You don’t have to race, but some paddlers are training big-time,
so come on down 8AM Saturday morning to Red Roberts Landing
for the
BIG Little River Paddle Race,
the grilled lunch, and the silent auction.
The Little River is so low that if you fall in, you can just stand up.
Remember to register online or at the event Saturday morning.
Here’s the video: Continue reading
Here is a letter from Florida Senator Bill Nelson to the EPA about the Valdosta wastewater situation, and the EPA’s response, which was underwhelming.
A suggestion: say what it is you’d like the EPA, GA-EPD, FDEP, etc. to actually do.
And what I’d suggest is get them all to fund and implement regular, frequent,
closely spaced, water quality monitoring along all the rivers in the
Suwannee River Basin.
That way we’d know where pollution is coming from,
we’d be able to calibrate what cities including Valdosta say from
their own monitoring, and we’d have baselines to compare to.
Not just for all seven downstream Florida counties anymore:
the City of Fanning Springs has also passed a resolution
asking the Florida governor to help stop Valdosta wastewater spills.
Maybe Valdosta will pay attention this time.
The Valdosta City Council and Mayor didn’t seem to understand when I used the Suwannee County resolution to draw attention to the part about:
“which again resulted in the Florida Department of Health issuing public health advisories warning the public of wastewater contamination in the Withlacoochee River and portions of the Historic Suwannee River, which resulted in warnings being posted at all public access areas along the rivers stating that the rivers were not safe for recreational use and every precaution should be taken to avoid any contact with the river;”
Maybe I should have tried this pithier part at the end: Continue reading
2017-07-12: Tickets are sold out!
As seen at Wanee!
When:
Now until the drawing at the July 14 12, 2017 WWALS Annual Meeting
Where: Online right here or on the WWALS.net front page, or at any of our events until mid-July, such as the BIG Little River Paddle Race this Saturday April 29, 2017 at Reed Bingham State Park.
What: It’s a Continue reading
Update 2017-04-26: video of me and Neighbor Steve Nichols on the radio.
After racing or just paddling, you can eat grilled lunch afterwards, while bidding in the silent auction at the Fifth Annual BIG Little River Paddle Race at Reed Bingham State Park between Adel and Moultrie, Georgia, and you can year about it in your car 8:15 tomorrow morning with Steve Nichols on WVGA 105.9 FM.
When: 8:15AM Wednesday, April 26th, 2017
Where: 105.9 FM WVGA, Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia
What: Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman on The Morning Drive with Steve Nichols about the paddle race, Wanee, fertilizer runoff, solar power, and yes, I’ll mention the pipeline.
Event: Join the facebook events for Continue reading
Water, Agriculture, Forestry, and WWALS, by WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman, and recent advocacy (BMAPs, Bill Gates, Pilgrim’s Pride, phosphate mines, Wanee, Sabal Trail, and solar power) by Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman, at the Florida Native Plant Society Sparkleberry Chapter in Branford, Suwannee County, Florida, on the Suwannee River.
When: 6:30 PM 9 May 2017: 30-45 minutes plus Q & A
Where: Hatch Park, 403 SE Craven St., Branford, FL 32008
Host:
Sparkleberry Chapter, Florida Native Plant Society
“Serving Suwannee, Dixie, Gilchrist, Lafayette and Taylor Counties.”
Event: facebook
Duke to build solar farm in Suwannee County instead of new natural gas turbines. How about more solar farms to help reduce fertilizer nitrogen runoff and solve the BMAP problem?
Parcel 25-01S-11E-1090700.0000,
Suwannee County Property Appraiser.
Thomas Lynn, Suwannee Democrat, 23 April 2017, Suwannee County BOCC approves 62 acres worth of solar panels,
LIVE OAK — The county commissioners approved a special permit to allow Duke Energy to install 62 acres worth of solar panels that will provide electricity to 1,700 homes.
During a county commissioners meeting on Tuesday, the county held a Continue reading
WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman explained WWALS and Suwannee Riverkeeper to the Kiwanis Club of Valdosta, Friday, April 7, 2017. After a brief exercise in getting the windows covered to enhance the video projector brightness, the group was engaged and asked questions about river access, agricultural run off, land stewardship, and some shared their experiences of being on the rivers. It is always a pleasure to share our love of the rivers and our efforts to protect water quality with those in our community.
Wade Krueger of Kiwanis and Gretchen Quarterman of WWALS
Picture by Justin Cabral of Kiwanis Club of Valdosta
-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
At least three people are seriously training for the Fifth Annual BIG Little River Paddle Race. Maybe it won’t be the usual winner this time! Plus there are prizes in a wide range of categories (solo, double, male, female, ages, etc.) this Saturday April 29th, at Reed Bingham State Park between Adel and Moultrie, GA.
I’ll be on the radio 8AM this Thursday April 27th talking about that and related matters, such as WWALS is now also Suwannee Riverkeeper, with Scott James on his Talk 92.1 drive-time radio show, out of Valdosta, Georgia.
When: 8AM, Thursday, April 27, 2017
Where: You can listen on the air, or through the radio show’s own website, or through several online listening services.
Register: Don’t forget to register for the paddle race, either online or at the event. Continue reading
The conclusion from FDEP in their BMAP presented to an almost-full SRWMD boardroom on April 13, 2017 was: nitrogen runoff into springs and rivers from all sources (the biggest being agriculture, dairies, and poultry) must decrease 83 to 93 percent. For once nobody seemed to argue with research by state agencies. Rather everyone, from representatives of the biggest of farmers to Pilgrim’s Pride to a wide variety of environmental groups seemed aghast at the severity of the situation.
This Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP) for the Lower and Middle Suwannee River Basin turns out to include the Withlacoochee River almost to the Georgia line, because Continue reading
