Tag Archives: river

Banks Lake Full Cold Moon Paddle, 2019-12-12

Leisurely sunset paddle and watch the full moon rise over the lake.

You must have a light for your boat or some type of light to have on yourself (glow sticks work well, or head lamp, flashlight, etc.) so other boaters can see you in the dark. It will be totally dark after sunset.

Banks Lake is part of the WWALS Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT).

When: Gather 4:30 PM, launch 5:00 PM, Sunset 5:32 PM, Moonrise 6:10 PM, Thursday, December 12, 2019

Put In: Banks Lake Boat Ramp, 307 Georgia 122, Lakeland, GA 31635.

GPS: 31.034824, -83.096725

Take Out: Banks Lake Boat Ramp

Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup.

Boats: are available from Banks Lake Outdoors if you reserve in advance, and they may be free rental.

Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!

Event: facebook, meetup

[Luna paddler]
Luna paddler. Photo: John S. Quarterman, Banks Lake, 2019-05-18.

Continue reading →

Waterkeepers Florida passes resolution against titanium mine application near Okefenokee Swamp

Waterkeepers Florida asks the Army Corps to require Twin Pines Minerals to supply all the information missing from its application for a titanium mine near the Okefenokee Swamp, to prepare a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), to hold Public Hearings, including in Florida, and “to answer how the Corps has or will determine that the Applicant’s proposed mine would not adversely affect the Okefenokee Swamp, the St. Marys River, the Suwannee River, the Floridan Aquifer, or the State of Florida.”

You can also still comment to the Army Corps.

[TPM Equipment closeup, Wayne Morgan]
TPM Equipment closeup Photo: Wayne Morgan for Suwannee Riverkeeper on Southwings flight, pilot Allen Nodorft, 2019-10-05.

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Georgia Power proposes connection fee hike

Georgia Power is back with a proposed mandatory connection fee hike for everyone! This is after they tried a couple years ago to get a mandatory solar power connection fee, but Sierra Club fought that off with town halls around the state.

Bryan Jacob, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, 29 August 2019, Georgia Power Wants You to Pay More For Using Less Energy,

fee hike graphic

In June, Georgia Power submitted a proposal to charge its customers for an additional $2.2 billion. A very troubling part of Georgia Power’s proposal: they propose to nearly double the mandatory monthly fee (which is hidden on most bills), from the current $10/month to $17.95/month for residential customers.

Customers must pay this fee no matter how much or how little energy is actually used, paying at least Continue reading →

Ichetucknee and Santa Fe River New Year Outing 2020-01-04

Update 2020-11-02: Pictures from 2020-01-04.

Update 2020-01-11: Redo: Ichetucknee and Sante Fe River Paddle 2020-01-20.

Leisurely paddle on two of the newest additions to WWALS and Suwannee Riverkeeper: the Ichetucknee and Santa Fe Rivers. We will also paddle past the notorious Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 10:30 AM, Saturday, January 4, 2020

Put In: Ichetucknee S.P. North Entrance, 8294 SW Elim Church Rd, Fort White, FL 32038.

GPS: 29.9859, -82.7602

Take Out: Hwy 129 Boat Ramp, William Guy Lemmons Memorial Park Ramp @ 296th St. Ramp, From Branford, travel east on US 27; turn right on US 129; travel south to 296th Street; turn right and William Guy Lemmons Memorial Park is on the left, in Suwannee County. 29.912717, -82.860514

Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup.

Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!

Fee: There is a $5.00 $6.00 park fee.

Event: facebook, meetup

[384A3916]
Ichetucknee Confluence with Santa Fe River.
Photo: Beth Gammie for WWALS, Southwings Flight, November 23, 2016.

Continue reading →

Mining Ruined Family Field –Charles F. Arwood, 2019-10-23

Another letter in the Charlton County Herald, October 23, 2019, same issue as the letter posted previously. You can send your own letter to the editor or comment to the Army Corps or GA-EPD.

[Lawtey, FL, Highland Mine, Chemours]
Lawtey, FL, Highland Mine, Chemours, google earth.

Mining Ruined Family Field

Dear Editor,

Let me start out by saying that I have not been a part of any protests that have been going on. I don’t think anyone can foresee if the proposed strip mining will actually harm the swamp. We probably won’t know until many years have passed. Only time will truly tell.

However, I can say that the strip mining by Dupont in Bradford County did do a lot of harm to my Grandfather’s strawberry farm! My Grandfather owned a farm that joined Dupont’s Continue reading →

Winners: WWALS Boomerang 2019-10-26

Update 2019-11-13: Pictures of the Final Finishers.

FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

Hahira, Georgia, October 30, 2019 — Twice the paddlers this year participated in the Second Annual WWALS Boomerang Paddle Race into Florida and back to Georgia. That’s two dozen paddlers and about fifty people last Saturday at State Line Boat Ramp on the Withlacoochee River.

[Winner: russell-mcbride-crop]
Winner: Russell McBride

“Paddlers from 3 to 69 years old included five parent-child tandems, and three solo children. All were led by overall winner and first male paddler Russell McBride, of Quitman, Brooks County, Georgia, in a solo kayak, and first female paddler Jennifer James of Waldo, Alachua County, Florida, on a stand up paddle board,” reported Boomerang mastermind Bobby McKenzie.

[MVI_1263-russell-mcbride-old-bridge-closeup] [MVI_1263-jennifer-james]

Winning in categories were Continue reading →

Chesser Island Road Landfill 2019-10-05

Seen from the east edge of the Okefenokee Swamp, Waste Management’s Chesser Island Road Landfill.

[Closeup, Landfill, Chesser Island Road, 30.692743, -82.076377]
Closeup, Landfill, Chesser Island Road, 30.6927430, -82.0763770
Photo: John S. Quarterman for WWALS on Southwings flight, pilot Allen Nodorft, 2019-10-05.

This landfill is off of GA 23 south of Folkston, GA, in Charlton County, and is well known for accepting Continue reading →

Twin Pines: no keys to the Okefenokee –Christian Hunt 2019-10-23

Excellent letter in the Charlton County Herald, October 23, 2019. You can send your own letter to the editor or comment to the Army Corps or GA-EPD.

Twin Pines should not be given the keys to the Okefenokee

Dear Editor,

Since announcing plans to strip mine along the Trail Ridge adjacent to Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Twin Pines Minerals has held multiple hearings and meetings with political figures and the people of Charlton County to make their case and ostensibly calm fears about the miners environmental impact. Unfortunately, the company continues to display a lack of transparency and misrepresent both the nature and scale of the proposed mine, as well the costs of mining next to the swamp.

To truly understand what is at stake, here are the facts.

[Hunt]

First, Twin Pines has repeatedly claimed that operations will only Continue reading →

Pictures: WWALS Boomerang 2019-10-26

Update 219-10-30: The winners.

We’ll announce the winners soon. Meanwhile, here are some pictures of the Second Annual WWALS Boomerang.

[Around the bend, 30.63533, -83.30991]
Around the bend, 30.6353300, -83.3099100

Special thanks to Hamilton County, Florida, Commissioner Beth Burnam for welcoming all the paddlers to Florida. Continue reading →

Video: WWALS Boomerang on 94.3 FM Fox Radio Valdosta 8AM 2019-10-25

WWALS E.D. Gretchen Quarterman took video of herself and Spencer van Horn on 94.3 FM Fox Sports Radio Valdosta, this morning, talking about the Second Annual WWALS Boomerang paddle race, from Georgia to Florida and back again, coming up 11AM tomorrow (Saturday morning) at State Line Boat Ramp on the Withlacoochee River.

How to get tickets, and everything else about the WWALS Boomerang paddle race, from Georgia to Florida and back again, 11AM, tomorrow, Saturday, Octobber 26, 2019, at State Line Ramp on Madison Highway south of Valdosta:
wwals.net/pictures/2019-10-26–boomerang/
WWALS Boomerang facebook event, WWALS Boomerang meetup

Please come early so we can get on the water as soon after 11AM as possible, due to possible showers as the day wears on. Continue reading →