Rachael Thompson of Satilla Riverkeeper invited WWALS to
Pioneer Day at the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge near Folkston, Georgia.
Rachael showed children how watersheds work.
They played the WWALS froggy toss game.
Endangered species puppets paraded.
Houdini the rat snake was a hit.
And there were gators.
More pictures below. Continue reading
Cane syrup boiling, mule grinder, endangereed species puppetry, and more at the Okefenokee Pioneer Day Festival. With the froggie toss game, WWALS will be on the east side of the Okefenokee Swamp Saturday November 19th 2016, travelling out of WWALS territory to visit our good neighbor to the east, Satilla Riverkeeper.
When: 9AM – 3PM, Saturday, November 19th 2016
Where:
Richard S. Bolt Visitor Center
Suwannee Canal Recreation Area (East Entrance)
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
30.73870100, -82.14000600
Directions: Continue reading
Update 2017-02-05 Pictures.
You can join WWALS for a fall Saturday paddle on the Suwannee River in
the Okefenokee swamp.
Bring a boat, PFD, and paddle, or you can rent those at the park.
When: 10AM Saturday December 10th 2016
Where: Georgia’s Stephen C. Foster State Park near Fargo, GA
What: Paddle from Billy’s Lake down through the River Narrows to the Suwannee River Sill.
Distance: About 7 miles in about 4 hours Continue reading
The idea is to stop wildfires coming out of the Okefenokee Swamp as they encounter a one-mile buffer
of longleaf pine that has already had regular prescribed burns,
according to Hunter Bowman, who sent this map of where the
Okefenokee-Osceola Local Implementation Team works.
I live 60 miles west of that new buffer, yet I remember vividly the smoke from the 2007 fires, which even put people in the hospital farther west in Quitman, GA. All that smoke, not to mention runoff from the burned area, can’t be good for our waters.
A large image of the map is below, and PDF is on the WWALS website. As you can see, the Suwannee River above Fargo is entirely within the subject area, Continue reading
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service PR of 11 February 2015,
New Partnership Announced for Concession Operation at Banks Lake NWR
Folkston, GA… Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is proud to announce the ground-breaking partnership that will aid in the operation and visitor services of the Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Lakeland, GA. An unstaffed refuge, Banks Lake is administered by Okefenokee, nearly 120 miles away, making work at this remote refuge often difficult. Refuge staff will now be working with Lanier County to aid in the concession operation and visitor services offered at Banks Lake. “I am excited Lanier County has the opportunity for this partnership with the Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge and the Lakeland-Lanier Chamber” said Alex Lee, Lanier County Board of Commissioners Chairman. “Our board is ready to make this happen.”
Continue reading