SEVEN RIVERS
About Seven Rivers RC & D
History
Seven Rivers Resource Conservation and Development Council was initiated in March of 1992 by a group of local community leaders in Southeast Georgia.The Council was created out of a realization by these individuals of the dire need for communities to collaborate on finding solutions to common problems, learning from unique challenges, and exploiting opportunities. The Council received authorization by the Secretary of Agriculture, in January 1993 and is a 501 (c) (3), not for profit organization.
The original area consisted of Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Charlton, Clinch, Coffee, Echols, Jeff Davis, and Ware counties and was bounded by seven rivers, namely: Altamaha, Alapaha, Ocmulgee, Satilla, St. Mary's, Suwannee, and Willacoochee.
Recognizing the needs of additional counties, the Council area expanded on three more occasions. In 1994, Brantley, Pierce, and Wayne counties became part of the Council area. In March 1997, Berrien, Cook, Lanier, and Lowndes Counties were included and again in January 2015, Brooks county joined the Council region. With these expansions, the Council's territory now includes three additional rivers: the New, the Withlacoochee, and the Little.
The Council continues to grow in its diligent efforts to help improve communities by striving to discover new ways of helping enhance the natural resources in Southeast Georgia.
Council Area
The Seven Rivers RC&D Area is situated in southeast Georgia and is adjacent to the Coastal Georgia RC&D Area. Runoff from the area is divided between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The majority of the area lies in the Atlantic Coastal Flatwoods Major Land Resource Area. The terrain is low and flat, and the streams are wide and sluggish.
The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness Area is located in Ware, Clinch, and Charlton Counties. Cultural resources are abundant, and are very important to the local residents. Water, wildlife, and timber resources dominate this remote, primarily rural area.
The northern most counties in the Council area are engaged in a wide variety of field agriculture and livestock operations. The southern counties are approximately 80 percent woodlands with some livestock operations. Groundwater is sufficient for municipal, industrial and irrigation of crops.
Council Area Counties: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Berrien, Brooks,
Brantley, Charlton, Clinch, Coffee, Cook, Echols, Jeff Davis, Lanier, Lowndes, Pierce, Tift, Ware & Wayne.
Council Impacts
Seven Rivers RC&D Council continues to be a leader in the area for watershed protection and environmental education. Through water quality related projects and programs, stakeholders are educated on the negative effects of erosion and sedimentation, storm water, human and animal wastes, and litter on streams and rivers. Through cost-share assistance programs, landowners and units of government have benefitted from the installation of traditional and low impact BMP practices that solve water quality problems.
The Council has also been involved in training hundreds of famers from 1999 - 2014 in the area of conservation tillage. Seven Rivers was instrumental in forming a planning committee early on to identify issues related to no till farming. The no till conference is held each year in a different part of the state to better expose farmers to the different no till farming practices.
The Council has also been involved in providing transportation to work for needy families at zero percent interest. The Wheels to Work program has assisted over 300 needy families since it started in 1992.
The Household Water Wells Program assisted 99 clients with new wells since 2010. This program assists low income families who are desperately in need of drinking water due to drought conditions.