Horse Trail Assessment Conasauga Ranger District
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
HORSE TRAIL ASSESSMENT CONASAUGA RANGER DISTRICT Chattahoochee‐Oconee National Forests MAY 2010 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Introduction 3 Jigger Creek Opportunity Area 4 Cohutta Wilderness Opportunity Area 8 Rock Creek Opportunity Area 11 Blue Ridge Divide Opportunity Area 15 Dry Creek Opportunity Area 19 Stover Creek Opportunity Area 22 Appendix A: Opportunity Area Maps 25 2 Horse Trail Assessment Conasauga Ranger District Chattahoochee‐Oconee National Forests May 2010 The Conasauga Ranger District of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests initiated an assessment of the horse trails in April 2009. The purpose of the assessment was to determine if the equestrian use opportunities are adequate to meet public demand. The goal for the program is to provide safe, high- quality trail opportunities for non-motorized uses that are environmentally and operationally sustainable. In May 2009, two public meetings were held for the purposes of discussing whether or not the current trail network is adequate to meet demand, and to identify opportunities to potentially improve the trail network. The District reviewed and considered the result of the public meetings. The recommendations from the public for improvements to the existing trail system were grouped into geographic areas referred to as “Opportunity Areas”. Each opportunity area was assessed based on the capacity for use of the existing trail system, current and needed facilities for equestrians, and opportunities for expanding and enhancing the trail system. The density and spatial distribution of existing horse trails and trailhead facilities across the District was also an important consideration. Each Opportunity Area assessment includes a summary that identifies opportunities for expanding or enhancing the horse trail system. The ability of the Forest Service to implement these opportunities will be based on priorities for program management across all resource areas, existing Forest Service policy, and availability of funds. Maps of the Opportunity Areas can be found in Appendix A. 3 JIGGER CREEK OPPORTUNITY AREA 1. OVERVIEW Totaling about 9,600 acres, the Jigger Creek Opportunity Area (OA) is located about 3 air miles east of Tennga, GA in the northwest corner of the Cohutta Unit on the Conasauga Ranger District. The area is bounded by the TN/GA State line to the north, the Cohutta Wilderness boundary to the east, Forest Development Road (FDR) 17 and the Wilderness boundary to the south, and natural terrain features to include Doogan Mountain to the west. Access to the area is good. Old GA Highway 2 and FDR 16 and 51 provide primary access to the area. Other access is provided by FDR 17, 17-B, 51-B, 51-C, 51-D, and 151. Trail access is offered by the 3.5-mile Horseshoe Bend Trail, Forest Development Trail (FDT) 43, and the 13.5-mile Iron Mountain Trail, FDT 77. Both trails are open to hikers and equestrians. Mountain bikers are invited on the Iron Mountain Trail, but prohibited on the Horseshoe Bend Trail that enters the Cohutta Wilderness. There is a user-created trail used by horseback riders totaling about 2 miles that follows FDR 51-D and old woods roads to connect the Cottonwood Patch Horse Camp to the Horseshoe Bend Trail, nearby avoiding FDR 51. 2. CURRENT RECREATION USES The area is used primarily for dispersed recreational activities although the Cottonwood Patch Horse Camp is a well used developed recreational facility. Hunting, camping, fishing, horseback riding, hiking, mountain biking, and backpacking all take place in or around the area. The major recreational uses are horseback riding, camping, and hunting during the managed hunts. 3. EXISTING OPPORTUNITIES FOR EQUESTRIAN USE The area is adjacent to the Cohutta Wilderness, the largest Forest Service managed Wilderness in the southeast, and one of the most heavily visited. Four Wilderness trailheads are located on the boundary of the OA: Rice Camp, Horseshoe Bend, Lower Jacks River, and Conasauga River Trailheads. The Conasauga River passes through the OA and its largest tributary, the Jacks River, flows through the northern portion. Both rivers have been proposed for Wild and Scenic River status. From the Rice Camp Trailhead, wilderness hikers and horse riders can access the 3.7-mile Rice Camp Trail, 8.6-mile Hickory Creek Trail, 6.7-mile East Cowpen Trail and the connecting 3.3-mile Hickory Ridge Trail. From the Horseshoe Bend Trailhead, horse riders and hikers can follow the 2.6-mile Horseshoe Bend Trail. The 4.0-mile Beech Bottom Trail is located about 7 miles from the Cottonwood Patch Horse Camp. A 25-mile loop route out of the horse camp is used by a limited number of more adventuresome equestrians using the East Cowpen, Hickory Ridge, Beech Bottom Trails and connecting system roads. 4 The Cottonwood Patch Horse Camp is a small, but very popular, fee-based campground designed for horse users. It offers camping sites suitable for horse trailers, picnic tables, fire rings, horse watering troughs, hitching posts and rails, potable drinking water (well and hand pump), trash bins, and toilet facilities. It is generally used as a base for most horse riding in the OA. An attached trailhead parking area links the campground to the 13.5-mile, multi-use, Iron Mountain loop trail, a well used horse and bike trail that crosses over onto the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee. In Tennessee, a 1.5-mile, multi-use, connector trail links the Iron Mountain Trail to FDR 221. Just 6.5 miles from the Cottonwood Patch and just southeast of the Jigger Creek OA, the 11.8-mile Sumac Creek Trail offers a figure-8, loop trail opportunity for equestrians, mountain bikers and hikers. A trailhead suitable for horse trailers exists at the intersection of FDR 17 and FDR 17-A. Use is moderate during warm weather and low at other times. The Jigger Creek vicinity is one of the more popular big game hunting areas on the Cohutta Unit. Three managed hunt camps within the OA are accessed via FDR 51 and 51-B: Horseshoe Bend and Burnt Schoolhouse Hunt Camps on FDR 51 and Jigger Creek Hunt Camp on FDR 51-B. 4. FOREST PLAN DIRECTION The Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) was completed in January 2004. The Forest Plan, and accompanying Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), and Record of Decision specify the overall direction for managing the natural resources for the Forest, and consists of both Forest-wide and area-specific goals, objectives and standards that provide for land uses with anticipated resource outputs. Horse trail and related facility development is consistent with Forest Plan Goal 31 which provides direction to “Provide a spectrum of high quality, nature-based recreation settings and opportunities that reflect the unique or exceptional resources of the Forest and the interests of the public on an environmentally sustainable, financially sound, and operationally effective basis. Adapt management of recreation facilities and opportunities as needed to shift limited resources to those opportunities.” (Forest Plan, p 2-31). The Forest Plan identifies Management Prescriptions (MP) for each piece of National Forest System lands across the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests. The Jigger Creek OA falls within the following Management Prescriptions: 1.B-Recommended Wilderness Study Areas 2.B.1-Recommended Wild River Segments 2.B.2-Recommended Scenic River Segments 7.B-Scenic Corridors and Sensitive Viewsheds 7.E.2- Dispersed Recreation Areas with Vegetation Management 9.H- Management, Maintenance and Restoration of Plan Associations 5 About 70% of the Jigger Creek OA falls within the 7.E.2 MP. These MPs receive moderate to high recreation use and are managed to improve the settings for dispersed recreation activities in a manner that protects and restores the health, diversity, and productivity of the watersheds where the areas are located. In 7.E.2 areas, non-motorized and motorized trails and travel routes will be maintained, improved, or expanded to meet local demands provided watersheds and ecosystem health are not negatively affected. Visitors should expect limited, rustic amenities. Facilities are generally rare and are only provided for health and sanitation or to protect the area from resource damage. The foreground and middle ground seen area from FDR 17 is classified as 7.B MP, found within about 10% of the Jigger Creek OA. Management emphasis is on maintenance, or restoration and design, to provide high-quality scenery. Non-motorized and motorized recreation may occur as long as it doesn’t negatively impact the scenic value of the area as viewed from the sensitive travel way. About 10% of the Jigger Creek OA is classified as 9.H MP, which emphasizes restoration of historical plant associations. These areas will provide a variety of motorized and non-motorized recreation opportunities. An estimated 5% of the Jigger Creek OA is 2.B.1 and 2.B.2 MPs which are located within the Conasauga and Jacks River corridors. The Conasauga and Jacks Rivers are streams recommended for further study for their suitability for possible designation of wild river segments. Within this prescription, structures are rare and facilities are typically non-motorized trails. Horseback riding is a legitimate use, but no new bike trails should be developed because it would not be compatible with Forest Plan direction related to recommended wild and scenic river segments. The remaining 5% of the OA is within the 1.B MP, which encompasses the 527-acre Ken Mountain Recommended Wilderness Study Area. Dispersed recreation opportunities that are compatible with a wilderness environment, such as horse and hiker trails, are allowed. The following Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) levels are identified for the Jigger Creek OA: Roaded Natural (RN), Semi-Primitive Motorized (SPM), and Semi-Primitive Non-motorized (SPNM).