UPDATED 10/31/05
The Sumter National Forest held a public meeting on October 13th to discuss the User Capacity Analysis that they are required to carry out as a result of American Whitewater’s appeal of their ban on paddling the Chattooga Headwaters. Meeting attendees were given a short background of the project history, a review of the Chief’s decision, a brief snapshot of the River, and a brief description of the Limits of Acceptable Change methodology. Attendees were then asked to write down responses to five general questions:
- How do you want to be involved in this process?
- How do you want to keep informed or receive information about this process?
- Please tell us any questions/ comments/ likes or dislikes you have about the process as it’s been described so far or anything else you’ve heard/ read.
- Please tell us any issues/ concerns/ opportunities you believe this process needs to address.
- Is there anything else you want us to know as we all begin this collaborative process?
The Sumter National Forest is accepting online comments from members of the public regarding the User Capacity Analysis. We encourage paddlers to file comments if they have specific concerns regarding the User Capacity Analysis. The Sumter National Forest offered no goals, research questions, specific methodologies, or potential outcomes at the October 13th public meeting, making comment on the “process” somewhat challenging. Still, this is an opportunity for paddlers and other citizens to voice their concerns and help shape the analysis process in its early stages.
You can read other peoples’ comments at http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/fms/forest/projects/chattcomments.shtml, or by clicking on the Public Comments link in the upper right hand corner of the analysis page: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/fms/forest/projects/chatt.shtml. NOTE: some comments are from local angling interests and are not relevant to the topic being discussed. These comments are an attempt to create coflict where none exists, by fostering animosity, and do not merit direct response. We would suggest that comments from the paddling community should stay on topic (the analysis) and not bother responding to other peoples comments. There is no value to debating this issue, since the Chief of the USFS has already reviewed all the issues and reached a decision on the matter.
American Whitewater’s primary concern is that the analysis be fair, equitable, and relevant. Specifically, the analysis must address the Total User Capacity of the Chattooga River for all user groups, including paddlers. The question that the analysis must ask and answer is “When unlimited paddling is allowed, will total use of the upper Chattooga River need to be equitably limited in order to protect the Outstanding Remarkable Values that caused it to be designated Wild and Scenic?” Furthermore, the SNF must develop a complete study plan including goals, research questions, specific methodologies, potential outcomes prior to the analysis beginning. AW will be filing comments in the near future. Our interests are simple – we want a fair process.
File your own comments on the bulletin board at: http://www.bulletinboards.com/v2.cfm?comcode=VCAUC