Robin Singletary, Flint Riverkeeper® Board member of Covey Rise Plantation near Camilla said, “I am very pleased and excited to have Gordon Rogers as Riverkeeper® for the Flint River. From Hartsfield to Woodruff Dam, Flint River basin citizens can be assured our families, local governments, agriculture, businesses and ‘culture of the river’ will all have a vigilant voice looking out for our best interests…what is good for the health of the Flint River is good for our shared wildlife, communities, businesses and cultural health.” Like many other families in SOWEGA, my family is a stakeholder in one of the primary sub-basins of the Flint, the Ichawaynochaway. Gordon Rogers brings a unique skill set to an under-served river basin that is being threatened on multiple fronts. Glenn Dowling, Flint Riverkeeper® Board member and Executive Vice President of the Georgia Wildlife Federation said, “It is a rare opportunity for the FRk to secure such a skilled management professional who possesses the experience, background and knowledge of the Flint and all of Georgia’s politically charged water issues. We will be working together…the Board, the membership, the staff, and I…to insure enough clean water to fish in, swim in, drink, and sustain the farms and businesses of the Flint.” The integrity of the Flint must, and will, be maintained. Metro North Georgia clearly needs to improve the efficiency of their water usage, without pounding taxpayers by impounding our free flowing waters. I have been privileged in my life to have fished and paddled many rivers, including the Flint, and can easily see why her citizens are so passionate about her. Rogers said, “I am captivated by the Flint’s beauty and power, and by her people’s connections to her. Residents in the Flint Basin will welcome Gordon’s approach to the issues we face, as well as those in Metro Atlanta, and how they impact all of the river basins and downstream communities in Georgia”. The Flint basin’s rich agricultural heritage and economy, and its wildlife are dependent upon its intricate system of water supply, which is currently threatened by polluted waters, and by the additional proposed projects to impound the Flint to help accommodate metro North Georgia’s purported ‘needs’.įlint Riverkeeper® Board Chairman Deloach said, “We are thrilled to be able to attract Gordon with his invaluable experience, personal integrity, and his passion for protecting water resources and diverse ecosystems. The fishing and hunting in the basin are nothing short of spectacular. Numerous special plants and animals are dependent upon the Flint’s waters, including the prized shoal bass, the shoal spider lily, quite a few species of mussels and other rare species. The waters of the Flint are intertwined with those of subterranean aquifers, as well as those of hundreds of tributaries. The Flint River originates under Atlanta’s Hartsfield Airport and flows to the Florida line, where it joins the Chattahoochee to form the Appalachicola River, entering the Gulf of Mexico at Appalachicola Bay. Some Georgia lawmakers have proposed dams that would flood over 50 miles of the Flint, costing taxpayers millions, while destroying fishing and boating opportunities, and inundating tens of thousands of acres of productive forest products and farm lands. The Flint is one of only 40 rivers nationwide that still flow undammed for more than 200 miles. In 2009, American Rivers listed the Flint as the second most endangered river in the country. Gordon is married to Gina Leigh Gore, originally of northern Virginia, and together they have three children: Quint, Joe, and Jamie Leigh. He has fished and hunted all of his life. After that, Gordon ran a waste and recycling firm, then served the citizens of the Satilla River basin as their Riverkeeper®. He worked at Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, then spent ten years with Georgia DNR in their Coastal Resources Division. Rogers is the son of a Methodist minister, a Georgia native who graduated from high school in Glynn County, attended Oxford College of Emory University, and the University of Georgia. Former President Jimmy Carter, attended the event to pledge his support to help protect the Flint. Board Chair, Paul Deloach, reports that Rogers is the selection of the Board after an exhaustive search and interview process.įlint Riverkeeper® received its license to operate as a Riverkeeper® from the Waterkeeper® Alliance in June of 2008, as announced at a fish fry on the Flint in Oglethorpe, Georgia. Andersonville, GA – The Board of Directors of Flint Riverkeeper® announced today that Gordon Rogers, Satilla Riverkeeper® in Southeast Georgia since 2004, will become the Riverkeeper® and Executive Director of Flint Riverkeeper® effective 1 November 2009.
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