Who knows the Ockolocoochee River? No, not the Ochlockonee River; that’s a bit to the west.
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
Thanks to Holly Jones and Kimberly Godden Tanner for leading the November 2023 Banks Lake Full Beaver Moon Paddle on our watery living room, Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
![[Banners, Safety lecture, Setting off, Sunset, Bat tree @ Banks Lake Full Beaver Moon 2023-11-27]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-11-27--banks-lake-full-beaver-moon-paddle-pictures/many.jpg)
Banners, Safety lecture, Setting off, Sunset, Bat tree @ Banks Lake Full Beaver Moon 2023-11-27
The next one is coming up
today, December 26, 2023.
https://wwals.net/?p=63711
Before we paddled last month, Continue reading
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]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-12-23--real-trash-problem/many.jpg)
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:
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
Update 2023-12-28: Clean Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers, dirty Sugar Creek 2023-12-28.
We got bad results for three sites on two rivers in Florida for Wednesday, Withlacoochee and Santa Fe. Plus Valdosta’s Wednesday results at US 84 in Georgia on the Withlacoochee were also bad.
Last weekend’s rain was much more than the previous weekend, and the E. coli washed into the rivers did not get diluted or wash downsgtream nearly as quickly.
There’s been no more rain since Sunday, and no more predicted until Monday. And it’s cold and the rivers are near flood.
So I’d suggest staying off the rivers until maybe Sunday. All of the rivers: they all got 2 or more inches of rain. And we have never seen a too-high result for the Santa Fe River until this week, nor for the downstream Holly Point Withlacoochee River site. Continue reading
Update 2024-01-28: Valdosta Knights Creek water quality test results in Four more Valdosta sewage spills 2023-12-17.
Update 2023-12-22: Bad water quality, Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers 2023-12-21.
The Valdosta written report about its December 11, 2023, 425,000-gallon sewage spill, received in response to a WWALS open records request to GA-EPD, contains some information that was not in the Valdosta press release. Including a bit more about corrective action than was in the reports of the two previous spills.
Plus Valdosta has started posting water quality test results upstream and down from the spill location.
More about that and the spill location below.
![[Valdosta Report, Map, GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report, Valdosta Water Quality Results]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-12-11--park-ave-vld-spill-ga-epd/many.jpg)
Valdosta Report, Map, GA-EPD Sewage Spills Report, Valdosta Water Quality Results
Here’s the spill report. As you can see, it has both the start and stop dates and times of the spill: start 9:30 AM December 11, end 6 PM December 14. GA-EPD also returned the Valdosta Utilities cover letter of the report, which was sent Friday, December 15, 2023 2:20 PM. Which confirms what Valdosta Utilities Acting Director Jason Barnes told me on the phone: the report went in (and the Valdosta press release went out) after the spill stopped.
The affected waterway is identified, as “Knights Creek/Mud Creek”,
and the creek is also named at the top of the report:
“MAJOR SPILL REPORT TO EPD Knights Creek Sanitary Sewer Spill.”
As you know, Knights Creek flows into Mud Swamp Creek, then the Alapahoochee River, the Alapaha River in Florida, and the Suwannee River, on the way to the Gulf of Mexico.
The report gives the cause as equipment failure, not blamed on the contractor:
“CAUSE OF MAJOR SPILL: Bypass pump failure and Hydraulic Overload”
And there is more about what the city did and what it plans to do to prevent such spills. Continue reading
Update 2023-12-19: Videos: Food at Griffis Fish Camp on the Suwannee River with Seminole Pumpkin 2023-12-09
Naturalist C.B. Adams spoke at Campfire Cooking at Griffis Fish Camp and Suwannee River paddle. He brought bring props and artifacts, including a Seminole pumpkin and a flintlock musket.
This was Friday evening, December 8, 2023, before we paddled from Stephen C. Foster State Park down the Suwannee River through the Sill back to Griffis Fish Camp on Saturday.
![[C.B. Adams speaks around the campfire at Griffis Fish Camp 2023-12-08]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-12-08--griffish-fish-camp-suwannee-pictures/many.jpg)
C.B. Adams speaks around the campfire at Griffis Fish Camp 2023-12-08
He told many stories, such as about a man and a bear, about a woman fighting a lion off her child, and about the Seminole pumpkins that the Native Americans used to feed themselves while hiding out in the Okefenokee Swamp.
He brought such a pumpkin, which he says he saw in pictures somebody took after a WWALS Banks Lake Full Moon paddle. For what happened to this pumpkin after Chris gave it to Shirley Kokidko, stay tuned.
Chris “Turtleman” Adams is Continue reading
Update 2023-12-22: Bad water quality, Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers 2023-12-21.
On the way back from a day in High Springs, Florida, and at springs on the Ichetucknee River, I collected water quality samples from three Withlacoochee River sites.
![[Three test sites, samples, and results, Withlacoochee River 2023-12-14]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-12-14--jsq-wq/many.jpg)
Three test sites, samples, and results, Withlacoochee River 2023-12-14
The sites are: Sullivan Launch at CR 150 in Madison County, Florida, State Line Boat Ramp at GA 31 in Lowndes County, Georgia, and Clyattville-Nankin Boat Ramp on the road of the same name, also in Lowndes County.
I had intended to test Knights Ferry Boat Ramp as well, but my bucket broke at Nankin, so that was it for that night.
Here is a video:
https://youtu.be/IR4PK7dR1JE
Update 2023-12-22: Bad water quality, Withlacoochee and Santa Fe Rivers 2023-12-21.
Update 2023-12-15: Videos: Testing three sites in Florida and Georgia, Withlacoochee River 2023-12-14.
Update 2023-12-15: Yet another Valdosta E. Park Ave. sewage spill near Knights Creek 2023-12-11.
We got clean results for a dozen sites on three rivers in two states for Thursday: Withlacoochee, Alapaha, and Suwannee.
Valdosta saw far too much E. coli in the Withlacoochee River for Mondayafter 2-4 inches of rain, but cleaner for Wednesday.
The rest of this week had little or no rain. The next rain is predicted for tomorrow (Saturday).
So if you want to avoid E. coli, best to go early Saturday and be off the river before noon, yet still expect to get wet.
You’ll probably find cleaner water on the Suwannee or Santa Fe than the Withlacoochee River.
Of course, if the rain is small, as in less than half an inch, there may be few ill effects. But if we get another 1- or 2-inch rain, beware.
![[Chart, Clean Rivers, Map 2023-12-14]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-12-14--wq/many.jpg)
Chart, Clean Rivers, Map 2023-12-14
In the last week, no pollution spills were reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida.
In Valdosta, Georgia, a major spill of 450,000 gallons happened at one of the usual locations, near 1800 E. Park Ave. and Knights Creek, which flows into Mud Creek, the Alapahoochee River, and the Alapaha River. The press release says Valdosta Utilities discovered the spill Monday, December 11. It doesn’t say the spill did not end until yesterday, December 14, the day before the press release of today. I will file an open records request with GA-EPD for the report Valdosta Utilities sent them, to get the rest of the details.
Kimberly Godden Tanner got good Thursday results for the Alapaha River at Lakeland Boat Ramp and Naylor Park Beach. She says, “Both locations looked great. They are doing a great job at trash collection these days.”
Cindy Vedas tested the Withlacoochee River at her usual sites of Franklinville, Crawford Branch at Skipper Bridge Road, Staten Road, and Langdale Park, and got good results at all of them.
John S. Quarterman tested the Withlacoochee River at Clyattville-Nankin Boat Ramp, State Line Boat Ramp, and Sullivan Launch, and got good results.
Russ Tatum tested the Withlacoochee River at Holly Point, between Allen Ramp and the Suwannee River, and got excellent results.
Reina Lingle got good results for the Suwannee River at Royal Springs and Ivey Memorial Park in Branford, Florida.
WWALS Testing Committee Chair Suzy Hall reviewed all the results and some were recalibrated in the ensuing discussion.
WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman delivered testing supplies to several testers and trained several.
If you want to get trained to be a WWALS water quality tester, please fill out the form:
https://wwals.net/?p=47084
As previously noted, Valdosta’s last downstream tests were September 1, 2023. Continue reading
If you go somewhere truly dark, like the Okefenokee Swamp, or even Banks Lake after dark, you, or at least other people, are trying to get dark adapted, so they can see the stars, planets, meteors, etc. That takes many minutes, and can be destroyed in seconds.
Most people these days live in cities with lights on all the time, even at night, so they are not used to dark adaptation. Here’s how it works.
It takes 7-8 minutes for the rods that enable dark vision to become sensitive enough for dark adaptation to become obvious.
It takes another 13-22 minutes (20-30 total minutes) for the rods to reach maximum sensitivity.
During all that dark-adaptation time, bright light can reverse the process rapidly.
“So if you’re trying to get dark-adapted, it’s crucial to avoid light—it can undo hours of dark adaptation in seconds. All the rhodopsin you have built up over the previous 30+ minutes disappears, and it will take time for your retina to replenish it.”*
![[Light and dark adaptation chinnu (slide 13)]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-12-15--dark-adaptation/light-and-dark-adaptation-chinnu-13-2048-trim.jpg)
Light and dark adaptation chinnu (slide 13) –Bidhuna Raj
So if you’ve come on a dark outing, please do not shine bright white lights.
Especially, do not shine such lights in people’s eyes: you will destroy their night vision, and it can take half an hour for it to recover.
If you are sitting around a campfire and need more wood, the firelight should be enough to see.
If people are in the woods looking at the stars, do not walk up on them with a bright light. That’s like running up on kayaks or canoes in a power boat. Sure, the wake will subside, but everybody knows not to do that. Getting back night vision takes even longer.
If you must use a light on such an outing, please use a dim red light, which has the least effect on night vision. Continue reading
Here is Janet Martin, the winner of the VIBE Sea Ghost 130 WWALS annual raffle kayak, with paddle, seat, and rudder.
![[Janet Martin and the raffle kayak 2023-12-12]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-12-12--raffle-kayak-delivered-janet-martin/many.jpg)
Janet Martin and the raffle kayak 2023-12-12
She likes it; see
video.
https://youtu.be/7FsQCfzaTY8 Continue reading
![[Withlacoochee River labeled Suwanee R. in 1823 Irwin and 1834 Lowndes County maps; current WWALS Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail map]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/1889-01-29--troupville/many.jpg)