What are the Objectives of the Chattooga Conservation Plan?

The Chattooga Conservation Plan has been created to outline what steps might be taken, in this watershed, to address the regional and global issue of the conservation of biodiversity. In particular it seeks to identify, restore, and protect large blocks of unfragmented forest habitat representing all native forest types in the Chattooga River watershed. Restoring and maintaining the native forest ecosystem will help to ensure the survival and flourishing of native biological diversity, much of which is currently in decline locally and regionally. This will require (1) protection and restoration of forest interior and oldgrowth habitat for endangered and threatened animal and plant species (2) protection and restoration of aquatic habitats, and (3) maintenance and restoration of critical wildlife corridors linking adjacent natural areas within the watershed, and outside of the watershed along the Blue Ridge Escarpment.

In addition, the Chattooga Conservation Plan seeks to provide a setting for healthy and sustainable economic development in the watershed. As economist Peter Morton notes, "the National Wild and Scenic Chattooga River and the surrounding national forests represent natural assets for the four-county area and provide communities with a comparative advantage over other rural areas in diversifying their economic base... the three national forests in the Chattooga watershed dominate the landscape, provide the scenic vistas, the hiking, camping, hunting and fishing opportunities that can retain existing residents and businesses while attracting new businesses, retirees, tourists and recreationalists to sustain the diversity of the area's economic base.As such, economic develoment will suffer if the forests are indiscriminately cut, recreation trails are not maintained or expanded, or if the habitat needed to sustain healthy populations of native species and the health of the ecosystem is not conserved" (Morton, 1995).

Finally, the Chattooga Conservation Plan is intended to be a model for others, Throughout the Southern Appalachian Bioregion, native plant and animal species are in trouble due to the lack of adequately large and connected native forest habitats. Conservation groups and activists in the region are keenly aware of the urgency of the situation, and spend much of their time defending immediately threatened fragments fo native habitat. Longer-term success in regional conservation efforts requires, in addition to the protection of remaining natural areas, a strategic vision where the intact native ecosystems are also connected across the landscape. The project partners hope the Chattooga Conservatoin Plan will serve as a prototype watershed protection plan for similar efforts in other parts of the Southern Appalachians, and that eventually these efforts will result in a connected network of forest habitats adequate to support the native species of our bioregion. While reading this report, we invite you to consider how you might apply this work to initiate a biodiversity conservation plan in your own watershed.

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