On January 25th a meeting was held in Atlanta to generate discussion among potential partners in the development of business plans for a national Watershed Restoration Initiative. The business plans were to describe a five-year strategy for restoration activities, with the primary purpose of reducing sedimentation from Forest Service developments, campsites and roads. Consultants Giff Pinchot, the grandson of America’s famed forester, and associate David Carmichel were present to facilitate the planning meeting through group exercises culminating in a presentation outlining present and “desired future conditions” for the various watersheds.

The individuals present represented government and non-government organizations that have interests in the watersheds of the South Platte River, the Lower Mississippi River Valley, the Conasauga River, and the Chattooga River. Elsewhere in the nation, two similar meetings were held to discuss business plans for the eight other watersheds funded.

The individual watershed groups focused on issues relevant to their watershed; for instance, the Upper South Platte River group was concerned with watershed conditions following multiple wildfires in the Denver metropolitan watershed. Because the 600,000-acre watershed is in the wildland-urban interface, great concern was expressed over the safety of encroaching development. The rangers from the Chattooga River watershed cited increased recreation and impacts from private land as their greatest concern.

The Washington Office of the Forest Service arranged the business plan meetings to broaden planning criteria and public participation for this unique initiative. The business plan format is familiar to the private sector, and the Forest Service has recently adopted this approach--that they have products to market to the American public. In order to do so, many relationships are slated to change. Taxpayers have become “customers.” The agency’s Recreation Fee Demonstration program makes this relationship apparent.

The fee program, which is a charge in excess of individual federal income tax for use of public lands, was to last one year but has been extended for three years. Forest Service employees are no longer just public servants but are now twice publicly funded entrepreneurs managing a vast public resource. Traditional partners are now investors. This transition is occurring because of the direction from the office of Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck. Chief Dombeck has been applauded by many for changing the program emphasis of the Forest Service from resource extraction to recreation and forest health. This is known as the “Chief’s Agenda,” and features recreation, watershed health and restoration, a long-term road policy, and sustainable forest management. It is not entirely clear whether or not this is cause for jubilation.

Business As Usual Plan

At the time of the Atlanta meeting, the district rangers from the three forests in the Chattooga watershed had a complete list of projects that they had proposed to be funded by the Watershed Restoration initiative. This list remains essentially unchanged despite the fact that some projects were rejected at the level of funding within the Forest Service. The projects, with first year funding at $2.1 million, range in magnitude from simple maintenance of campsites to paving the entire length of Burrell’s Ford Road. In addition, there are 6,700 acres of prescribed burns at a quarter of a million dollars’ price tag, and plans to incorporate an amendment to the watershed’s Forest Plans to allow prescribed burning within the Chattooga’s Wild & Scenic Corridor.

For an initiative termed “restoration,” a disproportionate number of projects—conservatively about 28%—involve new development or construction of new facilities. This situation arises from the fact that most projects were already “on the books” prior to the official public announcement of the Watershed Restoration initiative. In essence, projects that had not received funding in the past were “categorically included.”

The recreation development projects include building a 10 mile mountain bike trail in the Bull Pen area, construction of 27 campsites at Sarah’s Creek, and the pending construction of an 18 mile equestrian trail in the Blue Valley Experimental Forest. These projects are unnecessary and excessive, because similar sites in those areas and elsewhere are clearly in need of restoration work.

For example, the foot trail following the Chattooga River above Bull Pen Bridge resembles the gullied horse trails of the Smokies. Restoration of this trail should be a priority because of its close proximity to the river (5 feet in places), and because it accesses one of the most unique places in the watershed. Development of 27 sites at Sarah’s Creek for the cost of $435,000 is unnecessary because of the campsite areas already there. Camping in the woods, or at the KOA?—that is the question. Horse trails are a valuable resource in the watershed but it seems that money would be better spent on refurbishing and constantly maintaining the ones that already exist. These projects are, as noted above, obviously developing recreation infrastructure, and there are more insidious projects that were not even included in the 28% estimate that total about $1.7 million.

For instance, far too many projects qualify as restorative measures at present but seem to allow future actions that are contrary to the intent of the initiative. The rehabilitation of a breached dam on Big Creek includes the construction of a low water crossing to access timber on the other side of the creek.

A similar initiative can be found on Sutton’s Hole Road off of Highway 76 near Southeastern Expeditions. This road leads to an old log deck in a sensitive area right outside of the Chattooga’s Wild & Scenic Corridor. For many years the road has been a popular mud hole, and was never closed because it provides access for outfitter campsites on the riverbank above Woodall Shoals. Now, with Watershed Restoration funds the road has been widened, drained and graveled, and a gate has been placed at the entrance. An outfitter at this point has exclusive access to this road, but will soon be joined by logging trucks and equipment if the Tallulah District has its way.

Sutton’s Hole Road accesses several timber stands in the Compartment 59 Timber Sale that are presently under litigation. At present, the Forest Service is attempting to circumvent the court’s decision in Sierra Club v. Martin through Amendments 18 and 19 to the Chattahoochee Forest Plan (see also Chattahoochee Forest Plan Amendment 18 Challenged more information).

If these measures are successful, timber will be harvested throughout the area along Sutton’s Hole Road and “temporary roads” will be built. If the timber harvest resumes, the road’s condition will most certainly be as bad or worse than it was in the beginning. (The District maintains that as a condition of any sale timber contractors are responsible for improving the roads affected as part of the sale, yet the fact that a high clearance, four-wheel drive vehicle is required to access recently cut stands is a good indication that this is not likely.) The money used for this and similar projects would have had a more restorative effect if used to not only decommission but to obliterate certain roads in the watershed. The business plan clearly states road obliteration as a goal, but no such action is planned as of yet.

Half Speak

Could it be a bureaucratic quandary? Let’s critique the following excerpts from a critical resource used to develop the business plan for the Chattooga River Watershed Restoration Plan.

“…Contains some of the best trout fisheries and white water rafting in the Southeastern United States.”

Yes, the Chattooga has fine artificial trout habitat. The fisheries responsible served the valuable purpose of restoring trout habitat following the devastating logging practices of the early 1900’s. However, it seems that the recovery of native brook trout habitat would be the best measure of watershed restoration. The funding for such an effort: $0. Admittedly, the Chattooga is a fine rafting experience. But by placing the primary recreational emphasis on this commercial use of the Chattooga the Forest Service discounts individual private use of the river. The business plan commits far too many resources to developing additional recreation facilities.

“The ecosystem of the Chattooga River watershed was heavily impacted by activities occurring in the 1800’s and early 1900’s.”

And the 30’s, 50’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. These devastating activities were commercial logging and the subsequent uncontrolled burning of slash. These abusive practices were not confined to the turn of the century, but have continued to the present. For restoration work to be effective the fact must be recognized that most of the problems that exist in the watershed are a result of past timber management practices. Forest Service personnel must be trained to see outside of the ever-decreasing length of timber harvest rotations.

“There is a tremendous impact on the watershed due to the demands made upon the forest to provide clean water, recreational opportunities, productive soils and forest products.”

Exactly what is the impact on the watershed to provide clean water and productive soils? These are the products of a protected watershed composed of intact forest. The extraction of forest products usually excludes the availability of productive soils and clean water. By removing large amounts of biomass, you are left with poor soils that are highly erodible. Admittedly the impact from recreation is a real concern, and the fact remains that the current business plan explicitly contributes to those impacts.

According to the printed version of the Watershed Restoration project’s business plan, the Chattooga River Ecosystem Management Demonstration Project (CREMDP) of 1993 to ‘95 was an important body of research considered during the development process. The specific conclusions of that analysis were “that sediment and fecal concentrations were a concern, that timber harvest had decreased 30% in the past decade, that 5-9% of the watershed is in old growth and that vegetation in the Warwoman sub-watershed was historically 25% pine and is now 60% pine.”

Out of thousands of pages of documents that include an ecological classification system, an amphibian and reptile survey, a vegetation history of the northern Chattooga basin and a natural disturbance history, these conclusions seem to reach for extractive solutions to restoration.

Take for instance the Tuckaluge Timber Sale, which is presently under litigation. The sale as originally proposed was to extract an unprecedented amount of timber from an area within the Warwoman sub-watershed, and to build an additional 9 miles of roads through this area in the name of “ecosystem management.” Chattahoochee Forest Plan Amendments 18 and 19, which seek to circumvent the court decision that postponed the sale, would allow Forest managers to continue that sale in the name of “forest health.”

The very District that relied on data from the CREMDP to justify this pine extraction from the Tuckaluge area chose to disregard that body of research in a another decision concerning timber extraction in Compartment 32. Instead, the District chose to use outdated field data (“CISC” Data) that classified an area as predominantly pine, but which was classified as 85% hardwood in the Ecological Classification System developed under the CREMDP.

As handled by the Districts and continuing this maligned logic, the conclusions used in the formulation of the business plan reach for the foregone conclusion that more management means restoration.

The Mountain at the End of the Road

If some of these conclusions seem speculative, go to Whiteside Mountain after a heavy rain to see first hand how project funds are being managed. The road that once made the top of Whiteside a roadside spectacle was closed in the early 1960’s, and the scar had become a boulder studded path climbing through a dense array of maturing trees.

A project was proposed by the Highlands Ranger District to “replace and improve failed drainage structures, improve access for emergency personnel, and improve safety on the trail.” Now, a trail at least 20 feet wide in places exists. Now, erosion and sedimentation from this project far exceeds the levels caused by the few trouble spots mentioned in the scoping notice. Although hand tools were the method of removing brush as stated in the Forest Service’s scoping notice, it is evident that the bulldozer responsible for re-creating the road was responsible for felling many excellent trees along the way.

When looking at the trail, one has the impression that the contractor was told to build a two-lane road to the top of the mountain. The intimate experience that once existed here is gone. Most agree that Whiteside Mountain is one the most spectacular places in the watershed. The original road to the top of the mountain was an affront to the beauty of this place, and the new road is an affront to a project named Watershed Restoration.

It is not encouraging to see a visible landmark such as Whiteside handled in such an irresponsible manner when many other projects are to be completed in relatively isolated locations.

The Road Ahead

Assuming that necessary support for the nation wide initiative continues, the Chattooga River Watershed Restoration Project is to be funded for the next two years. Some valuable projects have been completed to this point, and we hope more will reach the implementation stage. Although it is most certain that projects have been prioritized for the years to come, the Forest Service should be challenged to do projects that contribute to repairing the native ecosystem of the Chattooga River watershed.

As one of the first Wild & Scenic River designated in the United States, the Chattooga River watershed should be managed for the extraordinary qualities that have been jeopardized by ill informed management and abuse in the past. The Chattooga River Watershed Restoration Project can be a new beginning or simply a repetition of the past. We believe that the challenge can be met.

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