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Altamaha
Riverkeeper founder to retire
By S. HEATHER DUNCAN | Macon.com
February 19, 2010
The man who was the founder and face of the Altamaha Riverkeeper
advocacy organization is retiring.
 After a decade, James Holland will be leaving the job of river watchdog
May 1. The former crabber is known for his folksy manner and his confrontational
approach to developers, regulators and polluters.
“James is a founder of this organization and has played a key
role in defining who we are, in terms of our field-based work and our
work with the community,” said Deborah Sheppard, executive director
of the Altamaha Riverkeeper group. “He’s created a place
in the environmental movement that is larger than life.”
Holland said he is most proud of his efforts to educate residents
about the river system, including countless presentations to schools
and service organizations.
Holland takes a sample from a stream
near the Ocmulgee River in this
2002 file photo.
“When we started, hardly anybody used the words ‘water quality,’ and
now everybody’s talking about it,” he said.
Over the years, Holland set out by boat to take water samples and
photographs of pollution on the Altamaha and its tributaries, the Ocmulgee
and Oconee rivers. The evidence he gathered was sometimes used by his
nonprofit organization to mount lawsuits or to challenge regulators
on issues including Middle Georgia logging operations, erosion from
developments, sewage spills in Macon and problems with sewage treatment
plants in Dublin and Cochran, and industrial waste from factories such
as SP Newsprint in Dublin and Rayonier in Jesup.
Holland said his two biggest concerns in the watershed right now
are pollution from the Rayonier pulp mill and sewage spills in Macon.
He said he hopes his successor will concentrate on those problems in
the immediate future.
Sheppard said the Altamaha Riverkeeper board will begin a search
for a new riverkeeper in the coming weeks.
She and Len Hauss, president of the nonprofit’s board, said
they would prefer to find someone who is familiar with the river, but
they will be open to experienced and dedicated applicants from farther
afield.
Holland’s departure will give the organization an opportunity
to reflect on what it has accomplished and what it could do better,
Sheppard said.
At various times, the group supported not only Holland but also an
Ocmulgee riverkeeper and a coast keeper. But those positions were discontinued
due to staffing and funding challenges.
Holland said he will probably stay involved with the group, but mostly
he plans to relax and concentrate on his nature photography.
That hobby grew out of the need to take pictures for his job, but
his skills have improved so much that galleries have exhibited shows
of his work in recent years. He said a photo book may be in the works.
“We are indebted forever to James Holland for what he’s
done,” Hauss
said. “We’ll be looking for somebody to replace him that
has the same love for the river and dedication that he had, and that’s
going to be hard to find.”
To reach writer S. Heather Duncan, call 744-4225.
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News Stories on James Holland's upcoming retirement
Founder of Altamaha Riverkeeper
Retires.
(pdf) The Darien News | 2-19-10
Altamaha Riverkeeper retiring 10-year
post
But James Holland will still be involved with the river, photographing
its beauty.
By Teresa Stepzinski | Jacksonville.com |
2-21-10
Tribute to James Holland, Altamaha Riverkeeper
on his retirement
by Pierre Howard | The Georgia Conservancy
2-22-10
121002 Photo by Robert Seay riverkeepers James Holland uses a hand pump
to filter the sample before he pours the sample into a safe container.
ROBERT SEAY/THE TELEGRAPH
Altamaha Riverkeeper James Holland makes his
way through brush and overhanging tree limbs as he looks over a small stream
where he took a water sample in this 2002 file photo.
121002 Photo by Robert Seay riverkeepers John Wilson,l, and James Holland,r,
make their way to take a sample from a stream near the Ocmulgee National
Monument.
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