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Chattahoochee Riverkeeper on environmental concerns and headless goats
Jason Ulseth, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. Picture courtesy of Jason Ulseth
For environmentalist Jason Ulseth, no two workdays are the same and that’s just fine by him.
“I have my boring office days where I’m at the computer, typing emails and working on grant reports,” Ulseth told State Affairs. “But I also have a lot of days where I'm out in the field collecting water samples, investigating a possible sewer spill or oil spill, patrolling the river on our jet boat, working with local government, state, federal agencies on developing campaigns for certain contaminants.”
Then, there are those days when the 41-year-old’s schedule is completely turned on its ear.
“I get a call at 9 o'clock in the morning that a creek is running an off-color or somebody found dead fish in the river. Then I drop everything I’m going to drive two hours to that part of the river, launch our boat and get out there and investigate,” he said, adding “It's a lot of balancing and juggling with the resources we have. It’s the kind of job I thrive on.”
Having an 18-member staff also helps.
The Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (CRK) organization is one of 300-plus waterkeeper groups worldwide, including eight groups in Georgia. Ulseth heads the largest riverkeeper organization in the state.
In his 16 years with CRK, Ulseth has traversed every mile of the 435-mile Chattahoochee River. He spoke with State Affairs about his goals for the Chattahoochee and the nonprofit river protection group, which occasionally receives small state government grants. And he spills the tea on the ongoing Chattahoochee River mystery of the headless goats found floating in the river; they have numbered more than 600 since 2018.
The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q. How did you become interested in environmental issues?
A. My environmental background came from fishing and boating on the river as a child. I wasn't raised by staunch environmentalists. It was just something that came to me. I was a kid who would much rather be out on the river than at home playing video games. The love of the outdoors is what pushed me when I was in high school and college to dedicate my education towards learning more about it. Then that turned into dedicating my career towards protecting the environment.
Q. How did you become the riverkeeper at Chattahoochee Riverkeeper?
A. Our founding director and Riverkeeper was Sally Bethea. She started the organization in 1994. I was a freshman in high school at the time. I knew about the organization when I was in college and when I was working for the state of Georgia. It was a very respected environmental advocacy organization that I realized was doing a lot of the things I wish that I could be doing as a state regulator. Working for the state government, we certainly had opportunities to protect the environment but that wasn't always the key mission.
Working for the state and seeing the effectiveness of a nonprofit organization to protect the river, I was very inspired by them and jumped at the opportunity when an opening came up in 2007. I interviewed for the position with Sally and she hired me as the technical programs director. Then when Sally announced she was going to retire, a transition plan was set in place splitting her job into two positions. I became the riverkeeper and our long-term general counsel Juliet Cohen became executive director.
Q. What are your goals as riverkeeper?
A. That every mile of the Chattahoochee and its tributaries is clean for fishing, drinking and swimming.
Q. What is the state of Georgia doing right when it comes to environmental protection?
A. There are a number of local, state and federal agencies charged with environmental protection. A lot of them are doing great things to protect our environment. But the reality is that these agencies typically are underfunded, understaffed, and they just don't have the resources necessary to adequately protect all of our environmental resources. That’s where nonprofits stepped in to fill that void to make sure we have adequate eyes and ears on our waterways and other areas to make sure they're sufficiently protected.
Q. What is the state doing wrong?
A. There are a lot of programs that are protecting our resources. But there are a lot of opportunities missed and there are emerging threats that are becoming problematic to our environment and our waterways. For example, emerging contaminants like PFAS [man-made chemicals used in industry and consumer products] and microplastics, things we're just finding out that are very threatening to our waterways and to our public health. These agencies aren't moving quickly enough to adequately protect our environment and our public safety from these emerging contaminants. They also don’t have the necessary boots on the ground to follow up on problem areas and to make sure they get resolved.
Q. Which brings us to the mystery of the headless goats. Are you still finding goats in the Chattahoochee?
A. Yep. It’s still ongoing.
Q. When was the last time you saw them?
A. Mid-December. I counted between 20 and 25. They were downstream of Atlanta, South Fulton County, Douglas County stretch. I'm going out there again in a week or two.
Q. Is there a particular area where most of the goats have been dumped?
A. Yeah, primarily off the I-20 Bridge, Interstate 20 which crosses the Chattahoochee. We've also seen those that have been dumped from other bridges near that stretch. But it’s all within a couple-mile area, that part of the river near Six Flags.
Q. Is the Georgia Bureau of Investigation looking into it?
A. I’m not at liberty to discuss ongoing investigations.
Q. Do you have an idea who or what is behind these incidents?
A. The leading theory is Santeria, a form of animal sacrifice which requires that the sacrificed animal be placed in nature or in a river. So just based off of my Google research, animal sacrifice of course is nothing new but most practices of animal sacrifice are allowed to eat the sacrificed animal but this particular subset of religion does not allow them to eat [the animal]. They have to actually dispose of the carcass in a natural setting.
Q. What do you do with the bodies?
A. The bodies can weigh 50, 60, 70 pounds, and most of the time, they're in some level of decomposition. I’m in an 18-foot boat. I don’t have the resources to bring them on board and take them anywhere. We just have to leave them.
Q. Does that cause any harm to the environment?
A. It is a concern, not just for the river but for public safety, and people who may be [enjoying recreation] on that part of the river, which is the primary reason why we want this dumping to be stopped. There's just nothing that me and one staff person on a little boat can do to collect 15 or 20 goat carcasses.
Q. What about a state agency?
A. So there’s the Wildlife Resources Division of the Department of Natural Resources. Their boat’s smaller than mine.
Q. Isn’t that harmful to the wildlife and fish in that area?
A. In the state of decomposition we find them in, typically they are bloated and floating and are covered with flies and maggots. We haven’t really researched what types of river species could be eating the goats or any potential effects that would have.
Our main concern is pathogens and people [enjoying recreation] on the river come in contact with these degrading animals and any public safety component that goes along with that. We also are aware that there could be especially isolated areas of the Chattahoochee River where dissolved oxygen levels may be affected and other things that could impact fish and wildlife. But we're not aware of any specific damages that [the dead goats] are causing.
Q. What about people who fish in that area and take the fish home to eat?
A. In terms of eating the fish, I wouldn’t foresee any concerns arising from that. If there's any pathogens that are in the fish tissues. The fish is being cooked, so that’s going to kill any potential pathogens within the fish tissues. But there could be risk associated with actual contact with the water that the fish was in. If you’re near one of these decomposing animals that could certainly expose you to the pathogens from the carcasses.
Q. How are these dumpings impacting the ecosystem?
A. This is a problem we've never encountered, outside of this one stretch of the river in this very specified time period. So we’re not aware of any research that’s been done on large volumes of carcasses being dumped into natural rivers and what those impacts could be on the ecosystem.
We know it’s not natural and we know that it does pose a human health hazard for people. It needs to be stopped.
Q. What other unusual finds have you made in the Chattahoochee?
A. Big-screen TVs, sofas, bed mattresses. Items people don’t want to dispose of properly so they wait until midnight and go to a bridge and dump it into the river. Another big thing we find is tires. Some small tire operations are taking your recycling fees which can be upwards of $3, putting it in their pocket and then dumping hundreds of tires in the Chattahoochee. We find a ton of those.
Q. Are there any environment-related bills in the current session that are of interest to you or Chattahoochee Riverkeepers?
A. There are several bills out right now. One of which is related to the Okefenokee Swamp and adjacent land mining. It’s been a large statewide environmental bill that we’ve been working on with an organization called the Georgia Water Coalition. That’s been the big environmental bill during this legislative session.
Q. What can the average Georgian do to make the environment better?
A. We have a huge problem with littering. When we have citizen cleanup where we take 50 people out to the river and clean up trash, people pick up a plastic bottle or a Styrofoam cup and say, “I can't believe somebody dumped this in the Chattahoochee River.” They didn’t dump it in the river. They dumped it outside of their [car] window or at the grocery store parking lot, not realizing that when stormwater runoff happens, it picks up all this trash and takes it into the little creek which leads to a bigger creek which then takes it to the Chattahoochee River and our drinking supplies.
People don’t connect the little things they do in their daily lives that actually impact our rivers and our water supplies. Just because you’re in your yard and you’re 15 miles away from the river, [doesn’t mean] what you do there isn’t going to have an impact. Stormwater not only picks up our litter but the fertilizers we put on our lawns, the herbicides we kill fire ants with. All of that winds up in the river. So we have to be cognizant of these little things we’re doing in our daily lives. It all has this huge cumulative impact on our waterways and our water supplies.
Q. Let's say you get lost in the environment. What three must-haves would you want with you?
A. Clean water, phone and fire.
To learn more about Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and what you can do to protect the river, click here.
the jason ulseth files
- Title: Chattahoochee Riverkeeper
- Age: 41
- Birthplace: Atlanta
- Residence: Johns Creek
- Education: Earned a Bachelor of Science in environmental health, the University of Georgia
- Career: Worked at the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission before joining the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper as technical programs director in 2007. Became riverkeeper in January 2015.
- Accomplishments: He is Chattahoochee Riverkeeper’s lead boat captain and is licensed by the United States Coast Guard as a merchant marine officer to captain passenger vessels up to 50 tons. (The biggest boat the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper organization has is 8 tons.). He’s an expert in stormwater management and a certified professional in erosion and sediment control and a Georgia-certified design professional and trainer. In 2019, Atlanta Magazine listed him as one of Atlanta’s Top 500 Most Powerful Leaders.
- Family: He and his wife Dawn have two children.
- Hobbies: When I have a chance, I love to go fishing on Lake Lanier, the Chattahoochee River, taking my kids out hiking and enjoying nature.
- What job would you want to be doing if you weren’t in your current job: I’m living my dream job right now. There’s nothing else I’d rather be doing.
Have questions, comments or tips? Contact Tammy Joyner on Twitter @lvjoyner or at [email protected].
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Republican-drawn congressional map passes Senate committee
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Interesting observation inside the Capitol:
The 33rd Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony featuring the Atlanta Boy Choir and the Atlanta Boy Choir Alumni Choir. The 25-foot red cedar tree was donated by the Roy family of Ringgold.
Happening while lawmakers are in session:
Lots of school children touring the Capitol, including the Marietta Center for Advanced Academics.
What’s for lunch?
Visitors to the Capitol — and there were many on Monday due to the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony — were treated to complimentary red and green sprinkle Christmas cookies and bottles of water.
If any senators missed lunch, they had a giant bag of Georgia peanuts waiting for them on their chamber desk for the afternoon session, compliments of Sen. Russ Goodman, R-Cogdell.
— Tammy Joyner
Quote(s) of the day:
“There is no way to create a brand new district or two new districts and not make changes to other districts that surround it. … Creating a new district is like dropping a rock on a still pond, and the ripples go out.”
– Rep. Rob Leverett, R-Elberton, House redistricting committee chair, responding to a question from Rep. Sandra Scott, D-Rex, about why the Senate map was “changed drastically.”
“The one thing we’re missing is the thousands and thousands of lives that have been lost on all fronts, Jewish and Palestinian … This resolution needs to be a call for peace, a call that condemns the terror but also the unilateral killing of civilians on all sides.”
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Biggest thing that happened today
The House Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee voted 9-4 to approve the Senate redistricting plan passed by the Senate last week. Earlier, the committee released its proposed electoral map for the U.S. House in Congress. Public comment on the map will occur tomorrow, and can be made online here.
Interesting observation inside the Capitol:
After the Atlanta Boys Choir performed, Lane Howard spoke on behalf of Clark’s Christmas Kids and her husband, radio and tv personality Clark Howard, who she said was being prepped for heart surgery. This year the charity is collecting gifts for about 12,000 Georgia children in foster care, both online and at Walmart stores across the state.
Gov. Brian Kemp said he was not surprised that Howard’s heart needed a bit of repair, “since he works that heart hard” in his effort to bring joy to foster children.
Happening while lawmakers are in session:
Among the groups of school kids visiting today were students from the Wesleyan School in Peachtree Corners, who proposed a series of new laws to their district representative, Rep. Scott Hilton, while gathered in the balcony of the House. Many of their proposals would allow children to drive before age 16.
What’s for lunch?
Tables with bags of holiday snack mixes of Chex cereal, pretzels, nuts and M&Ms were available to Capitol visitors.
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[email protected]
In case you missed it, here’s what you need to know about the special legislative session.
In case you missed it, here’s what you need to know about the special legislative session.
- What is a special session of the Georgia Legislature, and why is it happening?
- Legislators schedule special assembly to address redistricting, but will they make headway?
- Say what? Terms you may hear during the special session
Subscribe to State Affairs so you will have unlimited access to all of our stories.
We’d love to hear from you. If there’s something you would like us to report on during the special session or just have a question about what’s going on, shoot us an email at [email protected].
Despite opposition, both chambers pass their proposed redistricting maps
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Our senior investigative reporters, Tammy Joyner and Jill Jordan Sieder, were covering the special legislative session at the Capitol this week. Joyner is following the Senate proceedings, while Sieder is following the House proceedings. They will be your eyes and ears during the eight-day session, which means you will find a variety of stories and live updates on what’s happening inside and even outside of the Capitol. The special session will resume on Monday. And so will we.
We’d love to hear from you — our readers. If there’s something you would like us to report on during the special session or just have a question about what’s going on, shoot us an email at [email protected].
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In and about the Senate
Quote(s) of the day:
“In the maps being drawn by the Republican majority, 80% of the Black voters on the map who are being redistricted come from outside these new growth areas where there are large and growing Black populations. And yet the court specifically identified disenfranchisement areas within the order. Eighty percent of Black voters are being shuffled around. This is like the Republicans’ mother scolded them and said, ‘Clean your room.’ And instead of doing that, they hung up a couple of shirts and left all of the dirty underwear all over the floor.”
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Biggest thing that happened today:
The Congressional map proposed by the state Senate for the U.S. House was quietly released Friday afternoon to little fanfare after both chambers’ sessions had adjourned. Next week’s session will clearly focus on that map.
Meanwhile, after more than four hours of debate, the Senate passed Senate Bill 1 EX by a vote of 32-23. The bill is the proposed revised district map, which drew lots of opposition from voting rights groups and Democrats who say the map still dilutes Black voting power and violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
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After the Senate map’s passage, the Senate Redistricting Committee met briefly to hear public comment on House Bill 1 EX — the House’s proposed district map, which also passed the House on Friday. No action was taken.
Interesting observation inside the Capitol:
A group of children, babies in strollers and their parents with South Cobb Homeschool filed through the Capitol.
Happening while lawmakers are in session:
A group of health care professionals greeted lawmakers and visitors as they entered the Capitol with signs urging safe storage of firearms. They handed out information that noted 4.6 million children live in homes with at least one loaded, unlocked firearm. They mentioned HB 161, hoping that bill will see some movement when the Legislature reconvenes on Jan. 8.
What’s for lunch?
There was no official break for lunch. Some senators worked through lunch, grabbing snacks from the nearby mini cafe off the side of the chamber.
— Tammy Joyner
In and about the House
Quote(s) of the day:
“This map is an undemocratic, un-American, blatant exercise of partisan gerrymandering that harms the freedom of Georgians to elect their candidates of choice … Unfortunately it seems that we are repeating the mistakes of our dark past under Republican control of the Georgia Legislature.”
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The state House voted 101 to 78 along party lines to pass the proposed House electoral map crafted by Republican leadership, over the intense objections of Democrats, who said the map violates the Voting Rights Act by breaking up two minority opportunity districts and unnecessarily eliminating or vastly changing Democratic districts.
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Leverett said he could not find a way to comply with the court order to create five majority-Black districts without creating some incumbent pairings, noting, “we did not inflict political casualty solely on the opposing party — we took some damage ourselves.”
Interesting observation inside the Capitol:
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Happening while lawmakers are in session:
The Christmas decorating wasn’t limited to inside the corridors of the Statehouse. Facility staff were also sprucing up the outside with Christmas cheer, too.
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In case you missed it, here’s what you need to know about the special legislative session.
Subscribe to State Affairs so you will have unlimited access to all of our stories.
We’d love to hear from you. If there’s something you would like us to report on during the special session or just have a question about what’s going on, shoot us an email at [email protected].
On the ground: Day 2 of the Georgia special legislative session
It’s crunch time for state lawmakers tasked with meeting a Dec. 8 deadline for creating new electoral maps for the Georgia General Assembly and U.S. Congress, also known as redistricting.
Our senior investigative reporters, Tammy Joyner and Jill Jordan Sieder, are at the state Capitol for the special legislative session. Joyner is following the Senate proceedings, while Sieder is following the House proceedings. They will be your eyes and ears during the eight-day session, which means you will find a variety of stories and live updates on what’s happening inside and even outside of the Capitol.
We’d love to hear from you — our readers. If there’s something you would like us to report on during the special session or just have a question about what’s going on, shoot us an email at [email protected].
Here are some of the highlights of Thursday’s session.
Quote(s) of the day:
“Don’t take life for granted.”
— Sen. Rick Williams receives a standing ovation from his peers after conveying his ordeal getting medical help in his rural community following a Nov. 3 heart attack.
“Do the right thing here, people, it’s not that hard.”
— Community organizer Michelle Sanchez
Biggest thing that happened today:
After some heated exchange, the Senate Reapportionment & Redistricting Committee approved its proposed map, rejecting the Democrats’ plan. The 7-5 vote fell along racial and party lines, with the committee’s five Black members voting in favor of the Democratic-drawn map. Sen. Gloria Butler, who presented the Democratic plan to the committee, expressed concern about the way the process was handled regarding the two maps. The map now goes to the Senate floor.
“Yesterday [when the Republican plan was presented], the committee didn’t ask questions. Today, the committee members got to ask questions. All of the public did not get an opportunity to express themselves but they did yesterday. So in my view, that’s two processes. We need to be consistent,” said Butler.
Interesting observation inside the Capitol:
Senators arrived for the afternoon session to find two books wrapped in a bow at their chamber desk. One book was photos of the lawmakers during the 2023 session. The other book was “Unlimited” by Benny Tate. The books are an early holiday gift from Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, president of the Senate. Tate is senior pastor of Rock Springs Church in Milner, where Jones attends services.
Happening while lawmakers are in session:
Unlike Wednesday’s opening session when community activists, school children and other visitors swelled the hallways of the Capitol, Thursday’s special legislative session was rather low-key.
What’s for lunch?
Senators had a catered lunch of chicken and steak fajitas from On the Border.
— Tammy Joyner
Quote(s) of the day:
“The truth of the matter is that we have delivered a map that we’re sure complies with the judge’s order. Y’all have not. There is a remedy. If we were to look at the area south and west of Atlanta, there’s one representative that you’re trying to save, but that one representative that you save is going to cost us all in the end. If you accept our map, then one representative may be eliminated. That’s the will of the voters. If you don’t accept our map and the judge has to do a special master, then every last one of us, 180 of us, are in jeopardy. Y’all have some big decisions to make.”
— House Minority Leader James Beverly
Biggest thing that happened today:
In the House Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee meeting, Republican members rejected an alternate House district plan proposed by Democrats and the committee voted 9 – 5 along partisan lines to approve the Republican chair’s plan already submitted.
House Minority Leader James Beverly, D-Macon, and civil rights attorney Bryan Sells presented the Democrats’ proposed plan. Sells said it cures a problem in the Republicans’ plan, which “unravels or dismantles two protected coalition districts” with majority minority voters, which he said would likely cause a federal judge to find the plan in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Decatur, who has served in the Legislature for 25 years, told the redistricting committee she was shocked to learn her House District 82 in Dekalb County has been redrawn in a way that tears apart a growing coalition district of diverse minority communities. She called the changes a “glaring violation” of voting rights law that Judge Jones is likely to take issue with, and offered to help GOP lawmakers to remedy the plan.
Interesting observation inside the Capitol:
During their morning session House members watched a 120-second time-lapse video of the renovation work performed inside the Capitol over the summer and fall, which included painting virtually all the walls, columns and balconies in the building. After watching the blur of scaffolding, ladders and workers transform several spaces, members applauded all of the workers responsible for the transformation.
Happening while lawmakers are in session:
There was nothing of note happening outside the Capitol today.
What’s for lunch?
Members of the House Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee enjoyed Jersey Mike subs today, including roast beef, turkey, Italian and club sandwiches.
— Jill Jordan Sieder
Our stories explaining what’s behind the special legislative session:
- What is a special session of the Georgia Legislature, and why is it happening?
- Legislators schedule special assembly to address redistricting, but will they make headway?
- Say what? Terms you may hear during the special session
Subscribe to State Affairs so you will have unlimited access to all of our stories.
Georgia lawmakers push for repeal of law determining where medical facilities are built
A study committee of Georgia senators took a decisive step Tuesday toward ending a longstanding and contentious law that regulates how and where new medical facilities are located in the state.
The committee’s decision centers on the 44-year-old Certificate of Need law. It was created to control health care costs and cut down on duplication of services and unnecessary expansions. It determines when, where and if hospitals need to be built. Opponents have said the law prevents competition and enables big hospitals to have a monopoly, often shutting out small and private medical outlets.
On Tuesday, the Senate Study Committee on Certificate of Need Reform effectively said the law needs to be repealed. The committee approved, in a 6-2 vote, nine recommendations.
“Based upon the testimony, research presented, and information received, the Study Committee on Certificate of Need Reform has found that the problem Georgia’s CON law was intended to combat no longer exists,” the report said.
However, the head of the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals said Tuesday that repealing the law would be a bad idea.
“It would have a devastating financial impact on hospitals and the quality and access to health care,” Monty Veazey, the alliance’s chief executive, told State Affairs.
Veazey said he has not seen the recommendations yet but his organization has sent its own set of recommendations to the senate and house study committees.
“We believe that the certificate of need really does need some modernization and we look forward to working with the committee to work through those recommendations and see if we can reach a compromise position during the upcoming legislative session,” Veazey said. “We still want to see what the House committee recommends before moving forward.”
Here’s what the senate study committee recommends, according to a draft:
- Repeal CON requirements for obstetrics services, neonatal intensive care, birth centers and all services related to maternal and neonatal care across Georgia.
- End requirements for hospital-based CON on Jan. 1, 2025.
- Reform CON laws to eliminate CON review for new and expanded inpatient psychiatric services and beds that serve Medicaid patients and the uninsured.
- Repeal all cost expenditure triggers for CON.
- All medical and surgery specialties should be considered a single specialty, including cardiology and general surgery.
- Multi-specialty centers should be allowed, particularly in rural areas.
- Remove CON for hospital bed expansion.
- Revise freestanding emergency department requirements such that they must be within 35 miles of an affiliated hospital.
- Remove CON for research centers.
The committee will present its recommendations to the Georgia General Assembly when it reconvenes in January.
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