ForestGeorgia ForestWatch Quarterly NewsletterNews Fall 2014 Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act Page 3 Inside This Issue From the Director ...................2 You Can Snorkel in the North Upper West Armuchee Creek Georgia Mountains? ....................... 4 Watershed Project ...................8 For 50th Anniversary of Wilderness, A Season of Book Review: Teaching the Trees – Outreach: It’s Becoming a Stewardship on the Lessons from the Forest.................. 5 Movement .............................10 Chattahoochee .......................3 Inspiring Stewardship – Wilderness 50th Event .................... 7 From the Director Celebrating wild places Mary Topa Executive Director 2014 has been an important anniversary year for the conservation For the last half-century, these places of “primeval character” have of wild places, both regionally and nationally. For 40 years the been maintained to preserve their “natural conditions.” But keeping Chattooga River has reigned as the crown jewel of the Wild and these places wild and pristine in the face of climate change, increased Scenic Rivers system in the Southeast. One of the last free-flowing recreational use and reduced federal resources available for maintaining rivers in the Southeast, the Chattooga River winds its way through Wilderness (and other public lands), is a present-day challenge that high cliffs studded with waterfalls and a green tunnel of remarkable will require a community of stewards – land managers, conservation biodiversity, including the Ellicott Rock Wilderness Area, Chattooga leaders, scientists, recreational users, volunteers, funders, etc. – to work Cliffs, and the Rock Gorge Roadless Area. Recognizing the together. The Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards (SAWS) uniqueness and importance of this place, the Chattooga River was program is a wonderful example of a conservation organization among the early rivers designated Wild & Scenic by Congress on working in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service to not only help May 10, 1974. Georgia ForestWatch celebrated its 40th anniversary solve some of these challenges, but inspire stewardship in the next with the Chattooga Conservancy on June 21st at the Stekoa Creek generation of conservationists. Park in Clayton, Georgia. Sponsored by The Wilderness Society, SAWS volunteers help maintain Stekoa Creek is a major polluted tributary feeding the Chattooga trails in designated Wilderness Areas, keeping them open and River, and has been the single greatest threat to the Chattooga’s accessible to visitors. Georgia ForestWatch has had the pleasure of water quality for over 30 years. Indeed, in the time since the river working with two SAWS Rangers this past summer, Charlie Smillie received its Wild & Scenic designation, Stekoa Creek’s water quality and Nathan Mynatt, who cover the Blue Ridge and Chattooga has declined The Chattooga Conservancy has made the neglected River Ranger Districts. You can learn more about this wonderful issue of improving water quality in Stekoa Creek one of their top stewardship program on page 3. priorities. We chose the venue at Stekoa Creek Park to highlight the ongoing community effort that is helping to clean up this polluted Georgia ForestWatch celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the creek, and to emphasize the importance of stewardship in helping Wilderness Act with the Forest Service, multiple conservation keep Wild & Scenic Rivers pristine. partners, trail maintainer groups and others on September 6th at Hancock Park in Dahlonega. Our theme for the event was “Inspiring September 3rd marked the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Stewardship”, and how we all must be involved in keeping these places Act. The Wilderness Act is considered one of America’s greatest wild and pristine for future generations. Personally, I was inspired by conservation achievements. Former Wilderness Society Executive the various groups and people who volunteer their time and resources Director Howard Zahniser is often called the “Father of the to help keep these places we love wild. It indeed takes a village. I’d Wilderness Act”, and he began drafting the Wilderness Act bill in like to thank our members for being a part of this village and helping 1955. Bills based on Zahniser’s draft were introduced in the U.S. protect these special places. Senate and House of Representatives in 1956. After eight years, 18 hearings, and 66 revisions of the bill, the Wilderness Act was passed; unfortunately, Howard Zahniser did not live to see the momentous signing of the Wilderness Act on September 3, 1964. But his vision helped create the National Wilderness Preservation System which offers the highest level of government protection to the wildest of our wild lands; and it has grown to include more than 109 million acres of protected Wilderness areas for all Americans to enjoy. 2 Georgia ForestWatch For 50th anniversary Contact Information of Wilderness, a season Georgia ForestWatch www.gafw.org of stewardship on the 81 Crown Mountain Place, Building C, Suite 200 Dahlonega, GA 30533 Chattahoochee 706-867-0051 by Charlie Smillie : SAWS Ranger Georgia ForestWatch is a 501(c)3 Nonprofit educational corporation. Forest News edited by Laura Stachler and Mary Topa This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, one Layout by Eleanor Thompson. of the most important conservation measures in our nation’s history. Georgia ForestWatch commemorated this milestone at the recent Fall STAFF Retreat, with a Celebrating Wilderness theme. But the crucial protection Mary Topa, Executive Director Wilderness provides in the forests of Georgia has been in the spotlight all Sherri Richardson, Office Manager Laura Stachler, Outreach Coordinator year long. BOARD MEMBERS ADVISORS As part of a 10-year effort to improve how Wilderness is managed, this Kasey Sturm, President Butch Clay spring, the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest (CONF) partnered Brian Wills, Secretary Sarah Francisco with Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards (SAWS) – currently Sally Colkett, Treasurer Peg Griffith a program of The Wilderness Society. As a result of that partnership, Laurie Blackmore Bob Kibler Nathan Mynatt and I were hired for a 6-month stint as Wilderness Tom Crawford Charles Seabrook Rangers on the Blue Ridge and Chattooga River Ranger Districts. We’re James Dawson James Sullivan privileged and honored to have spent the last 5 months patrolling Blood Ted Doll Mountain, Raven Cliffs, Mark Trail, Tray Mountain, Brasstown, and David Govus Rich Mountain Wilderness. Robin Hitner Michael Wall The primary goals of our season of Wilderness Rangering are two-fold. First, we outlaid (and are now implementing) a new protocol on the GEORGIA FORESTWATCH DISTRICT LEADERS CONF for monitoring Opportunities for Solitude. Essentially, we count how many people we come across while using different sections of trails. Chattooga River Ranger District Oconee National Forest This project is directly linked to a new effort by all the federal land Marie Dunkle 770-335-0967 JP Schmidt 706-613-8483 management agencies to make the upkeep of “wilderness character” (as (Rabun, Towns and White Counties) Caleb Walker 706-248-4910 described by the Act) more rigorous and concrete. By the time our season Wally Warren 706-754-0150 (Greene, Jasper, Jones, Ben Cash 706-968-3841 Monroe, Morgan, ends, the Forest Service will have hard data on the books – a baseline for (Habersham, Stephens & Oconee, Oglethorpe White counties) & Putnam counties) Larry Winslett 404-375-8405 Blue Ridge Ranger District (Greene, Jasper, Jones, Morgan, Dennis Stansell 706-747-5892 Oconee, Oglethorpe & Putnam (Dawson, Union, Lumpkin & counties) Towns counties) Tom & Sally Colkett 770-316-7609 Conasauga Ranger District (Dawson & Lumpkin counties) Robin Hitner 678-294-3256 Jim Walker 706-273-3465 (Chattooga, Gordon, Murray, (Fannin, Gilmer, Lumpkin Floyd, Walker & Whitfield & Union counties counties) David Govus 706-276-2512 (Fannin & Gilmer counties) Photo credit: Stephanie Campbell Stephanie credit: Photo Smillie Charlie credit: Photo Nathan Mynatt Charlie Smillie Cover photo: SAWS Rangers with Wagon Train Trail volunteers Cover photo credit: Jay Noe (continued on page 9) Fall 2014 3 You can snorkel in the north Georgia mountains? by Laura Stachler : Outreach Coordinator his question was one that I heard more than a few times this summer.T Yes, believe it or not, there is pristine snorkeling in the north Georgia mountains. So pristine in fact, that the native fish diversity in the Conasauga River (though only 93 miles long) consists of over 76 species of extravagantly colored fishes, more than the Columbia and Colorado Rivers combined (a total of 2,693 miles)! I’m not sure who first discovered this amazing display of aquatic biodiversity in the heart of the Cohutta Wilderness, but I’m sure glad they did. This ForestWatch outing has made a lasting impression on me, and on many other participants like Sally Brumbill, who was making the trip out for a second time. Making a tradition out of this trip may very well be something I incorporate into my summers in the future as well. Clark David credit: Photo section that we snorkeled had different depths, all housing different Initially, we had only intended on scheduling one snorkel outing species that had adapted to the specific conditions of those depths. for summer 2014, but that quickly proved it wouldn’t suffice. The Time flew - what looked like just another mountain river from above demand was so high that we ended up scheduling an additional trip was astounding when experienced from below! for a back-to-back weekend of freshwater fun. After raiding the local Subway in Cisco, GA, the carpool caravans made their way down “I see a turtle!” (chokes, coughs, laughs and chokes again) – I was still the seemingly endless Forest Service road through the Cohuttas until getting used to the whole talking-under-water-with-a-snorkel-in-my- finally landing near the river where we met up with our Forest Service mouth process. In the deeper areas we’d see drum, bass and bream, guides, spotting deer, a snake, and a turkey along the way. and on both trips saw a river cooter the size of your Grandmother’s largest serving platter.