Opening Chattooga Headwaters to be Considered By USFS!

August 23rd, 2002 was a historic day for American Whitewater and for river access. In a meeting between the USFS Sumpter National Forest Plan Revision Team and American Whitewater, the USFS agreed to analyze lifting the ban on paddling the Headwaters of the Chattooga in an Environmental Impact Statement and in the new Forest Plan Revision Process. This marks the first time lifting the ban will be subject to formal public comment, and to official Agency consideration since 1985. This is precisely the opportunity that American Whitewater has been advocating for for at least 7 years.

American Whitewater is pleased to publish the Meeting Minutes here for the first time. These minutes are easy to read and paint a roadmap for our collaboration with the USFS and for opportunities for you, as boaters, to voice your opinions regarding the ban on paddling the Headwaters. Also in these minutes is a great history of the management of the Headwaters that was presented by AW Regional Coordinator, Don Kinser.

Don has worked tirelessly on this issue and we would like to congratulate him on our success in finally getting the Headwaters considered in an open and formal public process.

If you really want to thank Don though, you should be prepared to file comments when the USFS (and AW) request them early in 2003.

We would like to extend another thank you to those paddlers that submitted trip reports for us to provide the USFS. This was an invaluable show of faith that has helped in our collaborative efforts to create a solid and objective study that will give the public and the USFS a solid base from which to decide the future management of the only section of river in the entire USFS system that is banned to boating.