USDA Forest Service Prospectus for Outfitting & Guide Services Nantahala National Forest Cheoah River – Graham County, N.C. PROSPECTUS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMERCIAL WHITEWATER OUTFITTING AND GUIDING ON THE CHEOAH RIVER IN GRAHAM COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA CHEOAH RANGER DISTRICT NANTAHALA NATIONAL FOREST USDA FOREST SERVICE NANTAHALA NATIONAL FOREST CHEOAH RANGER DISTRICT 1070 MASSEY BRANCH ROAD ROBBINSVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA 28771 For Further Information Contact Julie Moore at 828-837-5152 AUGUST 2010 1 USDA Forest Service Prospectus for Outfitting & Guide Services Nantahala National Forest Cheoah River – Graham County, N.C. I. Introduction The USDA Forest Service is soliciting proposals from interested parties to provide commercial whitewater outfitter and guide services for the Cheoah Ranger District on the Cheoah River located in Graham County, North Carolina. The forest intends to authorize four new special use permits as a result of this offering. This offering will allow individuals or organizations to conduct outfitter and guide services on National Forest lands within the areas described in this prospectus. Permit holders are an agent of the Forest Service that will provide services to the public, protect health and safety, and attain management objectives. The Cheoah River is located in the northern part of Graham County and follows US 129 approximately 9.1 miles from the base of Santeetlah Dam to Calderwood Lake on the Tennessee Border. Each year Alcoa Power Generating Inc. will release additional flows into the river for 19 days in accordance with their license issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The schedule (Appendix A, 2011, High Flow Schedule) is established prior to the beginning of each year in accordance with their license and provides for ten events scheduled during the weekends primarily spring and fall of each year. Multiple day events are scheduled with the first day of flows being 1,000 cfs, the second day, 850 cfs with exception to the February and March releases. It should be noted that due to the rocky substrate, flows at the 850 cfs level are more conducive towards hard boats as rafts move slower and could have problems in several areas navigating rocks. Potential applicants desiring to provide commercial whitewater services have contacted the Forest Service. This demonstration of competitive interest requires the issuance of a prospectus and evaluation of offers to determine how the available permits will be allocated among competing applicants. This prospectus is intended to solicit proposals from interested parties who intend to provide commercial outfitters guide services on a reoccurring basis on the Cheoah River. The objective in permitting this activity on National Forest Land is to answer a public need, provide for the health and safety of river users, protect the resources, and provide a quality recreation experience for the public. Permits awarded by this prospectus will be authorized through a ten-year special use permit. The authorized officer for permits that are issued will be the District Ranger for the Cheoah Ranger District. Upon expiration of the permit, continuation of the permitted activity will be at the sole discretion of the authorized officer and will be subject to a competitive offering. A new prospectus will be issued during the final year of the permit term. If the decision to select a permit holder is appealed, a permit will not be issued until the appeal has been resolved, unless operation is needed during the appeal, in which case a permit with a term of one-year or less may be issued to current permit holders. 2 USDA Forest Service Prospectus for Outfitting & Guide Services Nantahala National Forest Cheoah River – Graham County, N.C. All prospective applicants are advised to read this Prospectus and sample Special Use Permit carefully (Appendix B). There are a number of requirements for insurance, operations, and maintenance with which an applicant must comply. Permits will not be issued if, in the judgment of the Forest Service, a highly qualified pool of applicants is not available. The Forest Service reserves the rights to reject any or all applications if the applications do not best serve the needs of the public. All applicants must submit, in writing, a proposal that includes the information listed under SUBMITTING THE PROPOSAL to include a non-refundable application fee of $111.00. Any oral statement by any representative of the USDA Forest Service, which modifies the conditions of this prospectus, is an expression of opinion only, and confers no special rights upon any applicant. In the event that a contradiction exists between this prospectus and the Special Use Permit, the Special Use Permit governs. II. General Description of Area Cheoah River is approximately 9.1 miles long and is characterized by a very continuous average gradient of 100 feet/mile, a rocky bedrock substrate, and a fairly narrow confined stream channel (Appendix C, Location Map). The river has many Class IV/IV+ rapids that require a high skill level to negotiate—only advanced or expert boaters with proper equipment should attempt running the river without an experienced guide (Appendix D, Cheoah River Brochure). Whitewater releases are scheduled for 19 to 20 days each year with the first day of release being 1,000 CFS and the second day 850 CFS. The first day is ideal for rafts, kayaks and other hard- boats. The second day of flows is ideal for kayaks as rafts have difficulty navigating the rocky substrate in several areas. All high flows begin at 9AM May through September and during the fall and winter months, begin at 8AM. The commercial put-in facility is located below Santeetlah Dam just off of Joyce Kilmer Road (State Road 1147). The facility consists of a parking and staging area for four commercial outfitters along with approximately 100 parking spaces for river users. This facility was opened in 2008 and prior to this, access to the river along with parking was extremely limited. The take out facility was also opened in 2008 and is located on Calderwood Reservoir adjacent to US 129 at Tapoco’s Magazine Branch Boat Access and Picnic Area. Parking is limited to two busses – so permitted outfitters must stage their trips with each other so only two outfitters are using the take out at any one time. Additional parking is located adjacent to Cheoah Dam for commercial vehicles that cannot be accommodated in the take out area. 3 USDA Forest Service Prospectus for Outfitting & Guide Services Nantahala National Forest Cheoah River – Graham County, N.C. During the first four years of operation (2006 through 2009), the use reported for both commercial outfitters and private boaters are as follows: 2006 2007 2008 2009 Outfitter A 25 106 77 70 Outfitter B 217 458 357 248 Outfitter C 73 252 202 195 Outfitter D 29 27 21 33 Commercial Use: 344 843 657 546 Private Boaters 2,227 2,445 1,767 1,500 Total Use: 2,571 3,288 2,424 2,046 Under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act of 2004, the public is required to obtain a special recreation permit to use the river. The cost is $2.00 per individual and commercial outfitters will be required to collect this fee from each of their clients. Successful applicants will be required to enter into a direct purchase agreement to collect these fees on behalf of the Forest Service as noted in Appendix E. This fee is in addition to the land use fee for the Special Use permit. III. Offering Authorized Use This offering provides the successful applicant(s) the opportunity to use National Forest recreation facilities described in section II for whitewater outfitting and guiding. The purpose of this offering is to provide whitewater boating experiences to the general public. A total of four outfitters will be permitted for a ten-year period to offer services on the Cheoah River on National Forest land. All authorized use resulting from this offering will be considered “priority use” after two years of acceptable service. Priority use is assigned at the discretion of the authorized officer and shall be consistent with Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP). The amount of use initially assigned to each outfitter will be 120 service days for each high-flow release on the Cheoah River (19-20 each year). Service days will be used for billing purposes. Service days represent a day or part of a day for each individual accompanied or provided services, including transportation services, by a packer, outfitter, guide, leader or instructor. Any period of time when clients are on the National Forest and under the direction, care or tutelage of a guide/outfitter shall be counted as part of the total service days for fee calculations. See section VII for more information on fees charged to a permittee for outfitting/guide use. Concurrent with this, permits will be issued for a ten year period and outfitters will be guaranteed a minimum of 120 service days for each day high flows are scheduled for the first five years. At the end of the first five-year term, in accordance with Section II, N of the permit, 4 USDA Forest Service Prospectus for Outfitting & Guide Services Nantahala National Forest Cheoah River – Graham County, N.C. the actual use will be reviewed and adjusted for non-use if necessary. Should an outfitter go out of business, the permit will terminate and be competitively advertised for the remainder of the initial term. Upon the sale of a business, the permit can be transferred to a new owner for the remainder of the initial term provided they meet the minimal qualifications for a permit as defined under 26 CFR 251. Upon selection of the four successful applicants, a meeting will be held to discuss operational protocol and final permitting requirements such as insurance, safety, etc.