Altamaha Riverkeeper retiring 10-year post
But James Holland will still be involved with the river, photographing
its beauty.
By Teresa Stepzinski | Jacksonville.com
February 21, 2010
BRUNSWICK - James Holland is stepping down as Altamaha Riverkeeper,
but he isn't walking away from the namesake river system he has devoted
part of his life to protecting.
"I'm 69 now. It's time to move on over and let the young people
with their energy and enthusiasm come on board and carry on," Holland
said.
Holland will retire April 30 after nearly a decade leading one of
Georgia's most active and respected environmental watchdog organizations,
which he founded in July 2000.
"I'm still going to be around. I'm planning to volunteer a lot," he
said.
Holland is shifting his focus - literally. Holland has used his photography
skills to document the ugliness and destruction from industrial pollution
and other manmade impact to the river ecosystem.
"I'm going to continue documenting the wildlife and plants in
the Altamaha River Watershed through my photography, but I'm going
to focus on its beauty," Holland said. "We've got a beautiful
watershed and I want to help people understand why we need to protect
it."
'Can never be replaced'
Holland hopes to inspire other people to get involved.
"Why should people care if they don't know or don't understand
what is at stake out there?" he said.
He timed his retirement to coincide with the beginning of the wading
bird nesting and brooding season, a time he has wanted to photograph
for awhile.
Holland's staying on is a relief, said Deborah Sheppard, executive
director of the organization.
"James can never be replaced. We expect it will be difficult finding
a successor, but we're also excited about the prospect of finding someone
to continue the great strides he has made to protect this beautiful
watershed," Sheppard said.
The Altamaha Riverkeeper is dedicated to protecting, defending and
restoring the Altamaha, Georgia's biggest river, and its tributaries
the Ocmulgee, Oconee and Ohoopee rivers.
The organization aggressively monitors pollution and polluters throughout
the watershed through a program of water sampling and analysis. It
also monitors land-based activities that affect the health of the river,
including forestry and agriculture practices and coastal development.
"He has provided a role model to people all over the state who
didn't know they could or should stand up for the watershed," Sheppard
said. "He's given people the tools and information to speak out
to protect their water and natural resources."
In 2008, Georgia Trend magazine named him one of the 100 Most Influential
Georgians.
No backing down
Holland grew up in Cochran, where he spent his childhood hunting
and fishing on the Ocmulgee River. He joined the Marine Corps at age
17. After his discharge, he moved to Brunswick and worked in the food
service industry. In 1977, he bought a boat and crab traps and went
into business for himself.
Back then, he didn't think much of environmental activists, but became
one in the early 1990s after noticing a lot of dead crabs in the waters
where he made his living.
Long before the Altamaha Riverkeeper existed, Holland challenged
Georgia Department of Natural Resources procedures in issuing permits
for activities in the waters he prized for their beauty and bounty.
"Others would sit around and [complain] but they wouldn't take
it to the next level. James would," said Spud Woodward, director
of DNR's Coastal Resources Division.
Woodward and Holland have been on opposite sides of more than one
issue over the many years they have known each other. He's disagreed
with him but never doubted his sincerity, Woodward said.
"In spite of the differences of opinion between us, there's never
been any doubt his heart is in the right place," Woodward said. "It's
never been an ego trip for James. ... He's done it because there was
a battle he believed needed to be fought."
Holland, along with other concerned commercial fishermen and several
environmental advocates, founded the organization in 1999. He became
the riverkeeper on July 1, 2000.
Under his leadership, the organization has taken on and taken to
court paper mills, manufacturing companies and developers to protect
the river system. It has won some and lost some of the battles, but
never backed down from the fight.
For his efforts, Holland has been cussed out, threatened and arrested.
While he was collecting water samples from the outfall pipe at Cochran's
sewage treatment facility about eight years ago, Holland was arreste
for trespassing and jailed for about four hours.
"We were there through lunch, a hotdog and fruit cocktail. The
hot dog was good. It's hard to mess up a hot dog, but that fruit cocktail
was cruel and unusual punishment," he said.
The charges were dismissed, and Cochran has since upgraded its facilities,
but not without blasting Holland for all the money he cost the city.
The Altamaha is also threatened by water diverted into manmade reservoirs
upstream, which he said have affected the amount of water flowing downstream.
"We're getting less water every year ... That affects the quality
of life for plants, animals and people. People need to wake up to what
is happening," he said.
Potential pollution from dredge spoils at Andrews Island is another
of his concerns.
"Water slowly leaching out through the berm is milky colored and
it stinks," said Holland.
Time to explore more
Challenges remain, but the organization's "greatest achievement
is the environmental awareness that we helped create throughout our
watershed," he said.
"Water quality is now a standard household word," he said.
In the group's outreach to area school children, Holland and others
have worked with a group of Glynn County science students. The self-described "Salt
Marsh Soldiers" took on wetland cleanup and conservation projects
beginning in 2007.
"I'm so impressed with the young people. They are our greatest
hope for tomorrow, and they know and take pride in that fact," he
said.
It will be hard to step down, but Holland said he has no regrets.
"It's been one heck of an experience. I've loved it," he
said. "But I'm not going to be confined to one watershed anymore.
I can explore them all."
His first priority in retirement, he said, is a longtime passion.
"I love to fish, and now I'll have more time to do it."
teresa.stepzinski@jacksonville.com, (912) 264-0405
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