About the Chattooga Conservancy
The Chattooga Conservancy works to involve the community in a wide range of conservation issues, as seen here in the successful recovery of a 250-year-old Cherokee canoe from the Chattooga River.
The Chattooga Conservancy was founded in 1991 by a small group of activists that shared a vision to promote conservation based on a "watershed" approach, as opposed to the traditional model of managing natural resources according to political boundaries. The organization became one of the first watershed protection groups in the eastern United States.
The Chattooga River watershed provided an ideal place for implementing this innovative approach to conservation, due to the fact that 70% of the watershed is publicly owned land managed by the U. S. Forest Service and includes 3 national forests in 3 states: the Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia, the Sumter National Forest in South Carolina, and the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina. A request to the Forest Service in 1991 by the Chattooga Conservancy to focus on the Chattooga River watershed as a pilot project to explore the idea of "ecosystem management" resulted in nearly 8 million dollars spent over the next 5 years by the Forest Service on their "Chattooga River Watershed Ecosystem Management Demonstration Project." The Chattooga Conservancy played a pivotal role by providing critical oversight and input during this pilot project, which resulted in a paradigm change in Forest Service management philosophy toward ecosystem management.
The Chattooga Conservancy began staffed operations in 1995, and has since evolved into one of the most effective grassroots membership organizations in the Southern Appalachian Mountain region, whose initial work can be credited with causing a major reduction in intensive timber harvesting and road-building on national forest lands in the watershed. In addition to public land issues, the organization has diversified to include programs addressing conservation on private lands, promoting cultural heritage, and has also formed a land trust. The Chattooga Conservancy's flagship publication, the Chattooga Quarterly, features a variety of articles and interviews related to conservation and cultural heritage issues, as well as program updates.
The hallmark of the Chattooga Conservancy is innovation, with a diverse record of program work including a horse-logging demonstration project on the Nantahala National Forest; the recovery of a 250-year-old Cherokee canoe from the Chattooga River; establishing a seed bank to preserve native crops; an inventory of native Brook Trout streams; and even editing a book entitled Sound Wormy: The Memoirs of Andrew Gennett, that was published by the University of Georgia Press and chronicles the massive logging operations in the Chattooga River watershed after the turn of the century. In addition, the Chattooga Conservancy's "Speakers Forum" has netted such noted speakers as Senator Sam Nunn, and Newsweek Paris Bureau Chief Christopher Dickey.
The Chattooga Conservancy has been most effective, however, as a powerful advocate for conservation. Most recently, the organization's investigation into failures by the City of Clayton, Georgia, to enforce their Floodplain Protection Ordinance resulted in stopping all illegal floodway filling in the Stekoa Creek watershed in the city limits. Similarly, the Chattooga Conservancy's water quality testing on Stekoa Creek, in partnership with Trout Unlimited, has documented major problems with Clayton's aging sewer collection system, forcing the city to address short and long term plans for repairing the system. Together , these two efforts promise to make great strides in cleaning up Stekoa Creek, which the Forest Service has determined to be the greatest source of pollution into the National Wild & Scenic Chattooga River.
The successes of the Chattooga Conservancy hinge on community involvement. Examples include helping the kids at the local Montessori school build a nature trail; working to help local governments with grant writing; and, lending assistance to landowners to craft sustainable forest management plans for their forest lands. The Chattooga Conservancy's motto is "promote conservation by becoming a part of the community."
The Chattooga Conservancy has become a powerful advocate for conservation for nearly 17 years by relying on cutting-edge science, public education, innovation, and community involvement. The Conservancy has been honored by the Georgia Wildlife Federation with its "Conservationist of the Year Award" and by the Forest Service with its "Outstanding Partnership" award. To learn more about the Chattooga Conservancy visit their website www.chattoogariver.org.