The St. Marys River Watershed
st-marys-watershed The Clinic has been working with the St. Marys River Management Committee, a quasi-governmental advisory board which represents each of the four counties as well as major stakeholders in the basin.
The headwaters of the St. Marys River originate in the Okeefeenokee National Wildlife Refuge and for much of its course its centerline forms the boundary between Florida and Georgia. The River discharges into Cumberland Sound and the Atlantic Ocean.
The watershed is dominated by large silviculture holdings, state and federal lands, and some smaller land owners. The historically important and aquatic resource dependent working waterfronts of St. Marys, Georgia and Fernandina Beach, Florida lie at the mouth of the River.
The river has some water quality concerns including low dissolved oxygen concentrations and high bacterial counts. One of the main concerns with this watershed is the lack of interstate communication and regulatory/management coherence for river protection, water quality monitoring, and future water use.
Resources
- The St. Marys River Watershed: An Adaptive Management Assessement
- Powerpoint of initial presentation given to the St. Marys River Management Committee
- St. Marys River Management Committee Website
