Tag Archives: Little River

Videos: BIG Little River Paddle Race, Wes James, WAAC 92.9 FM 2021-04-20

Update 2021-04-25: BIG Little River Paddle Race is cancelled due to weather.

Postponed due to weather to 2PM, Sunday, April 25, 2021: BIG Little River Paddle Race.

Wes James asked some questions I hadn’t thought of about the BIG Little River Paddle Race last night on WAAC 92.9 FM radio, about boat size, for example.

Remember to get your tickets, and if you want to you can rent a boat, both online in advance:
https://wwals.net/pictures/2021-04-24–blrpr

We are watching the weather, as discussed in the first video. While today the prediction is for thunderstorms Saturday, it’s also for those not starting until afternoon, when everybody will be off the river anyway, in which case no problem. Also, we’ve frequently seen such predictions move a day or so later, so we shall see. So far, so good.

Spaces are filling up for the Ninth Annual BIG Little River Paddle Race

Update 2021-04-25: BIG Little River Paddle Race is cancelled due to weather.

Postponed due to weather to 2PM, Sunday, April 25, 2021: BIG Little River Paddle Race.

Adel, Georgia, April 19, 2021 — Southwell Medical of Tifton and Adel has become a sponsor of the annual WWALS and FORB race and leisurely paddle three miles down the scenic blackwater Little River in Reed Bingham State Park between Adel and Moultrie, Georgia.

“Spaces are going fast, with only four heats of ten people, so sign up soon!” said event mastermind Bret Wagenhorst, an eye doctor in Tifton, GA, and a charter board member of WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS). “First Prize is $100, and another $200 if the winner beats the record.”

All tickets are $30 online in advance, and you can also rent a boat online from the park and pick it up at the start at Red Roberts Landing. For tickets, boats, and all event details, including sponsor opportunities, see:
https://wwals.net/pictures/2021-04-24–blrpr/

Photo: Phil Hubbard, of Dan Phillips placing second in BLRPR 2018.
Photo: Phil Hubbard, of Dan Phillips placing second in BLRPR 2018.

You could win in any of a dozen categories, or up to $300 if you Continue reading →

Water Trail signs planted for Reed Bingham State Park 2021-04-16

WWALS Trails Committee Chair Dan Phillips planted the signs for Reed Bingham State Park Thursday, both the road signs for Red Roberts Landing, and the at-water signs for there and for the boat ramps on both sides of RBSP Lake.

[Red Roberts Landing, Reed Bingham State Park Lake]
Red Roberts Landing, Reed Bingham State Park Lake

Red Roberts Landing is where the BIG Little River Paddle Race will start this Saturday morning. Tickets are going fast, and are only available online, so get your tickets now. Continue reading →

Kinard Bridge Landing 2020-09-21

Kinard Bridge Road Landing on the Little River is not the most difficult river access in the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (that’s US 84 Landing on the Withlacoochee River). But this one is a close second.

[Kinard Bridge]
Kinard Bridge

This is at 2640 Kinard Bridge Rd, Lenox, GA 31637, in Cook County. From I-75 exit 49, go west on Central Avenue, which becomes Kinard Bridge Road, 3 miles to bridge.

You have to park on the side of the road and drag your boat down a steep highway slope to the river on the north (upstream) side of the road. Continue reading →

Trash Traps

Update 2022-05-22 A trash trap is a device to put across a creek or river to catch trash before it goes downstream. In addition to the ones mentioned below, others include WaterGoat, GEIWorks, and Osprey now has a Litter Boom.

We recommend more trash traps to catch this stuff before it gets into ponds or rivers.

[Bottles and cans, two types of trash traps]
Bottles and cans, two types of trash traps

Valdosta already has one trash trap, off of Baytree Road west of Springhill Drive. Thanks to Valdosta Stormwater Manager Angela Bray for pointing that out. Continue reading →

Clean week, Withlacoochee River 2021-04-08

Update 2021-04-16: Clean again: Withlacoochee River 2021-04-15.

No spills, little rain, clean rivers!

[Chart, clean plates, fruit, Swim Guide]
Chart, clean plates, fruit, Swim Guide

Samples by WWALS testers Michael and Jacob Bachrach at Knights Ferry, Nankin, and State Line Boat Ramps came out about as clean as you can get, and actually zero at State Line. Also zero at Cleary Bluff downstream of Allen Ramp by Gus Cleary.

And there was little rain yesterday, and none so far today.

So happy boating, fishing, and swimming this weekend!

But what is this fruit? Continue reading →

Earth Day Rivers Alive Cleanup: Joree Millpond, Withlacoochee River 2021-04-17

Pick from a pair of floating Georgia Rivers Alive cleanups for Earth Day, and bring your boat!

Gretchen Quarterman will lead a floating cleanup on Joree Millpond in Valdosta, Georgia, starting at 913 Millpond Road (PDF flyer for Joree Millpond). You can return whenever you want to, but we expect this boating cleanup to last about two hours. If you have a jon boat and are willing to take a volunteer onto the pond to remove litter, please contact either Gretchen Quarterman (229-834-1945) or Austin Fiveash (229-563-6262). You can also participate in your kayak or canoe. Volunteers will remove litter from along the edge of the pond and from near the spillway. The City of Valdosta is providing a large trash receptacle at the site, thanks to Valdosta Stormwater Manager Angela Bray.

Bobby McKenzie will lead a paddle cleanup from Sugar Creek behind the Salty Snapper off of Gornto Road, down the Withlacoochee River, and a short hop up the Little River to Troupville Boat Ramp. That’s less than 4 river miles, and even with stops for trash collection should take less than three hours. We will leave the bagged trash at that destination, where Lowndes County Public Works will pick it up Monday.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 9:30 AM, end 12:30 PM, Saturday, April 17, 2021

Millpond put in: 913 Millpond Road, Valdosta, GA, Take Country Club Drive to Mill Pond Road. Turn right and 913 is last house on left before right-only exit onto Jerry Jones Road.
Drop your boat at the water, then park near the street.
Millpond GPS: 30.867375, -83.309558

River paddle put in: The Salty Snapper parking lot, 1405 Gornto Road, Valdosta, GA.
Go to the back of the parking lot to drop off your boat at Sugar Creek.
Sugar Creek GPS: 30.861785, -83.318793

River Paddle Take Out: Troupville Boat Ramp, 9664 Valdosta Hwy, Valdosta, GA 31602. Go west on St. Augustine Road across I-75 (exit 18) and cross the Withlacoochee River. At the light for Val Tech Road, turn left, which takes you down to the boat ramp.
Troupville Boat Ramp GPS: 30.851842, -83.346536.

Safety: All volunteers must sign a WWALS liability release, which makes WWALS insurance cover them, and must wear a life jacket at all times while in boats.

Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat, paddles, snaks, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags, and good boots.

Free: This outing is free to everyone, because it is a cleanup.

We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/#join

Event: facebook, meetup

[Joree Millpond, trash, Withlacoochee River]
Joree Millpond, trash, Withlacoochee River
Photos: Russell Allen McBride.

Continue reading →

Alligator snapping turtle threatened status: another reason to protect the Okefenokee Swamp 2021-04-07

Let’s put the end of the story up top:

John Quarterman, who is the Suwannee Riverkeeper with the WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc., said he hopes potential new federal protections will highlight the need to shield part of the turtle’s potential habitat from a proposed mining project near the Okefenokee Swamp. The [Georgia] state Department of Natural Resource[s] is weighing whether to issue mining permits to Twin Pines [Minerals LLC of Alabama].

The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is included in the turtle’s range outlined by the Fish and Wildlife Service.

“It’s yet another reason to protect the swamp,” Quarterman said this week.

Please send your comments to Georgia officials asking them to thoroughly review and then reject the five permit applications from the miners:
https://waterkeeper.org/news/help-suwannee-riverkeeper-save-okefenokee-swamp/

Suwannee alligator snapping turtle
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) listed the Suwannee alligator snapping turtle as State Threatened in September 2018.

Jill Nolin, Georgia Recorder, 7 April 2021, Feds propose protection for hefty Suwannee alligator snapping turtle,

A rare prehistoric looking turtle only found in south Georgia and north Florida might soon gain federal protection after struggling to rebound.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced this week that it has proposed listing the Suwannee alligator snapping turtle as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The announcement kicks off a public comment period that will wrap up this June.

The turtle is the largest found in north American rivers, with some males weighing in at more than 200 pounds. The Suwannee gator snapper makes its home in the waterways flowing through Tifton and Valdosta before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico.

The federal agency reported Tuesday that only about 2,000 of the turtles remain across the two states. The Suwannee alligator snapping turtle was only recently split off as its own species.

“The science that the Service has gathered on this turtle indicates Continue reading →

The rest of the at-water signs, Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail 2021-04-02

In time for Dan Phillips and the Trails Committee to install before the BIG Little River Paddle Race on Saturday, April 24, 2021, we have the last of the at-water signs for the WWALS water trails.

[A dozen locations, Little and Withlacoochee Rivers]
A dozen locations, Little and Withlacoochee Rivers

WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman picked these up from Session Signs Company the other day. We paid for them back in October. These are the last items purchased using the GA-DNR Educational Recreational Trails Program grant.

To see what’s on them, follow this link: https://wwals.net/?p=54243.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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

No fooling: Song submissions are open, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2021

Hahira, Georgia, April 1, 2021 — You can send in your song now, April 1 (no fooling) through July 7, 2021, for the Fourth Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, with a $300 cash First Prize, plus one day of recording studio time.

[Entry form banner]
Use the entry form to send in your song.

In addition to the First Prize, there will also be two $50 prizes, one each for best song from inside the Suwannee River Basin, and best song from outside. Plus plaques to winners in each musical genre.

The studio time is new this year. Also new this year, we will have online voting for finalists. The Contest Committee will take those votes into account when selecting finalists.

The Finals will be at the Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta, Georgia, 7-10 PM, Saturday, August 22, 2021. Tickets for $10 will be available online soon, or $12 at the door. Headliners play, and three judges will each play a song themselves.

There will be food, cash bar, silent auction, and a kayak raffle. There will be brief talks about outings and advocacy, so you can know what your money is going to, in this fundraiser for WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. Sponsors will speak, and any elected officials present; briefly, of course.

Everyone will listen to the finalists, as the judges select winners.

“Georgia Beer Co. is back as our top-tier sponsor, which helps us get these new songs about our rivers, swamps, springs, and sinks,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman. “Brian Blount of WKUB asked me to talk about the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest on 105.1 FM.”

Here is that radio interview: Continue reading →