The next meeting regarding the User Capacity Analysis on the Upper Chattooga River will be held on Thursday, December 1, beginning at 5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, 403 East Main Street, Walhalla, SC. Paddlers are encouraged to attend. Read the press release below for additional information regarding meeting format and goals.
For more information: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/fms/forest/projects/chatt.shtml
To post to a USFS bulletin board: http://www.bulletinboards.com/v2.cfm?comcode=VCAUC
The USFS Press release regarding the meetings can be read below.
FROM THE USFS:
Reminder: Third Meeting about Chattooga River on December 1 in Walhalla, SC
(Columbia, South Carolina, November 23, 2005) – As announced in an earlier news release, the USDA Forest Service will conduct its third public meeting and workshop regarding the reanalysis of recreation use on the upper reaches of the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River on Thursday, December 1, beginning at 5 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, 403 East Main Street, Walhalla, SC.
This meeting is a continuation of a Visitor Use Capacity Analysis that began in October, an anticipated two-year project focused on the river’s recreation use above the bridge at Highway 28.
The Forest Service team leading this reanalysis process will begin the December meeting by presenting information synthesized from a November meeting in Clayton, Ga., on recreation use opportunities and desired conditions associated with those uses in this section of the river. Meeting attendees will be asked to review and validate the team’s work, and build on that information by recommending prioritized, specific, and measurable indicators (such as number of trail encounters per day).
Also at the meeting, the Forest Service will present information on the data collection methods agency officials are considering.
In January, Forest Service officials will use the public input on important indicators to finalize data needs and to determine what data collection methods are most appropriate. At that point, the Forest Service will begin developing the data collection programs and determining opportunities for the public to assist with those.
The overall objective of this Visitor Use Capacity Analysis process is to analyze impacts of public recreation use and to preserve the environmental setting and resources for the future – and the public is an integral part of the analysis.
When the entire Visitor Use Capacity Analysis is completed, Forest Service employees will analyze various alternatives regarding management of the upper reaches of the Chattooga River corridor. These alternatives will be built using information collected from the public. Then, the Forest Service will make a final decision that will include specific actions aimed at managing recreation use with acceptable natural resource impacts.
For information about this reanalysis process, including a timeline, comments received from public meetings and email, and a bulletin board where people can exchange information, ideas, and opinions about this project, log onto the forests’ website at http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/fms.