By Georgia Ackerman
May 31, 2020–A visual survey was conducted from Bristol to Sutton Creek today. Water flow was 19-20 kcfs at the Chattahoochee and Bristol gauges. Of note, there were more recreational boaters out today than the last visual survey a few weeks ago. In fact, the Bristol boat ramp parking was nearly full. Doug Alderson arrived early and did a trash clean up as several garbage cans in the park were toppled over.
On the river, numerous families were out fishing and recreating (swimming and picnicking) on sandbars. A group of three anglers told us they were expecting to reel in bass and bream, with earthworms and crickets as bait.
From Bristol, we ran the boat south past Neal Landing (still under construction) to Old River near Sutton Creek. Doug and I tested out new 
water lab equipment that our volunteers will be utilizing soon. We also used the handheld water quality monitor to check physical parameters, such as temperature, dissolved oxygen and pH. Bacteria sampling also continues. Rick Zelznak shot drone images.
Here are photos from the day. Rick has made a few short videos over the past few months. We’ll get those uploaded to AR’s you tube channel soon. You can also find these on AR’s other social media pages. All blogs, including summaries of other Visual Surveys can be found here.
Of note, our Water Quality Monitoring Program is funded through grants from the Archibald Foundation, Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation, Jelks Family Foundation and Patagonia. Thank you for your partnership and support in the protection of the Apalachicola River! We will continue to grow this program with the support of trained volunteers. 
Georgia Ackerman is Riverkeeper and Executive Director at Apalachicola Riverkeeper. She can be reached at [email protected].