Tag Archives: Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle

Radio: Mayor and Chairmans Paddle by Suwannee Riverkeeper on talk921.com 2026-03-05

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Join us on the radio, talk921.com, at 8 AM tomorrow morning, Thursday, March 5, 2026, to hear about the Mayor and Chairmans Paddle by Suwannee Riverkeeper this Saturday.

https://wwals.net/?p=69525

[Radio: talk921.com, 8 AM, Thursday, March 5, 2026, Mayor and Chairmans Paddle by Suwannee Riverkeeper]
Radio: talk921.com, 8 AM, Thursday, March 5, 2026, Mayor and Chairmans Paddle by Suwannee Riverkeeper

Here’s a facebook event to remind you:

https://www.facebook.com/events/2273100159762397/

Thanks to Joe Brownlee and Georgia Power for the generous grant that makes this paddle free for everyone. Thanks to Paul Deloach and The Langdale Company for river access. Thanks to Paul Batts and Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority for shuttle vans. Thanks to Steve Miller for his 4-wheeler for the takeout. And thanks to Phil Hubbard for leading this paddle.

Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson and Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman may also talk about other current topics such as: Continue reading →

Radio: Mayor and Chairmans Paddle by Suwannee Riverkeeper on talk921.com 2026-03-05

Leave a reply

Join us on the radio, talk921.com, at 8 AM tomorrow morning, Thursday, March 5, 2026, to hear about the Mayor and Chairmans Paddle by Suwannee Riverkeeper this Saturday.

https://wwals.net/?p=69525

[Radio: talk921.com, 8 AM, Thursday, March 5, 2026, Mayor and Chairmans Paddle by Suwannee Riverkeeper]
Radio: talk921.com, 8 AM, Thursday, March 5, 2026, Mayor and Chairmans Paddle by Suwannee Riverkeeper

Here’s a facebook event to remind you:

https://www.facebook.com/events/2273100159762397/

Thanks to Joe Brownlee and Georgia Power for the generous grant that makes this paddle free for everyone. Thanks to Paul Deloach and The Langdale Company for river access. Thanks to Paul Batts and Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority for shuttle vans. Thanks to Steve Miller for his 4-wheeler for the takeout. And thanks to Phil Hubbard for leading this paddle.

Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson and Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman may also talk about other current topics such as: Continue reading →

Video: Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism meeting in Valdosta 2025-10-15

Update 2025-10-19: Filthy Sugar Creek 2025-10-17.

WWALS will never have the direct economic effect that many of the other projects described to the five Georgia State Senators this week. But many of our activities require very little economic input, such as water trails, outings, and even the future Troupville Nature Park and River Camp.

And some solutions for things we oppose would have outsized effects.

[Video: Senate Study Committee on Georgia Tourism, meeting in Valdosta, 2025-10-15]
Video: Senate Study Committee on Georgia Tourism, meeting in Valdosta, 2025-10-15

What does an area need for tourism? A good reputation.

What’s the opposite of that? Stigma, as in:

  • A strip mine near the Okefenokee Swamp.
  • Or a long-outdated legal definition of navigability, impeding river passage.
  • Or sewage and trash in creeks and rivers.
Continue reading →

Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism meeting in Valdosta 2025-10-15

Update 2025-10-18: Video: Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism meeting in Valdosta 2025-10-15.

Update 2025-10-14: Updated agenda and list of Georgia State Senators on the Study Committee.

Update 2025-10-03: Clarification:
This event is primarily for the invited people in the tourism industry.
Please note the breakfast has only enough for the invitees.
You can also watch the speakers in the livestream, so you don’t have to come to see what they say.

Suwannee Riverkeeper is supposed to speak for five minutes to a Georgia Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism.

Suwannee Riverkeeper is supposed to speak for five minutes to a Georgia Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism.

That will be at 9 AM, Wednesday, October 15, 2025,
at the Rainwater Conference Center, 1 Meeting Place Valdosta GA 31601-7710.
That’s between I-75 Exits 16 and 18.

[Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism, Rainwater Conference Center, Valdosta, GA, 2025-10-15]
Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism, Rainwater Conference Center, Valdosta, GA, 2025-10-15

The five Georgia state Senators on the Study Committee are:

  • Senator Drew Echols (R–Gainesville, District 49), Chairman,
  • Sen. Sonya Halpern (D–Atlanta, District 39),
  • Sen. Frank Ginn (R–Danielsville, District 47),
  • Sen. Russ Goodman (R–Cogdell, District 8),
  • Sen. Emanuel Jones (D–Decatur, District 10).

The local powers that be are not advertising this meeting, but the Georgia Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus is:
https://www.gacvb.com/senate-study-committee

There doesn’t seem to be any facebook event by the state, county, or city, so here’s one by WWALS:
https://www.facebook.com/events/796397306306784/

I’m listed under Arts & Education Tourism, so I might as well mention the WWALS River Revue and Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, as well as the education component of the future Troupville Nature Park and River Camp.

This committee was completed by Senate Resolution 323, which includes:

WHEREAS, Georgia has beautiful vistas and natural resources meant to be seen and savored, including mountains, canyons, waterfalls, lakes, rivers, and beaches; and

Well, let’s talk about the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle and the Alapahoochee River chainsaw cleanup with the surprise dead gator. Plus the Banks Lake Full Moon paddles, and the Suwannee River and Okefenokee Swamp campouts and paddles in November and December.

Also: Continue reading →

Pictures: Withlacoochee Upstream from Troupville 2025-04-09

Update 2025-04-15: Pictures: Last Mile, Withlacoochee River 2025-04-13.

Update 2025-04-14: Videos.

Yesterday Phil Hubbard and I found and dealt with two big new deadfalls on the Withlacoochee River near the Little River Confluence.

[Two new Deadfalls, Withlacoochee Upstream from Troupville Boat Ramp, April 9, 2025]
Two new Deadfalls, Withlacoochee Upstream from Troupville Boat Ramp, April 9, 2025

Phil also tried to match my record for getting a saw stuck in a river. But we retrieved the WWALS 24-inch Husqvarna chainsaw, minus its bar and chain cover. That does not match me leaving my similar saw in the Suwannee River for six months, so Phil has to try harder.

Videos:

And we picked up some trash from a few trashjams, including Phil got a baby leg.

The original plan for yesterday afternoon was to go down the Withlacoochee River, plant a sign at the midpoint (Withlacoochee River Hunt Club private boat ramp, courtesy of The Langdale Company), and motor back up.

Since there is some doubt as to which route the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle will take on April 19.
https://wwals.net/?p=67242

That route will depend on water levels, any contamination in Sugar Creek or the rivers, and whether we can get the rest of the deadfalls out of the Withlacoochee River near Sugar Creek. Yesterday we decided to head up the Withlacoochee River instead. Good thing we did, what with those new deadfalls.

Sunset soon meant we did not get up to the last mile of deadfalls below Sugar Creek. That is scheduled for this Sunday, April 12 13.
https://wwals.net/?p=67422 Continue reading →

Signage, Withlacoochee River, Troupville to midpoint 2025-04-09

Update 2025-04-10: Pictures: Withlacoochee Upstream from Troupville 2025-04-09.

We will motor down to the midpoint of the Mayor and Chairmans Paddle, checking the route and hanging signs.

We will take the usual chainsaws, although we don’t expect to find anything to saw.

If you have a boat and motor, please join us.

If you have a canoe or kayak, we can tow you.

When: Gather 4:30 PM, launch 5 PM, Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Put In: Troupville Boat Ramp, 19664 Valdosta Hwy, Valdosta, GA 31602. I-75 exit 18, west on GA 133 (St. Augustine Road) away from the Valdosta Mall, at the traffic light for Val Tech Road, turn left down to the boat ramp, in Lowndes County.

GPS: 30.851842, -83.346536

[Placing Signage, Withlacoochee River, Troupville to midpoint, April 9, 2025]
Placing Signage, Withlacoochee River, Troupville to midpoint, April 9, 2025

Continue reading →

Installed: Troupville Boat Ramp water trail signs 2025-04-01

New water trail signs replace the old, shot-up ones at Troupville Boat Ramp on the Little River just downstream from GA 133.

[Installed: water trail signs at Troupville Boat Ramp, Little River @ GA 133, Thanks, VLPRA & GA-DNR 2025-04-01]
Installed: water trail signs at Troupville Boat Ramp, Little River @ GA 133, Thanks, VLPRA & GA-DNR 2025-04-01

Thanks to Herman Gordon of Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLPRA) for coming down to help install the new signs for the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT).

Herman is preparing for the April 19th Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle. I think he was relieved that WWALS, Valdosta, and Lowndes County rescheduled it because of high water on the previous date.
https://wwals.net/?p=67242

Thanks to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GA-DNR) that paid for (most of) the cost of these and other signs.

GA-DNR’s own signs about “Clean Your Gear” and “Don’t Release It Here!” have also been shot up. Gordon and I are contacting them about that.

And I’ve already left a message for Lowndes County Public Works about the large potholes on the entrance road. Continue reading →

Langdale Park and Troupville Boat Ramp 2025-03-14

Reminder: we’ve rescheduled and rerouted the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle to next Saturday, March 22, 2025, from Troupville Boat Ramp to Spook Bridge:
https://wwals.net/?p=67188

[Langdale Park underwater 2025-03-14, Troupville Boat Ramp OK, Mayor & Chairman's Paddle is 2025-03-22 from Troupville]
Langdale Park underwater 2025-03-14, Troupville Boat Ramp OK, Mayor & Chairman’s Paddle is 2025-03-22 from Troupville

For why that was a wise decision, see these pictures of Langdale Park today. The entrance road is underwater starting about halfway to Langdale Park Boat Ramp.

Meanwhile, Troupville Boat Ramp is doing pretty well.

Also, the Withlacoochee River is dirty with E. coli this week; see the weekly WWALS water quality report:
https://wwals.net/?p=67213

So come on down next Saturday, March 22, to Troupville Boat Ramp, between 8 and 9 AM, for the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle. Continue reading →

On The Spotlight Show, Talk92.1 FM: Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, WWALS River Revue, and Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2025-03-06

Join us on The Spotlight Show on talk921.com at 6 PM, Thursday, March 6, 2025.
https://talk921.com

Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman and “Diamond” Jim Halter will talk about

[Mayor and Chairman's Paddle, WWALS River Revue, etc. on The Spotlight Show, Talk921.com, Thursday, March 6, 2025, 6-7 PM]
Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, WWALS River Revue, etc. on The Spotlight Show, Talk921.com, Thursday, March 6, 2025, 6-7 PM

Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1164828191815898

 -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/

Sponsors, WWALS River Revue

Hahira, Georgia, May 1, 2024 — WWALS thanks our sponsors for the WWALS River Revue fundraising dinner, including the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest: Wild Green Future, Georgia Power, and Brooksco Dairy.

WWALS President Sara Jay Jones said, “We thank all our sponsors so far, and we look forward to many more! Many people and businesses will be hearing from me and others in the near future.”

[WWALS River Revue sponsors so far]

Our first Stream $1,000 sponsor is Brooksco Dairy, back again from last year.

Our first Big Shoals $5,000 sponsor is Georgia Power, which contributed $1,000 to keep tickets free to the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, and which has granted funds to the WWALS water quality testing program for four years running.

Our first Headwaters $10,000 sponsor is Wild Green Future, who contacted us from Live Oak, Florida, and whose grant paid for an 86lb thrust trolling motor, two Lithium-iron-phosphate 100Ah batteries, a 9.9hp Mercury outboard, and a 25hp Yamaha outboard, as well as a Husqvarna 24-inch chainsaw, and some related equipment. We have used all these things on recent chainsaw cleanups to remove deadfalls from the Withlacoochee River, and with the WWALS jon boat as a safety vessel for the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle.

M.C. Chuck Roberts said, “I invite everyone to join us for the WWALS River Revue, at the Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta, 5-8 PM, Saturday, September 7, 2024. It’s an indoor fundraising dinner to benefit WWALS Watershed Coalition, with an evening of food, drink, and entertainment.”

Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman said, Continue reading →