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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Discover all that Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge has to offer in our upcoming presentation focused on things to see and do around the 407,000-acre national wildlife refuge. From camping under the stars to paddling scenic water trails, the refuge is a haven for outdoor enthusiasts. Learn about wildlife watching ethics, areas for hiking and biking, guided boat tours, overnight excursions, hunting and fishing opportunities, and so much more. Whether you’re seeking outdoor adventure or a peaceful connection with nature, this presentation will showcase how Okefenokee has something for everyone.
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 name Tino.
Very good news today!
The coal miners from Alabama have been bought out,
ending mining on their specific property.
First, the thanks. Then the rest of the story.
Many thanks to The Conservation Fund for buying out Twin Pines Minerals, LLC (TPM),
and to the James M. Cox Foundation and the Holdfast Collective (Patagonia)
for helping fund that acquisition.
Thanks to everyone who helped,
and to everyone who has opposed this bad mining proposal since at least 2019.
But this land acquisition is not the end of the mining story.
There is much more we can do to protect the entire Okefenokee Swamp,
the blackwater rivers of south Georgia, and to pass a constitutional amendment for
Right to Clean Water, Air, and Soil.
Directly to the north of TPM’s parcels is much more land, Continue reading →
The Okefenokee Gateway Getaway was put on by Charlton, Clinch, and Ware Counties, whose leaders “collaboratively strive to harness the potential of our region’s crowning jewel – the Okefenokee Swamp and Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.”
It was apparently the first-ever collaborative venture of those three Georgia counties. Continue reading →
Cast-iron camping cooking is fun.
You can also use steel, aluminum, or whatever you like.
You don’t even have to cook: there will be plenty for everybody.
Plus a paddle from Stephen C. Foster State Park down the Suwannee River,
through the Sill, out of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge,
back to Griffis.
When: Set up camp 4 PM, Friday, December 5, 2025
Gather 8:30 AM, launch 9:30 AM, paddle from Stephen C. Foster SP back to Griffis, Saturday, December 6, 2025
Wake up and leave when ready, Sunday, December 7, 2025
Camp At:Griffis Fish Camp, 10333 Ga Highway 177 Fargo, Georgia 31631. From Fargo, travel south on US 441 to CR 177; turn left and travel 10 miles northeast; Griffis Fish Camp is on left, in Clinch County.
We’ll have a fire Friday and Saturday nights so please bring a bundle of firewood if you can.
Especially important for the cooks that know how to campfire cook and need plenty of coals on Saturday.
Firewood has gotten pricey so if everybody pitches in it works out great.
Bring your own plates/bowls/utensils/drinks to help reduce waste.
Put In:Stephen C. Foster State Park Boat Ramp, 17515 GA-177, Fargo, GA 31631. From Fargo, travel south on US 441 to CR 177; turn left and travel to Stephen C. Foster State Park, in Charlton County.
Paddlers usually put in down the access road from the ramp.
![[Tupelo Blossom Paddle, Suwannee River Sill Ramp 2026-04-18, to Griffis Fish Camp, Low water but doable]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2026-04-18--tupelo-blossom-paddle/fbmany.jpg)
![[Suwannee River Sill, Okefenokee Swamp --Shirley Kokidko, Alligator, Second and Third Gates, and Mixons Hammock 2025-11-26]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-26--sill-mixons-hammock/fbmany.jpg)
![[Where does southwest Waycross drain? Through Lees Branch, into Middle Fork, Suwannee River]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-23--waycross-sw-drain/fbmany.jpg)
![[Map: SW from Brunel Street --SRWT 2025-11-23]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-23--waycross-sw-drain/2025-11-23--map-sw-from-brunel-st-srwt.jpg)
![[Low water, first gate, Suwannee River Sill, Okefenokee Swamp, Thursday, November 20, 2025]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-20--suwannee-sill-gate-1/fbmany.jpg)
![[Open the Okefenokee Gates, Suwannee River Sill, Actually always open, Since around 2000]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-15--open-the-okefenokee-gates/fbmany.jpg)
![[Okefenokee Swamp by Veronica Kelley-Summers, a WWALS Webinar by Zoom, 2025-09-11]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-09-11--okefenokee-swamp-webinar-video/fbmany.jpg)
![[Explore the Okefenokee NWR, Veronica Kelley-Summers, a WWALS Webinar by Zoom, Thursday, September 11, noon-1 PM]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-09-11--okefenokee-swamp-unique-headwaters/many.jpg)
![[Miners bought out near Okefenokee Swamp 2025-06-20, Twin Pines Minerals, by The Conservation Fund]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-06-20--okefenokee-land-deal-tpm-conservation-fund/fbmany.jpg)
![[Okefenokee Gateway Getaway, The Farm at Okefenokee, Next to Okefenokee NWR, October 26, 2023]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2023-10-26--okefenokee-gateway-getaway/many.jpg)
![[Campfire Cooking at Griffis Fish Camp 2025-12-05, Suwannee River paddle, Stephen C. Foster SP 2025-12-06]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-12-05-07--campfire-cooking-griffis-suwannee/fbmany.jpg)