

Raffle tickets are $100, and the winner will be drawn when 30 are taken.

[Cindy Vedas in kayak, Paddling, Train depot, WWALS booth @ Hahira Honeybee parade 2023-10-07]
Cindy Vedas in kayak, Paddling, Train depot, WWALS booth @ Hahira Honeybee parade 2023-10-07

Thanks to WWALS booth volunteers Kimberly Tanner, Jo Ford, Rindy Kennedy, Jan Powell, Gee Edwards, Michael Bachrach, and anybody else I have neglected to name.

Thanks especially to WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman for organizing the WWALS booth.

There are more pictures below.

See also Kimberly Tanner’s facebook video of the WWALS parade float from the WWALS booth, and the Friday pictures.

 -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 →

Pictures: Hahira Honeybee Friday 2023-10-06

Update 2023-10-09: Pictures: Hahira Honeybee Parade 2023-10-07.

More volunteers came later, to the Hahira Honeybee Festival.

[Booth, antique cars, Hahira City Manager, Hahira Honeybee Festival 2023]
Booth, antique cars, Hahira City Manager, Hahira Honeybee Festival 2023

Come see us today!

WWALS members can help at the booth.

And if you get there before noon, you can be in the parade! Continue reading →