There is a demand for clean, unpolluted water within Eagle Lake at Black Creek Scout Reservation (BCSR) located near Sylvania, GA. The primary tributary to the forty acre Eagle Lake is Black Creek, a freshwater coastal stream within the Savannah River Basin, Region 4. The lower Coastal Plain streams are referred to as blackwater river systems. The deep water appears black and the shallow water appears tea-colored. The coloration is from the tannic acids leached from organic matter (Wharton, 1998). Evergreen forests are the dominant land cover and these forests account for 37.20% to 53.35% of total land cover within the Coastal Plain (Chaloud et al., 2001). However, land cover at BCSR is changing and being developed to create an impressive summer camp for Scouts within the Coastal Georgia Council and surrounding areas. Members of the professional staff have identified a need to develop a land use management plan to include conservation goals, forestry management, wildlife habitat protection , and a water quality monitoring program of both Black Creek and Eagle Lake. This all needs to happen in conjunction with the support and partnership of the volunteer Camping Committee who oversee's the development of BCSR property.
"Reflection of Eagle Lake"
Photo - J. Hewitt, February 2014
References
Chaloud, D. et
al. (2001). Savannah River Basin landscape analysis. U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research
Laboratory, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Warton, C.
(1998). The natural environments of Georgia. Department of Natural Resources,
Georgia Geological Survey Bulletin 114, 3rd printing.
Great photo. Beautiful lake!
ReplyDeleteI I think that this is a wonderful photo
ReplyDeleteHey Jed!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really cool project and I wish you the best of luck.
I have been known to dabble in water quality issues over here in Baltimore, have fallen into the polluted harbor water once or twice, and I always pay attention to what is happening with our environmental initiatives here in the city. In the past, I had the unique experience of coaching rowing to inner city middle school children. It was quite a feat since most of the children I worked with did not know how to swim and were afraid of the water. The immediate goal was to help them conquer their fears and turned them into good athletes, which we did accomplish. But in the greater scheme of things, the rowing club's goals were to encourage people to learn more about the water, become comfortable with it and start to fight for it. We hoped that by getting kids and families out on the water, they would realize how fun it can be and they would see all the life that depends on the water for survival.
As I was coaching, I would use any opportunity I could to talk about Ecology or pollution in some way. During practice, we would often paddle by floating water bottles, plastic bags, a shopping cart and even a mattress. The kids would ask me where it would come from and it was a bit of a culture shock for me, realizing that they did not know anything about runoff, pollution or that part of the water cycle. I would immediately turn those into teachable moments.
Our main focus was to teach inner city kids how to row and ultimately get them into good colleges, but in the greater scheme of things, we wanted to teach them that the water is important, nothing to be afraid of and something worth saving. I think it's important to focus on the recreation and fun aspects of whatever activity is being done, and slip in the ecological lessons whenever possible. It's like the kids don't even realize that they are learning!
How does (what ways & means can be suggested/implemented) by which the "committee" can marginalize the impact from/of pollutants that could potentially enter the Eagle Lake ecosystem coming from sources that enter from points before or outside their control zone area?
ReplyDeleteHow often do/should they plan to monitor (monthly, quarterly, etc.) to ensure that this system is not exceeding a toxicity level that can't be handled by the natural ability of the watershed to cleanse itself and/or reaching a level that is unsafe for recreational purposes by its intended users; who will do or make sure this gets done properly. If "volunteers" will it be on a regular enough basis that it will actually work to detect/mitigate issues as well as be able to keep it maintained as a healthy resource for safe recreational year-round use?