Our River is Alive

As Chair ot the RiverWatch committee of the St. Marys EarthKeepers, my purpose for initiating the RiverWatch blog is as follows. We, in St. Marys, enjoy a river unique to the East coast of the US. It is a natural, pristine, and mostly untouched body of water with head waters in the Okeefenokee Swamp. The fresh waters of the Swamp are fueled by a deep, underground aquifer originating in the Appalachian Mountains and resurfacing at the Okeefenokee. Unlike so many other rivers, the St. John in Florida as an example, the St. Marys River remains void of upstream power plants, industry, municipal waste disposal, and agricultural run-off. But threats remain, and we need to be vigilant so as to protect our "River of Life".

Through this blog I hope to inform our community about matters regarding the health and welfare of the St. Marys River while also sharing some of my "up close and personal" experiences. My name is Rick Frey. I'm a Georgia and Florida Master Naturalist, a retired science teacher, a Board member of the St. Marys EarthKeepers and an avid river-lover.

While paddling the St. Marys River one early evening with friend and co-owner of Up The Creek outfitters, Jennifer Kroener, we were again reminded just how alive our River is. As we paddled the waters near the salt marsh just west of Lang's Marina West, we observed with much joy and curiosity a juvenile otter the size of a golden retriever puppy frolicking on the water's edge.  She was either completely oblivious to our presence or too young to be fearful of humans. We lingered for several minutes to take in this very special moment.

Upon returning to the boat ramp, we encountered a man and his young daughter enjoying the River. Recently relocated from San Diego, he talked with amazement about the two young black tip sharks and one bonnet shark he observed recently in the River. As we talked, a family of otters swam downriver under the dock at the boat ramp. His daughter and some passersby excitedly followed the otter family movements as they ended up on the Park Service's floating dock for all to see. A rare event, indeed.

I love paddling the River. Movement can be silent and slow so as not to scare off wildlife, and  wildlife is plentiful on our River. In a kayak, one is so close to the water and moving so quietly that you feel at one with nature and the environment. I am challenged to see how close I can get to that great white heron before she flys off. We, as the human species, most times forget that we are a part of nature, just one member of one big family here on this planet. We need to be reminded of this from time to time. Paddling is a wonderful way of keeping in touch with that experience and our unique responsibility as one of many species living on Planet Earth.

.