107 Miles to Go! The RiverTrek volunteer team launches October 29. Protecting and restoring the Apalachicola River takes real teamwork. Let's all work together to get this team to their fundraising finish line. |
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| Public Meeting Oct 21 in Apalachicola The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Mobile District is evaluating the impacts of reinstating dredging on the Apalachicola River. A public meeting will be held in Apalachicola on October 21. Details in link. In the late 1980s, the state of Florida debated whether to renew a 25-year Corps dredging permit. Scientists pointed out that dredging destroyed fish habitat, blocked sloughs, and smothered fertile riverbanks with sand. Another reason was economics. The cost-benefit ratio of dredging for the estimated 500 barge trips on the river each year made the Apalachicola the most expensive waterway to maintain in the country. The Corps estimated dredging costs at $30,000 per barge from 1990 thru 2000. Read more |
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| East River Restoration by Dan Tonsmeire The quantity of material moved is difficult to estimate. The view of the sand pile at in the Eastpoint work yard gives a good perspective of how much material was blocking East River and why it could take many generations for this material to get pushed out of East River. Even then, its ultimate destination would be to cover more habitat in East Bay, the primary nursery area of Apalachicola Bay. Many locals agree that the combination of removing the sand from East River and increasing the flow to East Bay will be a highly significant benefit to this popular commercial and recreational fishing river in the delta and bay. Read more |
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| Collecting Tupelo Seeds By Cameron Lewis Barton Our job today was to collect green, red, and yellowish-brown Ogeechee tupelo seeds (and any water tupelo) and fill our buckets. It was like a giant Easter egg hunt scanning the ground for the high-quality seeds. The seeds would kerplunk in the bottom of the bucket until a solid base layer was collected. At one point, we stood in a spot that was high enough in elevation to expect certain species to dominate. As we moved to lower elevations where the majority of the swamp species were, and other hardwood species were not supposed to be, we noticed that it has become so dry, that the competitors start to have greater success in moving to the swampy areas. This is a concern. Read more |
Coastal Clean Up Big Success By Doug Alderson There were 17 different cleanup locations, and 215+ volunteers picked up 4,350 pounds of trash, ranging from derelict crab traps to beach umbrellas. Finding strange novelty type items added intrigue to the cleanup. This year, cleanup artisans found a paint roller in a Halloween bucket, a barnacle-encrusted child’s plastic lawn mower, a wheelchair footrest, a surfboard, Sambar deer antlers (on St. Vincent, of course), a remote-control boat, and a black sequined blouse. But, drumroll please, the award for the most unusual item goes to the group cleaning up Eastpoint west of the fishing pier. Read more |
It's Always Good to Gather by the River by Doug Alderson What united the group at our September Blountstown meet up was their concern and love for the river. We talked about recent victories to halt proposed oil drilling in the Basin and the current interest by the Army Corps of Engineers to reignite navigational dredging. Riverkeeper Cameron Baxley shared with the residents that the Calhoun County Commission unanimously adopted a resolution that rejects a return to full-scale dredging of the river. The resolution can be viewed at the bottom of the blog. |
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Apalachicola Riverkeeper is an independent, non-profit advocacy organization founded in 1998. Your financial gift fuels our fight to defend the Apalachicola River. Together, let’s keep working to protect and restore the Apalachicola River. |
Apalachicola Riverkeeper
P.O Box 8
Apalachicola , FL 32329
United States |
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