"When things get so far wrong as to attract their notice,the citizens, when well informed, can be relied uponto set them right."—Thomas Jefferson

Citizens came together in 1991 to form the Chattooga River Watershed Coalition (CRWC), inspired by their vision of managing the Chattooga watershed’s three, separate national forests as one ecosystem. The group’s first project was writing a proposal describing this "ecosystem management" plan for the entire watershed, which was submitted to the Nantahala and Sumter National Forests in North and South Carolina, and the Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia. The Forest Service was interested, as the proposal aligned closely with the agency’s new land management paradigm called "New Perspectives." Yet at the local level, "New Perspectives" was being totally eclipsed by ongoing intensive timber harvesting and road building projects, especially in the Chattahoochee National Forest. The CRWC spent much of 1992 and 1993 working in opposition to the Forest Service’s timber program by filing appeals on many individual timber sales, and in one instance advancing a lawsuit in federal court where the Forest Service was found guilty of breaking the law. All the while the CRWC continued to promote the ecosystem management plan, and in 1994 opened an office and developed other programs designed to fulfill the organization’s mission "To protect, promote and restore the natural ecological integrity of the Chattooga River watershed ecosystem; to ensure the viability of native species in harmony with a healthy human environment; and, to educate and empower communities to practice good stewardship on public and private lands."

As we begin ...

1994
Ecosystem Management for the Chattooga River Watershed

By 1994, the Chattooga River Watershed Coalition’s "ecosystem management" proposal for the Chattooga River watershed had gained considerable momentum and public support. This plan was forwarded in keeping with our goal of seeking ways to work cooperatively with the Forest Service. The Forest Service used our proposal as a springboard for obtaining $1.5 million for a three-year research project called the "Chattooga River Basin Ecosystem Management Demonstration Project." Because of this cooperative effort and in recognition of our work, the CRWC received an award from then Chief of the Forest Service, Jack Ward Thomas, for "Outstanding parnership with the USDA Forest Service in managing the natural resources of the Francis Marion and Sumter National Forest."

1995
Vigil on Rabun Bald

Early in 1995 the Forest Service proposed a massive project known as the "Tuckaluge Timber Sale," that was located partially within the boundaries of the former 14,000 acre Rabun Bald Roadless Area in Georgia. The timber sale called for 8.2 million board feet of timber to be harvested, and the construction of 9.1 miles of roads. This was the largest timber sale in recent history of the Chattooga River watershed. Curiously, the Forest Service held that this huge project adhered to exemplary principles of "ecosystem management,"and illustrated the agency’s past three years’ investment in the "Chattooga...Ecosystem Management Project." Needless to say the CRWC did not share this point of view, and acted on our goals to educate the public, as well as to protect remaining old growth and roadless areas.

CRWC members held a month long vigil on top of Rabun Bald to protest and draw attention to the misguided Tuckaluge Timber Sale. This vigil drew much public support, attracting more than 300 visitors to the observation tower on top of the summit. After the vigil, the timber sale was stopped from proceeding by a compromise agreement negotiated between the CRWC and the Forest Service. Shortly thereafter and probably as a result of this highly publicized controversy, the Georgia Wildlife Federation recognized the CRWC with their 1995 "Forest Conservationist of the Year" award.

1996
Chattooga Conservation Plan

1996 brought the unveiling of the CRWC’s "Chattooga Conservation Plan," a ground-breaking project applying principles of conservation biology, landscape ecology, and Geographic Information Systems technology to devise a specific plan for preserving, restoring and maintaining the native forest ecosystem of the Chattooga River watershed. This Plan is an extension of the original, catalyst concept for founding the CRWC: that the Chattooga River watershed is composed of ecological attributes and social characteristics that are independent of political boundaries, and therefore should be managed as a natural, cohesive landscape. Submitted as an alternative for the watershed’s new Forest Plans, the Conservation Plan places significant emphasis on its implementation through the Forest Plan revision process since nearly 70% of the entire watershed is within the jurisdiction of the national forest system. The CRWC’s goal to promote public choice based on credible scientific information is expressed by the Conservation Plan project. Copies of the Conservation Plan booklet, which explains the Plan and includes an economic analysis of the watershed area and a color poster, are available upon request.

Petition for Better National Forest Management

As further input for the Forest Plan revision process that was just getting started in 1996, CRWC members collected over 20,000 signatures on a petition to the Forest Service requesting that six reasonable forest management strategies be implemented while the new Forest Plans were being devised. These requests included "no harvesting of old growth trees;" "no new roads" and "no conversions of native hardwoods into pine plantations." With the petition in hand, Coalition members embarked on a 200 mile overland and down-river journey to deliver the document to the Regional Forester in Atlanta. This journey started at the top of the Chattooga watershed at Whiteside Mountain in North Carolina, with a steep descent down the face the 4,000+ feet high mountain face to the valley below. Then the petition was carried on horseback, and by canoe and kayak down through the Chattooga River watershed, and relayed via mountain bicycle and logging truck over to the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River at Helen, GA. From there the petition was transported by canoe and kayak on the Chattahoochee River/Lake Lanier complex all the way into downtown Atlanta. The entire journey took ten days and received much media coverage and public support. The lengthy document of about 150 yards long was finally unfurled and presented to the Regional Forester in the courtyard of the Forest Service’s Atlanta office.

Horse Logging Workshop

Our entry into the logging business was another big splash in the community and the media in 1996. The CRWC salvaged about 10,000 board feet of hardwood sawlogs from trees that were blown down by the high winds of Hurricane Opal. Two horse loggers were employed for the logging job, and the operation was conducted as a public workshop on the grounds of the Hambidge Center in Rabun County, Georgia. In addition to the week-long workshop, we employed a local sawyer with a portable bandsaw to set up on site and process the raw logs into dimensional wood products. For the last two days the general public was invited to view "low impact" logging demonstration, and about 200 people from the watershed community came to watch. CNN also came to film the activities, and produced an entertaining piece that aired for a week on their "Earth Matters" television show.

1997
West Fork Controversy

Private land issues were brought to the forefront this year. All over the watershed, inholdings (private land totally within the confines of the national forest) were being put on the market at ever escalating prices to be developed, or in the case of the most strategically located tracts "held for hostage" until the federal government could consider anteing up. For example, over 200 acres known as the Brushy Mountain Tract were slated for a one-house-per-acre residential development right next to the Ellicott Rock Wilderness Area. Yet federal land acquisition dollars were scarce, in combination with growing sentiments against expanding public land holdings.

Early in 1997 another key piece of property located partially inside of the Wild and Scenic Chattooga River Corridor was purchased by developers. Situated directly on the banks of the Chattooga’s West Fork, the land known as the Nicholson Tract was a popular place for the local community to fish, swim and float. This property was also the last privately owned tract inside of the National Wild and Scenic River Corridor. One bright summer day, a CRWC member notified us that the new owners had strung a cable across the river bearing a threatening sign that said, "Absolutely No Trespassing, Survivors Will Be Prosecuted." Further, a group of men including the property owners were stationed on the riverbank, stopping people and intimidating them from paddling down the section of the West Fork where their property began. This caused a widespread uproar, and everyone’s reaction was "They can’t do that!" Yet neither law enforcement or the Forest Service stepped forward to stop the property owners’ actions.

This prompted the CRWC to act. We worked to precipitate a ruling from legal experts at the Office of General Counsel on citizens’ rights to float the river. We also worked with the Forest Service and land trusts to help negotiate a purchase price for the tract. However, the new asking price was three times what the current owners had just paid, so hopes for public ownership were dimmed. In the interim, an agreement was reached with the property owners to remove the offensive sign and allow the public to float down this section of the river unmolested.

Today, the fate of this critical piece of land is unresolved. The tract remains a top priority for acquisition into the national forest system. A recent letter signed by three senators from North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia called for federal dollars to be earmarked specifically for buying the Nicholson Tract. In federal court, summary judgment affirming the public’s right to float this section of the Wild and Scenic River is pending. The CRWC is still working, along with others, to bring the property into the national forest system. In addition, we are organizing a land trust to function as a satellite organization to the CRWC. We expect that the land trust will assist in this work.

1998
Brown Gap Timber Sale

In 1998 the CRWC took on a bold and unique project, one that was also a first for a non-profit conservation organization. We worked collaboratively with Forest Service personnel at the Highlands Ranger District of the Nantahala National Forest to negotiate the terms and to purchase a timber sale on the national forest. The final timber sale contract called for single-tree-selection harvesting of a 10 acre boundary of timber, to be done with horses. We also planned to process the logs on site with a portable bandsaw, and sell the wood products in the community.

Doing a single tree selection sale requires more skill and care in order not to damage the residual "leave trees;" therefore, it is a slower process than, for example, clearcutting. There were some big questions in our purchasing this timber sale. Would we be able to show a profit, or at least break even? Could wood products produced in this manner compete in a marketplace geared to maximum fiber production? Could we execute the timber sale without damaging the surrounding forest, the soil and nearby riparian areas? Would the project be educational for the Forest Service, loggers and the community? At the project’s end, the answer to all of these questions was "yes."

Using single-tree-selection, the timber sale produced 75,000 board feet of white pine timber, 15 cords of firewood, 10 tons of pulpwood, and a small quantity of miscellaneous hardwoods. We processed every scrap of wood, producing high quality large beams and wide boards, as well as locust posts, sourwood sled runners and wood carving stock. These products were sold in the community, augmenting the local economy. Altogether, value-added wood products were purchased by over forty individuals. There is no doubt that the added dimension of the CRWC maintaining the chain of custody of the raw log commodity and creating a value-added product by processing the wood was the key to the project’s financial success.

The timber sale was an environmental success too. The skid trails were small and unobtrusive, and they as well as the log deck were re-seeded with native grasses instead of non-native invasive species. A scientist studied the nearby riparian area by sampling for macro invertebrate species, and sediment after storm events, and recorded no evidence of any impacts from the logging. Indeed, soil compaction and movement was negligible. The Forest Service’s Timber Sales Administrator gave the logging operation an exemplary final evaluation, noting that he had "never seen a timber sale with as little residual damage."

The educational component of the timber sale was a prominent aspect of the project. A steady stream of onlookers visited the site to see the logging and sawing operation in motion, including Forest Service land managers, local entrepreneurs, loggers, forestry students and interested citizens. We also sponsored a workshop that gave hands-on instruction to aspiring horse loggers.

The Brown Gap Timber Sale was a major undertaking, certainly the most demanding project for the CRWC to date, and one that embodied nearly all of our organizational goals. The rewards were great, including increased public awareness and support for low impact logging; enlightened Forest Service land managers; and, successfully taking action in a way that clearly demonstrated a "real world" conservation ethic.

1999

The final year of the 20^th century increased the pressure on the Chattooga River watershed from all quarters: Private land deforestation and development caused unprecedented sediment loads in the river; the very tenets of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act were tested during a body recovery operation on the Chattooga’s Section IV; and, the Forest Plan revisions for the watershed’s Sumter and Chattahoochee National Forests were a battleground for competing special interests.

Erosion Monitoring Project

After numerous calls to the office from concerned citizens about the tremendous amount of dirt flowing into the Chattooga River from the already beleaguered Stekoa Creek, we determined that its source was the new golf course construction at the "Kingwood" development near Clayton, Georgia. The CRWC immediately employed a civil engineer to set up sediment monitoring stations to document the problem and collect data, which was then submitted to the Georgia agencies charged with enforcing state’s Erosion and Sedimentation Control laws. While this work did not result in the prompt enforcement of state erosion control laws, it did bring to the forefront the issue of Stekoa Creek’s terrible water quality vis-a-vis the state of Georgia’s compliance with the precedent-setting Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) lawsuit. Georgia Legal Watch is representing the CRWC’s interests in applying the TMDL provision of the federal Clean Water Act to help clean up Stekoa Creek, which is a major impaired tributary to the Wild and Scenic River.

Recovery at Raven Chute

A young woman’s tragic drowning in the Chattooga River set in motion as series of events that would test fundamental tenets of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the landmark federal legislation for protecting and managing the Chattooga River. Her body was trapped underwater for nearly two months, which resulted in the largest and most controversial search and recovery operation in the history of the Chattooga River watershed. In the center of this controversy was the issue of altering the bedrock of the river, in the course of erecting a temporary dam ("Portadam") to divert the water away from the entrapment area.

The CRWC was also at the center of this controversy, in the pivotal role of working with the Forest Service, local rescue squads and the Portadam company. The whole ordeal came to a close with the CRWC being incorporated into the Forest Service’s permit granting the Portadam company permission to divert the Chattooga: "Buzz Williams, CRWC Executive Director, will work with Portadam representatives to consider alternative methods"—other than drilling holes in the bedrock to secure the dam. Buzz devised a process of using sandbags to stabilize the dam, as well as directed the recovery crew to small underwater potholes that were used to brace the dam’s skeleton. Still unresolved, however, are clear sideboards for search and recovery operations in federally protected "wild" areas. We hope the lessons learned during this controversial Chattooga episode will help define these sideboards.

National Forest Plan Revisions

The last months of 1999 were laden with public meetings about the status of the new Forest Plans for the Sumter and Chattahoochee National Forests. While the activities of the CRWC caused the Forest Service to commit that the Chattooga River watershed will be treated as a "single management area...shared by all three national forests as they revise their Forest Plans," what will go on here is still largely undetermined. Special interests are lobbying hard for increased levels of ORV access, commercial recreation development and timber harvesting. We urge citizens to express strong support for the CRWC’s Chattooga Conservation Plan, and to see this tedious planning process through. The next 15 years of our public land and resource management lie in the balance.

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