Director's Page, Spring 2005

Buzz Williams

As you may have noticed, each Chattooga Quarterly has a general theme. Sometimes we focus on the natural cycle of the season or occasionally, we feature a particular hot topic or issue. Articles feature themes in line with our mission to promote conservation and the cultural heritage of the Chattooga watershed. This one is simply about the wonders of the season and includes an article about our unique Rhododendrons, another about the inspiration we get from birds in music and language, and an article about the remarkable springtime visit to the Chattooga River watershed by Sir Alexander Cuming 275 years ago.

Springtime is about celebrating the awakening of life forces from a long winter’s dormancy. It is also a time to clean house, plant seeds and to reorganize and begin new projects. As in nature, organizations also need to follow cycles to stay healthy. The Chattooga Conservancy has undergone many cleansing and re-organization cycles. We recently received a letter from one of our members that reflects on the founding of our organization. It is interesting from the perspective of how much we have changed but yet have stayed true to our original mission:

Editors,

I first saw the Chattooga River about thirty years ago, shortly after it became a Wild & Scenic River. The water level was thirteen feet, a record breaking flood. The only trail to Bull Sluice rapid was under water, so getting there required scrambling a half-mile through undergrowth and over large rocks. A final ascent through laurel thickets brought my group to where we could hang onto trees and look, the ground trembling with the roar and crash of the flood only a few feet away. It was impressive but I couldn’t understand why some folks were delirious with excitement, exclaiming and shouting, pointing to a massive outcropping of rock that was invisible to me, buried as it was under tons of what looked like churning chocolate milk.

Today Bull Sluice is accessible to almost anyone; the trash that accumulates there a sad testament to its popularity. A large, paved parking lot and manicured path leads thousands every year—raft customers, kayakers, locals and tourists—to where they can view a class V rapid on a world-class river. And it’s a sight to see throughout the year at any water level. Thanks to the federal government through our national forests and the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, this magnificent area belongs to everyone. And thanks to conservation groups, it remains relatively pristine.

Twenty-plus years ago there was controversy over construction of that parking lot and trail. Arguments against the location went unheeded, yet when it was finished the designers realized…the trail ends at the top of a hazardous rapid (right where I watched the flood). It was then declared to be an attractive nuisance. More plans were made to blast and rearrange boulders into a ‘natural-appearing barrier’ to keep out those who had followed the trail in. A new, local conservation group (Friends of the Chattooga) argued that enough was enough. Their success centered around preserving those rocks and boulders wanted as building blocks. The recent thirteen foot flood was an undeniable reminder that they are indeed part of the river bed and thus protected under the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. Bull Sluice remains intact.

So, too, does the Chattooga River. We are fortunate indeed to have such a wondrous playground in our backyard. This spring we celebrate the anniversary of its Wild & Scenic status, the preservation of one of the few remaining free-flowing rivers, and the undeveloped wilderness that remains along its banks.

While we’re at it, let’s also celebrate the people who research and protest, lobby politicians and confront bureaucrats, decipher legalese and trek through forests of government reports. Let’s celebrate that early conservation group that evolved into the Chattooga Conservancy.

-Mary Brockman Collins

Mary’s letter is insightful. As she correctly states, the Chattooga Conservancy did indeed evolve from that event in 1979 when a small group of young river guides took on a powerful federal agency to stop an ill conceived project to build “bleachers” at Bull Sluice rapid on the Chattooga River. In short, we won a fight that set a major precedent for citizen involvement in management of the watershed to adhere to the guiding principles of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. This spring, as we look for new ways to be good stewards of the Chattooga River watershed, we welcome your ideas and thoughts on how we can reinvent ourselves to remain a healthy, vibrant organization. We also hope you enjoy the Spring 2005 Chattooga Quarterly.