Tag Archives: Suwannee Riverkeeper

Pictures: Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, Withlacoochee River 2024-03-02

The weather held off and 42 paddlers had a good time on the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle from Langdale Park Boat Ramp down the Withlacoochee River, around the Little River Confluence, and up to Troupville Boat Ramp. Only a few people fell in, and they were good sports. The City Manager needs a bigger boat.

[Mayor and Chairman's Paddle, Withlacoochee River, 2024-03-02]
Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, Withlacoochee River, 2024-03-02

Those who got out after three miles at Sugar Creek got to see the WaterGoat trash trap purchased by the City of Valdosta and cleaned out by volunteer Russell Allen McBride and family, which keeps much trash out of the river.

The remaining four miles went under the Norfolk Southern Railroad Bridge, past Wood Valley Subdivision and Sheri Run, and the I-75 and GA 133 highway bridges. Many deadfalls (fallen dead trees) previously sawed out of the way by numerous WWALS Chainsaw Cleanups were visible. Outings leader Phil Hubbard sawed through a remaining deadfall during the paddle.

Paddlers saw all the river frontage of the land recently purchased by Lowndes County for Troupville River Camp and Nature Park. Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman used the jon boat with 9.9hp outboard paid for by a grant from Wild Green Future (WGF) to saw several deadfalls off the Withlacoochee River. Then he towed five paddlers and five boats from the Confluence to Troupville Boat Ramp, including Outing Sweep Phil Royce towing City Manager Richard Hardy’s to-small bad-seat boat. The City Manager walked from the Confluence to the boat ramp.

Thanks to Phil Hubbard for leading this outing, and Phil Royce and Russell Allen McBride for being sweep.

Thanks to them and Gretchen Quarterman and others for helping people over rough spots and to Gretchen for making sure everybody was signed in on the WWALS insurance waiver.

Thanks to Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson and Lowndes County Commission Chairman Bill Slaughter and their staffs.

Thanks to Joe Brownlee and Georgia Power for the grant that kept entry for paddlers free and paid for the Port-A-Potties.

Thanks to the Boys & Girls Club for the shuttle van.

Thanks to VSU CORE for bringing boats and student paddlers.

Thanks to everyone who helped on the numerous chainsaw cleanups, including Bobby McKenzie, Shawn O’Connor, Russell Allen McBride, Phil Royce from Live Oak, Florida, Gary Koch from Ocala, Florida, and especially Phil Hubbard.

Plus anybody else I have forgotten to mention.

I would mention everybody who has been involved in improving the trash and sewage situations, but this post would be very long.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

Continue reading →

A 19th-century navigable definition does not work for 21st-century river economies

Update 2024-07-26: Help keep paddle access to Georgia rivers 2024-07-22.

We never had bales of cotton boated down the Withlacoochee River, because there are too many shoals.

[19th-century navigable definition; 21st-century river economy]
19th-century navigable definition; 21st-century river economy

But we do get fishing both from the shore and in paddle and power boats up and down our rivers, and for other recreation, There are massive investments by nearby cities and counties and other organizations in cleaning up the rivers for those purposes.

The state of Georgia needs to revise its 19th-century definition of navigability and passage to match the 21st-century present.

The antique 19th-century definition

The Georgia 1863 definition says a navigable stream “is capable of transporting boats loaded with freight in the regular course of trade either for the whole or a part of the year.” See Georgia Navigability Report, 3rd Edition and O.C.G.A. 44-8-5 (2010)

Some people once tried boating down the Withlacoochee River to the Suwannee to establish commerce. They sold the remains of the boat and returned to the former Lowndes County seat of Troupville, at the Little River Confluence with the Withlacoochee River. Atlanta Constitution, January 29, 1889, Continue reading →

Huge win for Waterkeepers: Court stops FDEP assumption of water permitting, and countersuit 2024-02-15

In a rare huge win for conservationists, on February 15, 2024, St. Johns Riverkeeper, Miami Waterkeeper, and co-plaintiffs won their case to stop the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) from assuming wetlands permitting.

[Florida panther, Waterkeepers Florida]
Florida panther, Waterkeepers Florida

FDEP assumption was always a bad idea. “The toxic algae blooms that now plague Florida are a direct result of the state’s decades-long failure to protect our waterways from wildlife-choking pollution,” Jason Totoiu, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. “Now the state wants to make it even easier to dredge and fill wetlands that help filter these pollutants.”

Here’s the original lawsuit.

Jim Saunders, WUSF & News Service of Florida, February 19, 2024, A judge sides with environmentalists in wetlands permitting shift,

In a win for environmental groups, a U.S. district judge Thursday ruled that federal officials did not follow required steps in 2020 before shifting permitting authority to Florida for projects that affect wetlands.

Washington, D.C.-based Judge Randolph Moss, in a 97-page decision, found that actions by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency violated the Endangered Species Act. Moss vacated the approval of the shift to the state.

Continue reading →

Pictures: Valdosta WWTP water quality lab ribbon cutting 2024-03-05

Update 2024-03-09: Clean rivers and creek 2024-03-06.

I got there just after the speeches, and before the ribbon cutting. During the lab tour and after, Malia Thomas interviewed me for WTXL TV, and of course Jason Barnes, Valdosta Acting Utilities Director.

[Ribbon cutting, Valdosta water quality lab tour, WTXL reporting 2024-03-05]
Ribbon cutting, Valdosta water quality lab tour, WTXL reporting 2024-03-05

Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson said he mentioned me favorably during his speech. Continue reading →

WWALS at Azalea Festival, One Mile Branch, Valdosta, GA 2024-03-09

Come help WWALS celebrate spring with 30,000 of our south Georgia and north Florida friends, at the WWALS booth at the Azalea Festival in Valdosta, Georgia, all day this Saturday and Sunday in Drexel Park.

[WWALS Booth at Azalea Festival 2024-03-09-10, One Mile Branch, Drexel Park, Valdosta, Georgia. Photos: John S. Quarterman 2024-03-11]
WWALS Booth at Azalea Festival 2024-03-09-10, One Mile Branch, Drexel Park, Valdosta, Georgia. Photos: John S. Quarterman 2024-03-11

Come talk to us about our outings and advocacy (yes, including Valdosta trash and sewage), our Water Trails, the pictures for sale Gretchen took of our rivers, notecards, stickers, hats, t-shirts, plus a kayak raffle. Continue reading →

Crowe Deadfall chainsaw cleanup 2024-03-01

Bobby McKenzie was right to be worried about the Crowe Deadfall, a big oak seen for years across the Withlacoochee River between I-75 and GA 133.

Yesterday evening we cleared that and two other deadfalls.

By cleared, I mean at the Crowe Deadfall stay way left: there’s a narrow passage for the Fifth Annual Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle. See you at Langdale Park Boat Ramp this morning.

[Three deadfalls cleared between Troupville and I-75 2024-03-01]
Three deadfalls cleared between Troupville and I-75 2024-03-01

Thanks to Georgia Power for the grant that makes tickets to this paddle free.

Thanks to Flint Riverkeeper Gordon Rogers for the jon boat. Thanks to Wild Green Future (WGF) for the grant that bought the 9.9hp outboard, the 86lb-thrust trolling motor, the batteries, and some other gear.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

Continue reading →

Clean rivers and creek 2024-02-28

Update 2024-03-09: Clean rivers and creek 2024-03-06.

Update 2024-03-03: Now with Alapaha River at Lakeland and Naylor and Santa Fe River at U.S. 27, all also clean.

We got good results for Wednesday for the Santa Fe and Suwannee Rivers and Franks Creek.

Valdosta’s recent upstream Withlacoochee River results through Monday are good.

There has been very little rain for a week. Rain is predicted for today, Saturday, and Sunday, but probably not very much.

The rivers are down to good paddling levels, and it’s not cold. So bring rain gear, and happy paddling, fishing, and maybe swimming this weekend.

Join us tomorrow, Saturday morning, at Langdale Park Boat Ramp for the Fifth Annual Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle, Withlacoochee River.

[Chart, Clean Rivers and Franks Creek, Map 2024-02-28]
Chart, Clean Rivers and Franks Creek, Map 2024-02-28

No sewage spills were reported in the Suwannee River Basin in Florida in the past week.

But four were reported in Georgia.

Remember Valdosta’s two small 100-gallon sewage spills on February 20, at Three Mile Branch from Knob Hill Road, and into One Mile Branch from Boone Drive @ Baytree Road, which drains into Sugar Creek, then to the Withlacoochee River?

Well, Valdosta had another spill at 215 Knob Hill Road, 1,500 gallons each from there and from two overflow sites nearby. Yes, that drains into Three Mile Branch which goes into the Withlacoochee River along the route of the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle. But 4,500 gallons should be small enough to be diluted and washed away by now.

Ashburn last Wednesday had yet another spill, 1,500 gallons from its MLK Lift Station into Ashburn Branch, which runs into the Little River. Continue reading →

Juneteenth at Reed Bingham State Park 2024-06-22

Update 2024-06-23: Pictures: Juneteenth at Reed Bingham State Park 2024-06-22.

Hahira, GA, June 7, 2024 — “WWALS will provide stunt adults to paddle with children whose parents don’t want to get in a boat,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman.

WWALS will also provide boats for new paddlers at this gathering of people from Brooks, Cook, and Tift Counties, Georgia, and beyond in celebration of Juneteenth.

Food and activities for children will be provided by Fannie Gibbs and Macedonia Community Foundation.

When: 11 AM – 3 PM, Saturday, June 22, 2024

Put In: Reed Bingham State Park Beach, 542 Reed Bingham Rd, Adel, GA 31620. Take I-75 Exit 39, turn west on GA 37, right on Evergreen Church Road (CR 99), left on Reed Bingham SP Road (CR 221), in through the gate and across the dam, and the beach is on your right, in Colquitt County.

GPS: 31.162563, -83.548506

[Boating and family fun at Juneteenth 2021]
Boating and family fun at Juneteenth 2021

Continue reading →

Pictures: Chainsaw Cleanup, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River 2024-02-28

Yesterday, Phil Hubbard and I cleared the last deadfall before Saturday’s Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle.

[Sunset chainsaw, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River 2024-02-28]
Sunset chainsaw, Sugar Creek, Withlacoochee River 2024-02-28

We think even Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson can paddle up Sugar Creek now.

Phil made the last cut using the Husqvarna 460 Rancher 24-inch chainsaw paid for by Wild Green Future (WGF). The same WGF grant paid for the trolling motor and batteries we used with the WWALS Bass Fisher boat.

Here is WWALS video:
https://youtu.be/IV0T6ZMJLCI?si=4jTFODzAIdWxVx31 Continue reading →

Hamilton County, Florida, resolution for the Okefenokee Swamp, against the strip mine 2024-02-20

Update 2024-04-07: Added names of County Commissioners in the form as passed.

Update 2024-03-16: Atkinson County, GA, resolution for the Okefenokee Swamp against the strip mine 2024-03-14.

County opposition to the proposed strip mine too near the Okefenokee Swamp has crossed the GA-FL line.

The Board of County Commissioners of Hamilton County, Florida, on February 20, 2024, passed this resolution. A signed copy is forthcoming.

[Hamilton County, Florida, resolution for the Okefenokee Swamp, against the strip mine 2024-02-20]
Hamilton County, Florida, resolution for the Okefenokee Swamp, against the strip mine 2024-02-20

That makes four counties on the Suwannee River downstream of the Okefenokee Swamp: Ware, Clinch, Echols, and Hamilton.

Plus many other counties and cities.
https://wwals.net/2021/12/10/resolutions-for-okefenokee-swamp-against-strip-mine-suwannee-riverkeeper-sgrc-2021-12-09/

Resolution 2024-

A RESOLUTION FOR THE OKEFENOKEE SWAMP AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, HAMILTON COUNTY, FLORIDA

WHEREAS, Hamilton County takes pride in its rivers, including the Suwannee River to the east and south;

WHEREAS, the citizens of Hamilton County value the natural resources and outdoor recreation opportunities afforded by the Okefenokee Swamp and the Suwannee River and their watersheds;

WHEREAS, the Okefenokee Swamp is a unique natural, cultural, and economic treasure known worldwide, identified as an Aquatic Resource of National Importance by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a National Natural Landmark, a National Wilderness Area, and a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention;

WHEREAS, the Okefenokee Swamp is the headwaters of the St Marys River and of the Suwannee River, famous worldwide;

WHEREAS, the Suwannee River forms the eastern and southern boundaries of Hamilton County for more than eighty miles;

WHEREAS, Hamilton County hosts several Suwannee River access points, demonstrating commitment to recreation on the Suwannee River through various initiatives;

WHEREAS, the Hamilton County Commission has shown commitment to water quality and waterway recreation through the approval of the Comprehensive Plan, providing protections for the Suwannee River and its watersheds;

WHEREAS, the citizens value the Okefenokee Swamp and the Suwannee River for water quality and habitat protection;

WHEREAS, the environmental impact of strip mining in proximity to the Okefenokee Swamp raises significant concerns for the watershed;

WHEREAS, thorough and unbiased review processes are crucial in assessing the potential environmental consequences of mining activities;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners:

  1. Support the preservation and protection of the Okefenokee Swamp and its surrounding watersheds.
  2. Advocate for a comprehensive, transparent, and impartial review of any proposed mining activities near the Okefenokee Swamp, including public hearings, public comments, and independent third-party review.
  3. Encourage the Georgia Environmental Protection Division to thoroughly review and assess all mining permit applications to the same degree as a thorough U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Area-Wide Environmental Impact Statement, with public hearings, public comments, and independent third-party review.
  4. Advocate for legislative measures in Georgia to prevent future strip mines near environmentally sensitive areas, including the Okefenokee Swamp and the blackwater rivers in the Suwannee River Basin.
  5. Request the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to engage with the permitting process of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division to ensure thorough consideration of environmental impacts.

PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, Hamilton County, Florida, this day of 2024.

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
HAMILTON COUNTY, FLORIDA

Attest:

 
Greg Godwin
Ex-officio Clerk

By
Chairman, Robert E. Brown
District 3

Member, Jimmy Murphy
District 1

Member, Robby Roberson
District 2

Member, Travis Erixton
District 4

Member, Richie McCoy
District 5

Approved as to Form By:

Andrew J. Decker, III
Hamilton County Attorney

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/