A paddler slices through the blackwater of the St. Marys River during at 2024 Georgia Rivers' paddle trip. The organization has 14 canoe/kayak adventures planned for 2025, ranging from multi-day ...

Joel Fleming, fisheries biologist with the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division, said it is unclear how the non-native catfish species made it into the free-flowing blackwater river.

If we lose water, the river could be in real trouble.” There are as many as 15,000 American alligators in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, which straddles the border of Georgia and Florida.