Tag Archives: SRWT

Keep tugging on the not-to-mine end of the Okefenokee rope –Dink Nesmith 2023-01-25

Yes, why not this? “Why not have a rural development strike force that can laser in on the Charlton counties of Georgia? With enough bright minds, willpower and sufficient investment, oxygen can be pumped into the gasping communities that are—for the most part—on life support.”

That would be way better than a strip mine near the Okefenokee Swamp, the headwaters of the Suwannee and St Marys Rivers, above the Floridan Aquifer, from which we all drink.

Dink Nesmith, Georgia Recorder, January 25, 2023, Okefenokee tug-o-war is long way from over,

[Protest and Dragline]
Protest and Dragline

The opposing sides are not barefoot on Jekyll Island’s beach, but there’s a definite line drawn in the sand. Feet are dug in, and muscles are straining. On one side is an Alabama mining company and its fleet of high-powered lobbyists. Pulling the other way are millions of nature-loving Georgians who want to thwart Twin Pines Minerals from strip-mining near the Okefenokee Swamp.

This tug-o-war has been off and on for years. First it was Continue reading →

Rescheduled: Suwannee River Chainsaw Cleanup 2023-02-19

Update 2023-03-14: Again rescheduled: Suwannee River Chainsaw Cleanup 2023-06-10.

Update 2023-02-15: Rescheduled: Suwannee River Chainsaw Cleanup 2023-03-19.

Rescheduled due to cold weather, water level, and other reasons: the return of Suwannee River Chainsaw Cleanup!

You do not have to use a saw to join us as we clear three or four more deadfalls on the last five Suwannee River miles down to Fargo.

[Sawing --Shirley Kokidko 2022-12-29]
Sawing –Shirley Kokidko 2022-12-29

Thanks to Adam Schock of the Conservation Fund for permission to use Three Steps Landing. That will make this one a lot easier than last time.

When: Gather 10 AM, launch 11 AM, end 4 PM, Sunday, February 19, 2023

Put In: Three Steps Landing. Meet at Fargo Ramp and we’ll sort out the shuttle.

Take Out: Fargo Ramp, Half a mile southeast of Fargo on US 441, the boat ramp is on the northeast side of US 441 and on the west (right bank) of the Suwannee River, in Clinch County, Georgia. Continue reading →

Limit water withdrawals, strip mine near Okefenokee Swamp, Valdosta trash –WWALS to NCFRPC 2023-01-26

The meeting is 7PM tonight in Lake City, with remote participation options; see:
https://wwals.net/?p=60792

January 26, 2023

To: Scott Koons, E.D., North Central Florida Regional Planning Council

Re: Limit water withdrawals, strip mine near Okefenokee Swamp, Valdosta trash

Dear NCFRPC,

Thank you for the opportunity for public input.

I would like to bring to the attention of the Council three issues:

[Three topics for NCFRPC from WWALS 2023-01-26]
Three topics for NCFRPC from WWALS 2023-01-26

  1. Deadline January 31st for public comment on the North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan (NFRWSP), Continue reading →

Agenda: North Central Florida Regional Planning Council 2023-01-26

Update 2023-01-26: Limit water withdrawals, strip mine near Okefenokee Swamp, Valdosta trash –WWALS to NCFRPC 2023-01-26.

Tonight I will ask them to take up Valdosta trash as an issue like they previously successfully took up Valdosta sewage.

I will ask them to oppose the proposed titanium strip mine and to support the Okefenokee Swamp, the Suwannee and St. Marys Rivers, and the Floridan Aquifer.

And I will ask them to ask SRWMD and SJRWMD to add a water budget and constraints on water withdrawals to the North Florida Regional Water Supply Plan (NFRWSP).

[When and Where NCFRPC 2023-01-26]
When and Where NCFRPC 2023-01-26

Now I am composing a letter to send them before the meeting. Continue reading →

Suwannee River Chainsaw Cleanup Again, 2023-01-28

Update 2023-03-14: Again rescheduled: Suwannee River Chainsaw Cleanup 2023-06-10.

Update 2023-02-15: Rescheduled: Suwannee River Chainsaw Cleanup 2023-03-19.

Update 2023-01-27: Rescheduled: Suwannee River Chainsaw Cleanup 2023-02-19.

You do not have to use a saw to join us as we clear three or four more deadfalls on the last five Suwannee River miles down to Fargo.

[Chainsaw in canoe --Shirley Kokidko 2022-12-29]
Chainsaw in canoe –Shirley Kokidko 2022-12-29

Thanks to Adam Schock of the Conservation Fund for permission to use Three Steps Landing. That will make this one a lot easier than last time.

When: Gather 9 AM, launch 10 AM, end 4 PM, Saturday, January 28, 2023 Continue reading →

Pictures: Griffis to Fargo, Suwannee River 2022-12-29

Update 2023-01-12: Suwannee River Chainsaw Cleanup Again 2023-01-28.

This chainsaw cleanup finished well before dark, Suwannee River, Griffis to Fargo 2022-12-29. Thanks, TJ Johnson for leading it, and Shirley Kokidko for getting the wettest.

[Griffis, Deadfall, Gauge, Fargo 2022-12-29]
Griffis, Deadfall, Gauge, Fargo 2022-12-29

The Fargo gauge was about 2.47 feet (93.07′ NAVD88) and the Above Fargo gauge was about 4.93′ (95.93′ NAVD88).

We found one deadfall already cut and we cut another one.

We found three more: one to duck and float under, one to drag under to the left, and one requiring portage. We shall return.

We saw the mysteriously-placed Suwannee River above Fargo Gauge. The GOPRO360 photographed three creeks: Jones (or Tatum) Creek, Sweetwater Creek, and Alligator Creek, or at least those look like creek mouths more or less where USGS thinks they are.

We saw a new-to-us private landing and got pictures of it and the six others between Griffis Fish Camp and Fargo Ramp.

Also the closed bats-in-the-belfry Suwannee River Visitor Center at Fargo. Continue reading →

Budget and Bats: Suwannee River Visitor Center

Regarding when and why the Suwannee River Visitor Center closed, I went to an authoritative source, Bryan Gray, Manager, Stephen Foster State Park (SFSP).

[Ramp (south) end, Suwannee River Visitor Center, 08:25:45, 30.6823112, -82.5600485]
Ramp (south) end, Suwannee River Visitor Center, 08:25:45, https://www.google.com/maps/@30.6823112,-82.5600485,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0

He says it started with budgeting after the recession. Georgia State Parks had to operate more like businesses.

He started at SFSP in 2011, and the Visitor Center closed not long after that.

They tried to operate it in different capacities, such as Continue reading →

Suwannee River Visitor Center 2022-12-29

Update 2023-01-02: Budget and Bats: Suwannee River Visitor Center.

Somebody asked, what is that big building next to the Suwannee River at Fargo, and why is it closed?

[Front, Suwannee River Visitor Center, 08:22:40, 30.6822910, -82.5606494]
Front, Suwannee River Visitor Center, 08:22:40, 30.6822910,-82.5606494

The Suwannee River Visitor Center opened in 2004, before the nearby Eco-Lodge. Both are part of Stephen C. Foster State Park.

It was a showcase for the wildlife, composition, and history of the Suwannee River, as well as an example green building. But it has been closed since at February 2015 or earlier. Here is what I could find about it.

Ashley Harper, WALB TV, June 15, 2004, Tourist attraction brings life to Fargo, Continue reading →

Chainsaw Cleanup, Suwannee River, Griffis to Fargo 2022-12-29

Update 2023-01-04: Pictures: Griffis to Fargo, Suwannee River 2022-12-29.

Come help chainsaw some deadfalls on a longish Suwannee River paddle.

You do not have to actually use a chainsaw, but if you’ve got one and know how to use it in a boat, bring it along.

The days are short, so be at Fargo Ramp by 8AM, so we can do a reverse shuttle, carrying the boats up to Griffis Fish Camp. The weather prediction is sunny and warm: low 51, high 71.

When: Gather 8 AM, launch 8:30 AM, end 4:30 PM, Thursday, December 29, 2022

Put In: Griffis Fish Camp

Take Out: Fargo Ramp

GPS: 30.681833, -82.560167

Free: This outing is free to everyone because it is a cleanup.
However, bring $2 in cash for the put-in fee at Griffis Fish Camp.

We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations

[Map: Griffis Fish Camp to Fargo Ramp in WWALS SRWT]
Map: Griffis Fish Camp to Fargo Ramp in the WWALS map of the Suwannee River Water Trail (SRWT)

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. And a chainsaw, if you have one and know how to use it.

Boats: bring your own if you have it.
If you need a boat, Continue reading →

Alligator, Church, Peoples Bridge, Suwannee River –Ken Sulak 1880-07-13

Ken Sulak has more about Peoples Bridge on the Suwannee River, including the church the bridge was built for, and when an alligator ate a man in 1880.

Apparently this was a little-known peril of deer hunting. Of course, alligator attacks on humans are very rare: that’s why this one was news.

[Alligator story, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Peoples Bridge]
Alligator story, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Peoples Bridge

I have contacted the Oak Grove Baptist Church, still in existence continuously from the 1870s. The contact person knew nothing about the long gone People’s Bridge 1.2 mi due West from the church. She referred my inquiry to the pastor, unfortunately very new and from up north. So, he knows nothing about the old history. I was hoping the church maintained an archive, or a birth-death-burial log, or an annotated master bible. No luck on that so far.

Continue reading →