Tag Archives: north Florida

Raffle kayak: Vibe Sea Ghost 130, 2023-03-10

Update 2023-11-30: Winner of the VIBE Sea Ghost 130 kayak raffle 2023-11-27.

Update 2023-11-20: The winning ticket will be drawn before we paddle on the Banks Lake Full Beaver Moon Paddle 2023-11-27.

This Vibe Sea Ghost 130 retails for $1,300, but Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson gave it to WWALS. He says he used it once.

It comes with paddle, seat, and rudder.

Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson, WWALS E.D. Gretchen Quarterman, Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman

The raffle drawing will be in November in time for holiday giving.

Tickets are $10 each or $50 for six:

You can also get tickets at any WWALS outing or event.

According to Continue reading →

Videos: Trash, Okefenokee, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting, WWALS Gala on Scott James radio 92.1.FM 2023-03-24

Update 2023-03-27: Correction: Pickleball courts to be on other side of Two Mile Branch from 2007-proposed detention pond 2023-03-07.

On the radio this morning, Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson and Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman talked trash, and many other subjects. See it for yourself in these WWALS videos.

Come to the Two Mile Branch Cleanup tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 8 AM.

Radio and Two Mile Branch 2023-03-24

Cleanups are necessary, but not enough. We discussed Valdosta’s history of publishing plans to deal with trash and then not doing anything. Valdosta Engineer Ben O’Dowd seems to have started some action, and more is needed.

Below are links to each WWALS video of each topic, some with a brief summary, followed by a WWALS video playlist. Continue reading →

Pictures: Jennings Bluff Florida State Geological Site with Dead River Sink 2023-03-17

Update 2023-05-01: Alapaha Swallets Dye Trace Project 2016-10-01.

A congenial time was had by all on a balmy north Florida day at the Dead River Sink (or swallet) as the Florida Geological Survey incorporated it into the new Jennings Bluff Tract State Geological Site.

Jennings Bluff State Geological Site and Dead River Sink 2023-03-17

The Dead River Sink in the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) Jennings Bluff Tract is one of the most popular spots for WWALS outings on the Alapaha River Water Trail.

Here is a WWALS video playlist by Gretchen Quarterman, who also took the still pictures except where otherwise indicated:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKwQ5xfKf-QwFQi2rSRU59BUHPbSkTdVW

Continue reading →

Please stop a strip mine near the Okefenokee Swamp that threatens both Florida and Georgia –Waterkeepers Florida

Update 2023-03-20: All nine Riverkeepers of Georgia oppose the mining permit applications by Twin Pines Minerals too near the Okefenokee Swamp 2023-03-09
Also, you can still send a comment to TwinPines.Comment@dnr.ga.gov.

Waterkeepers Florida, representing all fifteen Waterkeepers of Florida, opposes a titanium dioxide strip mine too near the Okefenokee Swamp, in a letter to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp Friday. (PDF)

You can still comment to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division by 4:30 PM, Monday, March 20th, and ask Georgia legislators to pass bills protecting the Okefenokee Swamp, the Suwannee and St. Marys Rivers, and the Floridan Aquifer.

Support the Okefenokee Swamp, not a strip mine –Waterkeepers Florida 2023-03-17

March 17, 2023

Governor Brian Kemp
206 Washington Street
Suite 203 State Capitol
Atlanta, GA 30334
Delivered via email to: brian.kemp@georgia.gov

Re: Please stop a strip mine near the Okefenokee Swamp that threatens both Florida and Georgia

Dear Governor Kemp and staff,

In support of our fellow Waterkeepers’ missions to protect the St. Marys River and the Suwannee River, we, Members of Waterkeepers Florida, are again expressing serious concerns regarding the activities the proposed Twin Pines Minerals, LLC (TPM) application number SAS-2018-00554-SP-HAR will have on the Okefenokee Swamp, its river systems, and the Floridan Aquifer. Waterkeepers Florida is a regional entity composed of all 15 Waterkeeper organizations working in the State of Florida to protect and restore our water resources across over 50,000 square miles of watershed, which is home to over 15 million Floridians.

Continue reading →

WWALS Public Comments on Mining Land Use Plan of Twin Pines Minerals, LLC, too near the Okefenokee Swamp 2023-03-17

March 17, 2023

Land Protection Branch,
4244 International Parkway,
Atlanta Tradeport- Suite 104,
Atlanta, Georgia 30354

twinpines.comment@dnr.ga.gov

RE: WWALS Public Comments on Mining Land Use Plan of Twin Pines Minerals, LLC (PDF)

Dear EPD,

This letter recommends denying the permit applications by Twin Pines Minerals, LLC (TPM) to mine for titanium dioxide (TiO2) near the Okefenokee Swamp, based on specifics of the Mining Land Use Plan,1 as requested in the Notice of the Opportunity for Public Comment.2

Please deny the mining permits

Why this decision is important far away

First, we present some context for why this decision is important far away from the Okefenokee Swamp.

Any lowered water level or dewatering of the surface around the Swamp increases the risk of fires. The 2007 Bugaboo fire spread smoke west across the Suwannee River Basin, causing respiratory distress 80 miles away in Quitman, continuing 450 miles to Meridian, Mississippi. Southwards the smoke closed I-75 and went 370 miles to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. North it went 250 miles to Atlanta.

During the 2017 West Mims fire, Lowndes County Fire (along with Valdosta and its other cities, and nearby counties) sent assistance from 75 miles away. They were among 900 firefighters from across the country.3 “There’s nobody Continue reading →

Clean Rivers 2023-03-09

Update 2023-03-17: Clean Rivers 2023-03-16.

Update 2023-03-17: Tifton Evergreen Drive Sewage Spill 2023-03-11.

It rained this evening, but probably not enough to wash much contamination into the rivers, which were very clean before, according to WWALS water quality tests. So I would paddle, fish, or swim this weekend.

Actually, I’ll be at the Azalea Festival in Valdosta Saturday and Sunday.

Chart, Rivers, Swim Guide Map

No new sewage spills were reported in the past week. However, Tifton got around to reporting today a spill from a month ago. Continue reading →

Beyond cleanups: trash traps, ordinances, business permits, reusable substitutes, bottle deposits, and single-use packaging bans 2023-02-05

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

Update 2023-03-29: Trash still dribbling from 2695 N Ashley St into Two Mile Branch 2023-02-24.

Every Waterkeeper and many local and even state governments brag about trash cleanups. Cleanups need to be done, but actually they are the least effective way to deal with trash. They do not stop trash; they just remove it once it blows off roads or parking lots or floats downstream.

So let’s look up, to see more effective solutions.

Solid waste management hierarchy

Here WWALS has adapted an industry-standard waste management hierarchy diagram. We’ve gone farther than just cleaning up, containing, or even reusing the trash. Our diagram goes all the way up to stopping it being produced.

Let’s start at the pointy bottom of the pyramid. Continue reading →

SRWMD to acquire Camp & Abel Tract, Hamilton County, Suwannee River 2023-03-14

If I’m reading this correctly, SRWMD discussed maybe buying only one of two tracts, or maybe just getting a conservation easement, and then decided to buy both of these tracts on the Suwannee River in Hamilton County.

This is on the agenda for next Tuesday’s Board Meeting of the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD).

9 AM, Tuesday, March 14, 2023, at SRWMD HQ, 9225 Co Rd 49, Live Oak, FL 32060.

GoTo Webinar Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2418452120888926044

Public Comment Form Link: www.MySuwanneeRiver.com/Comments

Camp & Abel 1 & 2

The tracts are rather far apart, Tract 1 being upstream from FL 6 across from Columbia County, and Tract 2 being downstream from Woods Ferry River Camp, which is across the river in Suwannee County.

Also on the agenda is an agreement with the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) for above-ground and underground water laboratory analysis.

I didn’t see anything interesting in the Continue reading →

Jennings Bluff State Geological Site 2023-03-17

Update 2023-03-23: Pictures: Jennings Bluff Florida State Geological Site with Dead River Sink 2023-03-17.

Update 2023-03-16: Partly cloudy and 62 degrees at Jennings at 10 AM, is the current prediction for tomorrow. See you at Jennings Bluff.

One of the most popular WWALS destinations is becoming a Florida State Geological Site.

Dead River Sink 2022-10-02, Jennings Bluff Tract, Hamilton County, Florida

We last did a WWALS hike to the Dead River Sink on October 2, 2022, after paddling down the Alapaha River in the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT).

Celebrate Designation of Jennings Bluff Tract as a State Geological Site,

~Short walk to Dead River Swallet will follow ceremony~
Continue reading →

Clean Rivers 2023-03-02

Update 2023-03-10: Clean Rivers 2023-03-09.

Happy boating, swimming, and fishing this weekend!

That’s what all the recent water quality testing data says. There’s been no rain lately, other than a few scattered showers today, so nothing should have washed into the rivers.

Come on down to Troupville Boat Ramp tomorrow for the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle!

No new sewage spills have been reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia or Florida since the last of Valdosta’s five February spills totalling almost a million gallons.

Chart, River, Swim Guide Map 2023-03-02

Thanks to Continue reading →

WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) is Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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