Tag Archives: Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

NextEra Application: Mitchell Energy Center, Fueled by Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline, Air Quality Permit –GA-EPD 2026-09-16

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Update 2026-10-09: GA-EPD also supplied even more files, which are available here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1MdV3-UXUeKldsPzmhLdlJi8TG6KL6HXH

Not just inference any more: NextEra applied for the Air Quality Permit for Mitchell Energy Center, and the application names Sabal Trail as the source of its natural gas (NG) fuel.

All the application materials received from GA-EPD in response to an open records request are on the WWALS website.

https://wwals.net/pictures/2026-09-16-nextera-mitchell-energy-center-air-permit-application–ga-epd

Sabal Trail’s Honeysuckle Road Pipeline Facility is only about 1.5 miles from the center of NextEra’s Hatcher Hill Road Mitchell Energy Center. Landowners in between best be watching out for eminent domain threats.

Air quality effects can extend through the entire Suwannee River Basin, including the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, as well as into north Florida past Tallahassee and Jacksonville, as far west as the Chattahoochee River and Alabama, and as far east as the St. Marys, Satilla, and Altamaha Rivers.

Expect this Sabal Trail power plant model to be followed in Florida, most likely at Dunnellon.

I still have not heard any potential excuse for an entire new fracked methane pipeline other than for power plants such as this one to power hyper-scale AI datacenters, such as those proposed in Lowndes and Irwin Counties, Georgia.

[NextEra Application, Mitchell Energy Center, Fueled by Sabal Trail fracked methane Pipeline, Air Quality Permit --GA-EPD 2026-09-17]
NextEra Application, Mitchell Energy Center, Fueled by Sabal Trail fracked methane Pipeline, Air Quality Permit –GA-EPD 2026-09-17

Here’s a NextEra map of potential wide range air quality effects: Continue reading →

Pictures: Okefenokee Paddle to Minnie’s Lake, Suwannee River 2026-09-07

That was a fun paddle to Minnies Lake.

Easy, except a bit warm the last bit of the return. Where we saw a Little Blue Heron, two of them, actually.

Yes, there were gators, although not very many. With the water up, maybe they were spread out.

[Okefenokee Paddle to Minnie's Lake 2026-09-07, Suwannee River, Okefenokee State Park]
Okefenokee Paddle to Minnie’s Lake 2026-09-07, Suwannee River, Okefenokee State Park

Here are some video snippets.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/4721005974834294/

https://www.instagram.com/p/DdMCChFoO97/

https://youtu.be/MaAC1aFmgC8

Thanks to Shirley Kokidko for leading this 8 mile round trip wilderness paddle on one of the most scenic canoe trails in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

See also facebook album by Gretchen Quarterman, and probably others.

We put in at Okefenokee State Park Ramp, formerly known as Stephen C. Foster State Park Ramp, 17515 GA-177, Fargo, GA 31631. From Fargo, travel south on US 441 to CR 177; turn left and travel to Okefenokee State Park, in Charlton County.

For more Continue reading →

Okefenokee Paddle to Minnie’s Lake, Suwannee River 2026-09-07

This is an 8 mile round trip wilderness paddle on one of the most scenic canoe trails in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

We’ll be paddling 4 miles against the current to get to the platform at Minnie’s Lake. Have a rope for your boat to tie off at the platform. We’ll take a lunch break and then paddle back with the current. There will be plenty of birds and alligators to see.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 9:30 AM, end 2:30 PM, Monday, September 7, 2026

Put In: Okefenokee State Park Ramp, formerly known as Stephen C. Foster State Park Ramp, 17515 GA-177, Fargo, GA 31631. From Fargo, travel south on US 441 to CR 177; turn left and travel to Okefenokee State Park, in Charlton County.
Paddlers usually put in down the access road from the ramp, at the west entrance to the one-of-a-kind Okefenokee Swamp.

GPS: 30.826833, -82.361333

[Okefenokee Paddle, to Minnies Lake, Suwannee River, 2026-09-07]
Okefenokee Paddle, to Minnies Lake, Suwannee River, 2026-09-07

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New UNESCO World Heritage Site: Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge 2026-07-25

After more than four decades of application since 1982, on Saturday, July 25, 2026, the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

[New UNESCO World Heritage Site, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, along with Mount Olympus, July 25, 2026]
New UNESCO World Heritage Site, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, along with Mount Olympus, July 25, 2026

The Okefenokee has literally joined Mount Olympus among such sites, also inscribed this year.

Sites inscribed in previous years include the Everglades, the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty, and San Antonio Missions, which include the Alamo.

I’m sure we’ll hear the usual unsubstantiated complaints about Chinese control off the U.S., but if Texas isn’t worried about the Alamo being a World Heritage site, why should Georgia be worried about the Okefenokee joining that list?

Here is what the inscription says, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO, CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0.

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

The property, located in southeastern Georgia and northeastern Florida, protects the Okefenokee Swamp, the largest lowland freshwater peatland in the subtropical zone worldwide and one of the largest and most intact ecosystems within the North American Coastal Plain global biodiversity hotspot. The property comprises a diverse mosaic of wetlands, savannas, and forests shaped by the ongoing interaction of water, fire, vegetation, and wildlife, with alternating fire and rainfall processes driving peat formation, vegetation structure, and biodiversity. The site also contains significant areas of endangered Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) savanna, of which less than 3% remains, supporting high concentrations of plant species endemic to the region. Its extensive peat deposits provide an important archive of palaeo-environmental history and critical carbon storage. The property supports exceptional biodiversity, including at least 856 plant species, 48 mammal species, 238 bird species, 39 fish species, and 90 reptile and amphibian species, and provides important habitat for migratory birds, threatened species, and a significant population of American alligators.

Continue reading →

Tupelo Blossom Paddle, Suwannee River Sill Ramp, 2026-04-18

Tupelo trees are blooming in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge so let’s paddle the tupelo lined Suwannee River from the Sill to Griffis Fish Camp.

The river is very low and slow so we’ll take our time on this beautiful wilderness trail. There could be some dragging where the water is too low but there should be enough water to float our boats.

Honey bees are very attracted to the blooms, anybody with bee allergies need to be aware.

When: Gather 9:30 AM, launch 10:30 AM, end 1 PM, Saturday, April 18, 2026

Put In: Suwannee River Sill Ramp, From Fargo, travel south on US 441 to GA 177; turn left and travel towards Stephen C. Foster State Park. Go 11.2 miles and turn left on Suwannee River Sill.

GPS: 30.803978,, -82.418692

[Tupelo Blossom Paddle, Suwannee River Sill Ramp 2026-04-18, to Griffis Fish Camp, Low water but doable]
Tupelo Blossom Paddle, Suwannee River Sill Ramp 2026-04-18, to Griffis Fish Camp, Low water but doable

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Suwannee River Sill and Mixons Hammock –Shirley Kokidko 2025-11-26

Here’s what the second and third gates in the Suwannee River Sill looked like a week after Shirley Kokidko’s Low water at the first gate, Suwannee River Sill, Okefenokee Swamp 2025-11-20. Plus a gator ambling down to the river, and Mixon’s Hammock, upstream towards Stephen C. Foster State Park.

[Suwannee River Sill, Okefenokee Swamp --Shirley Kokidko, Alligator, Second and Third Gates, and Mixons Hammock 2025-11-26]
Suwannee River Sill, Okefenokee Swamp –Shirley Kokidko, Alligator, Second and Third Gates, and Mixons Hammock 2025-11-26

Here are a few videos:

Remember, despite the Florida myth, the gates in the Suwannee River Sill are always open, since about 2001.

The third gate isn’t even a gate: it’s just a breach in that 4.5-mile earthen dam, so the North Fork of the Suwannee River can get through. The Sill was meant to keep water levels up in the Swamp to prevent wildfires, but it did not succeed. Also, it turns out wildfires are necessary for the Swamp’s vegetation to regenerate itself. So after a study starting in 1998 and a two-year trial period, the gates have always been open.

The current low water in the Swamp and in the Suwannee River is because we’re in a drought.

It rained a bit the last day or so, and more is predicted. But so far that has made almost no difference in the level of the Suwannee River at Fargo, GA.

Other rivers in the Suwannee River Basin also show almost no change. See Current River and Lake Levels by Florida’s Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD).
http://www.mysuwanneeriver.org/realtime/river-levels.php

There is a gauge at the Sill, but Continue reading →

Where does southwest Waycross drain? 2025-11-23

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Suwannee River Basin starts in Waycross, Georgia, around a line south down Gibbs Street, east on Walker Road, south on Gilmore Street, south down Swamp Road, then east along Washington Drive.

[Where does southwest Waycross drain? Through Lees Branch, into Middle Fork, Suwannee River]
Where does southwest Waycross drain? Through Lees Branch, into Middle Fork, Suwannee River

But what about the drainage canal you can see running southwest from Brunel Street across Gibbs Street?

Looks to me like that goes into the Suwannee River Basin.

People who live in Waycross, tell me if I got this right.

[Map: SW from Brunel Street --SRWT 2025-11-23]
Map: SW from Brunel Street on the WWALS map of the Suwannee River Water Trail (SRWT).

North across Washington Street, there is a network of ditches that drains into Caney Branch into the Satilla River. Continue reading →

Low water at the first gate, Suwannee River Sill, Okefenokee Swamp 2025-11-20

Looks like you could paddle through the Suwannee River Sill, but it’s not clear how far you would get through the Narrows below Stephen C. Foster State Park Ramp before you got to the Sill.

[Low water, first gate, Suwannee River Sill, Okefenokee Swamp, Thursday, November 20, 2025]
Low water, first gate, Suwannee River Sill, Okefenokee Swamp, Thursday, November 20, 2025

Yesterday Shirley Kokidko checked on water levels in the Suwannee River in the Okefenokee Swamp. She says there is enough water to paddle to Billys Island or Minnies Lake.

Until we get some rain to break this drought, paddling from SCFSP to Griffis Fish Camp will be doubtful.

Here is a video Shirley sent from the First Gate at the Suwannee River Sill, the 4.5-mile-long earthen dam that was supposed to keep water levels up in the Okefenokee Swamp to prevent fires, but did not work.

https://www.facebook.com/Wwalswatershed/videos/854041060433085

https://youtu.be/xrNMTGZtws0 Continue reading →

Open the Okefenokee Gates 2025-11-15

Update 2025-11-21: Low water at the first gate, Suwannee River Sill, Okefenokee Swamp 2025-11-20.

Actually, the Suwannee River Sill Gates are always open.

This was a facebook comment yesterday, “Open the dam in the swamp.”

It was on this WWALS facebook post: Very low water, Fargo Ramp, Suwannee River 2025-11-12 Video by Shirley Kokidko for WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS):
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1946665392780126

See also:
https://www.facebook.com/Wwalswatershed/posts/pfbid02p1mXs1UZK6ZhGQe4BeEdAa54E1Ws2Dk5AQmKmRsbqKPc3ATi6SxVyZjXL1U54dHRl
https://wwals.net/?p=68851

I’ve also heard from otherwise very knowledgeable Floridians: “When there are big rains, Georgia opens the Okefenokee gates and floods Florida!”

Nope, that doesn’t happen, either.

[Open the Okefenokee Gates, Suwannee River Sill, Actually always open, Since around 2000]
Open the Okefenokee Gates, Suwannee River Sill, Actually always open, Since around 2000

The Sill itself was an experiment in fire prevention that did not work, and also turned out to be a bad idea, because the Okefenokee Swamp needs fire to regenerate itself.

Here’s video and pictures of the Second and First Gates through the Suwannee River Sill, December 9, 2025 2023 [date corrected]
https://youtube.com/shorts/8LA_PLDqXA0 Continue reading →

Videos: Okefenokee Swamp by Veronica Kelley-Summers, a WWALS Webinar by Zoom, 2025-09-11

Veronica Kelly-Summers, a dedicated Visitor Services Manager with Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, talked about the Okefenokee Swamp, its history, significance, places to go, things to do, and what’s next, in this largest and best-preserved freshwater wetland in the U.S.

The Swamp is the headwaters of two rivers: the St. Marys that forms the border between Georgia and Florida, and the Suwannee, which flows through Georgia and the Florida state song.

[Okefenokee Swamp by Veronica Kelley-Summers, a WWALS Webinar by Zoom, 2025-09-11]
Okefenokee Swamp by Veronica Kelley-Summers, a WWALS Webinar by Zoom, 2025-09-11

Here is the WWALS video of Veronica’s webinar, from noon-1 PM, Thursday, September 11, 2025:
https://youtu.be/pvLU8wPLsZc

The WWALS campout at Floyd’s Island in the middle of the Okefenokee Swamp has unfortunately been cancelled due to low water. So you can watch Veronica’s presentation instead.

WWALS Board Member Janet Martin gave a brief introduction. In questions and answers at the end, Veronica elaborated on what it means for the Okefenokee NWR to become a World Heritage Site: more visibility, more visitors, but no additional federal funding.

Veronica Kelly-Summers is a dedicated Visitor Services Manager with over 15 years of experience in protecting natural resources and connecting people with nature. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in forestry from Southern Illinois University with a focus on forest recreation and wildlife habitat management. Her career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has taken her to eight national wildlife refuges from the woods and swamps of southern Illinois to the Loess Bluffs of Iowa and Missouri, the Florida Everglades, and she’s now stationed at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia. She works closely with staff and partners to provide leadership and strategic direction for the Visitor Services program including managing visitor facilities and recreational opportunities for camping, boating, interpretation, environmental education, special events, outreach, hunting, fishing, managing volunteers, and much more. When not at work, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Jacob, and their pets, a yellow lab named Charlie and a spicy tuxedo cat named Tino.

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