SOQUE BULLETIN
March 16th, 2011
Despite questionable weather, 25 brave souls came out for our Soque Farm Projects Field Day yesterday.
A dozen new potential farm partners attended, as well as three county staff and a commissioner.
Here the group observes Lamar Whiting's brand new cattle stream crossing. (see article)
1) Winter Campaign on the cusp of meeting all 4 goals!
2) Soque River Watershed Association receives Watershed Group of the Year award
3) Farm Field Day draws a crowd despite rain
4) Plant trees on a farm stream - TODAY - Thursday, March 17th - 10am - NGTC
5) Other Updates
1) Winter Campaign on the cusp of meeting all 4 goals!
Back in January the SRWA set some very simple goals to raise $4,000 dollars, gain 50 new members, regain 50 renewals, and reach 1,000 e-mails on our Soque Bulletin by April 1st. With just two weeks left in our little campaign, and the Winter definitely transforming into a magnificent Spring we want to celebrate our goal making and push one last time to get just a little further.
Check it out, thanks to a handful of very generous gifts our $4,000 goal has been met and exceeded. As of March 15th, 2011 we've:
· Raised $4,252 dollars
· Gained 24 brand new members
· Received 45 renewals
· and Added 54 new e-mails to the Bulletin
Even though it feels great to have gotten this far we want to keep pushing in these last two weeks to meet ALL FOUR GOALS! We can only do that if you help today. Even if you just send us one e-mail of someone you think should receive the Soque Bulletin that's a start. If you've been receiving Soque Bulletins for a few weeks, a few months, or a few years and think that our little group is accomplishing good things in the community PLEASE JOIN or DONATE. Even $10 makes a big difference and we've received several gifts of this kind already.
Here's one last reminder of our current status:
$4,252 raised - goal $4,000 (exceeded)
24 new members - goal 50 new members
45 renewing members - goal 50 renewing members
54 new e-mails - goal reach 1,000 (just 75 to go)
you can now join or donate online, right now
or printout the Winter Campaign donation form attached
Check out who is supporting the SRWA
We'd love to add your name to this list before April 1st!
Donor
|
Membership
|
Donor Category
|
Alice and Brooks Roseman
|
New Member
|
Partner
|
Ben and Delores Anderson
|
New Member
|
Family
|
Dick and Theresa Martin
|
New Member
|
Family
|
Dwight Ogier
|
New Member
|
Senior
|
Ellery and Faye Queen
|
New Member
|
Guardian
|
Harry and Marie Wohlert
|
New Member
|
Family
|
Ivy Rutzky
|
New Member
|
Individual
|
J. Kenneth Weldon Jr., DMD, LLC
|
New Member
|
Business
|
Jack and Kathy Molnar
|
New Member
|
Guardian
|
James Sullivan
|
New Member
|
Guardian
|
James Weidner / Oliver & Weidner, LLC
|
New Member
|
Business
|
Jeff Moore
|
New Member
|
Individual
|
Jennifer Obert /126 Greenway Salon Studio
|
New Member
|
Business
|
Jerry Breazeale
|
New Member
|
Individual
|
John and Cheri Luhn
|
New Member
|
Guardian
|
John W. Hudson
|
New Member
|
Business
|
Michael E. Mixon, CPA, PC
|
New Member
|
Business
|
Rodger Wilson
|
New Member
|
Guardian
|
Sam Irvin
|
New Member
|
Individual
|
Sidney and Suzanne Roland
|
New Member
|
Senior
|
The Northeast Georgian
|
New Member
|
Business
|
Tina and Terry Turner
|
New Member
|
Family
|
Tom and Andra Knecht
|
New Member
|
Guardian
|
Willard Ferguson
|
New Member
|
Guardian
|
Alexis Chapman
|
Renewal
|
Individual
|
Angelia and David Sosby
|
Renewal
|
Family
|
Anne Callaway
|
Renewal
|
Guardian
|
April Ingle
|
Renewal
|
Guardian
|
Barb and John Misner
|
Renewal
|
Protector
|
Barbara Moore
|
Renewal
|
Senior
|
Ben and Wendee Maxwell
|
Renewal
|
Guardian
|
Bill and Mattie Robinson
|
Renewal
|
Family
|
Bluegraphics
|
Renewal
|
Business
|
Brian and Tonie Reynolds
|
Renewal
|
Guardian
|
Calvin and Mary Wilbanks
|
Renewal
|
Family
|
Cheryl Lusnia
|
Renewal
|
Individual
|
Claire Hicks
|
Renewal
|
Guardian
|
Dee Anderson
|
Renewal
|
Partner
|
Diane and Carl Hett
|
Renewal
|
Family
|
Elizabeth and Larry Jamison
|
Renewal
|
Guardian
|
Floyd and Lou Turk
|
Renewal
|
Family
|
Frances Bulluck
|
Renewal
|
Guardian
|
Gail Hayden
|
Renewal
|
Protector
|
Habersham Hardware
|
Renewal
|
Business
|
Harry and Eleanor Thompson
|
Renewal
|
Guardian
|
Helen Albrightson
|
Renewal
|
Business
|
Helen Norton
|
Renewal
|
Guardian
|
J.D. and Marcia Wellons
|
Renewal
|
Guardian
|
Jenna Wilson and Tom Hensley
|
Renewal
|
Partner
|
Jim and Lynn Mack
|
Renewal
|
Guardian
|
John and Emily Smith
|
Renewal
|
Guardian
|
John and Nancy Kollock
|
Renewal
|
Protector
|
John Shaw
|
Renewal
|
Individual
|
Judy Taylor
|
Renewal
|
Business
|
Ken and Hope Weldon
|
Renewal
|
Family
|
Lela Griffin
|
Renewal
|
Senior
|
Lincoln and Lisa Blackwood
|
Renewal
|
Guardian
|
Margaret and John Philip Ballard
|
Renewal
|
Family
|
Millie G. Stevens
|
Renewal
|
Guardian
|
Ralph Singer
|
Renewal
|
Senior
|
Randy and Barbara Moser
|
Renewal
|
Guardian
|
Sally Bethea
|
Renewal
|
Protector
|
Sandy Reid
|
Renewal
|
Individual
|
Ted Doll
|
Renewal
|
Family
|
Terry and Marilyn Murphy
|
Renewal
|
Guardian
|
Tom Dunken
|
Renewal
|
Protector
|
Tom Smith
|
Renewal
|
Guardian
|
Tony and Berma Hamilton
|
Renewal
|
Senior
|
Wally and Robin Warren
|
Renewal
|
Family
|
Ed and Kimberly Brown
|
river signage donation
|
Family
|
Gail Hayden
|
river signage donation
|
Protector
|
Ralph Singer
|
river signage donation
|
Senior
|
Joe Gatins
|
river signage donation
|
donation
|
Justin Ellis
|
river signage donation
|
Life
|
Don't forget. We're raising $1,000 just for our river signage project.
Special donations to that project will be permanently listed on our website.
2) Soque River Watershed Association receives Watershed Group of the Year award
SRWA staff and board Justin Ellis, Terry Parker, Bill Gresham, Randy Moser, Duncan Hughes, John Bigelow,
Scarlett Fuller, Charle Statler, and Walter Matlock at the Association office on the square in Clarkesville.
The SRWA received one of the top honors (or we guess the top honor) that a watershed group can receive this year when we received the WATERSHED GROUP of the YEAR award. The award was given by the Georgia River Network at their Feb. 25 conference in Roswell. Thanks goes to everyone that supported the SRWA or partnered with us this year. This award belongs to the whole Soque Community. For the full article about the award click the photo above or right here.
3) Farm Field Day draws a crowd despite rain
After over six years of hard work on our 319 grant, now renamed the SOQUE PARTNERSHIP, we were finally able to show off the success of our efforts working with local farmers on projects to improve water quality all over the Soque Basin. The event was on a very wet Tuesday, March 15th. Fortunatley 25 attendees (including the County Manager, County Planning Director. the Chair of the Commission, and the Farm Bureau president) all braved the weather to hear about and observe firsthand the impacts of the these projects. Under the leadership of Duncan Hughes our watershed coordinator we've been able to complete 15 cattle exclusion projects, fencing 523 cattle on 765 acres of farmland on 45,000 linear feet of stream. The project also installed seven stream crossings and 4 water wells. Even if those numbers don't sound as impressive as they are, consider that 29 miles of the Soque River that has been listed as impaired for fecal coliform bacteria since 2002 is very likely to come off of that list of polluted waters in 2012 based on our post-project monitoring. In other words, in just 2 and a half years of project implementation, the Soque Partnership, and the hard work of 15 farm owners has effectively reduced bacteria pollution to within state standards. That's cool.
Big, big thanks goes out to all the farms that have participated so far. And the even better news is that the Partnership has received funding to implement at least 20 more projects over the next three years. If you, or someone you know has cattle and lives in the Soque Waterhsed Basin, have them take a look at our NEW BROCHURE
Soque Farm project site locations relative to known bacteria hotspots.
These voluntary projects are likely to lead to the Soque coming off of the list of GA's impaired waters in 2012.
Click on the map to see the brochure.
4) Plant trees on a farm stream - TODAY - Thursday, March 17th - 10am - NGTC
It doesn't get any more last minute than this, but if these farm projects sound good to you and you'd like to get personally involved in their benefits, join Duncan and I on Thursday (that's likely today) and help us plant about 75 willows, alders and even some bald cypress at one or two farm sites.
Meet us at North Georgia Technical College at 10 behind the Greenhouses (drive around the back of campus). We'll be by the brick building. Bring gloves, a shovel, and post hole digger and rubber mallet if you got one. Hope you can join us. Should be a beautiful day.
If you'd like some Bald Cypress to plant at your house let us know.
We have 200 that need to go in the ground ASAP.
If we don't plant them all. They're free to first takers.
5) Other Updates
These are just a few brief fun tidbits.
· The SRWA has a brand new website in development thanks to Kimberly Brown our Admin and Outreach Director. Check it out at www.soque.org. There's a lot more improvements to come but it's looking good.
· Our annual clean-up of Camp Creek reservoir with Cornelia is coming up Saturday, April 9th. Mark your calendar and visit Cornelia's drinking water supply.
· Chastain Branch hike possibly coming soon. Stay tuned for a weekend spring hike to the beautiful chastain branch.
· Our spring event the 5 in 5 is just around the corner. Date and location coming soon.
Justin Ellis
Executive Director
Soque River Watershed Association
706-754-9382
