The findings of a stream monitoring report for Jackson Branch  will be presented on Wednesday, March 10, 2:30 p.m. at the Screven County Fire Department located at 618 Frontage Road in Sylvania.  The monitoring was conducted by Ogeechee Riverkeeper® for the Coastal Regional Commission and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

From June 2008 to March 2009, a three mile segment of Jackson Branch from Highway 17 to County Road 39 near Dover was monitored by Ogeechee Riverkeeper staff and a local volunteer, Emelyn Hunter. The report concludes that the high fecal coliform levels generally decrease in the winter due to additional rainfall and cooler water temperatures and rise during the summer with lower stream flows and higher temperatures.

Chandra Brown, Riverkeeper, notes that, “We will continue to monitor the water quality of Jackson Branch, and would like to see a long-term solution at the Highway 17 crossing to increase water flow and allow a greater tree canopy to shade the water.” The State Environmental Protection Division is evaluating the removal of Jackson Branch from the State 305(b)/303(d) list of impaired streams.

Ogeechee Riverkeeper is a non-profit organization based in Statesboro, Georgia. The final report can be downloaded in our library.

When: April 8, 2010 @ 6:00pm

Where:  Averitt Center for the Arts, Statesboro, GA

What:  Nationally-acclaimed film festival showcasing the best environmental films around.

Cost:  ONLY $10/person! ($20 dollars includes a 1-year membership to Ogeechee Riverkeeper)

BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW!

Send in YOUR pictures of the beauty of the Ogeechee, Canoochee and coastal rivers.

Enter the Ogeechee photo contest and have your work showcased at the Wild and Scenic Film festival, and at libraries and art galleries throughout the Ogeechee basin!

Many thanks to our friends at Georgia River Network for putting on a great conference at Jekyll Island this weekend.

Volunteers from Savannah and part of our staff, (pictured here (l-r), Jamie Smith, Chandra Brown, Candice Connnell, Neely North, Ashleigh Womack, and Sandy Layton) attended the conference to learn more about our waterways in Georgia.

The morning keynote was provided by Chandra Brown, and was featured in today's Savannah Morning News. 

The conference also featured lectures on mercury contamination of our waterways, wetlands draining, tri-state water issues, water conservation and efficiency, and "blue trails" or paddling trails on Georgia's rivers. 

The sun shone, and the guests arrived.  It was a beautiful afternoon for an oyster roast, bbq and readings from Southern Nature Project members, Dorinda Dallymeyer and Roger Pinckney, and the Wormsloe Foundation's Sarah Ross.

Many thanks to our Hosts and Diana and Craig Barrow for a beautiful afternoon.   Thanks to Jamie Smith for the picture here of Dianna Wedincamp with our fabulous check-in volunteers.

More pictures to come later!

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