Chattooga Quarterly
Fall 2009
Director's Page
The Russell House, stagecoach stop for travelers crossing the Chattooga Watershed, circa 1880-1920
For a while now, I have been contemplating writing an opinion piece about the Forest Service's management of our national forests in the Chattooga River watershed. So, recently while scanning a variety of emails from national "information wonk" organizations, I saw one about a poll that ranks federal agencies according to employee "satisfaction and commitment" that prompted me to conduct further investigation. This interest in the satisfaction and commitment of Forest Service employees, who oversee the management of about 68% of the Chattooga River watershed, seemed to be a good place to start in validating my theory that the Forest Service is a demoralized and ineffective federal agency. Read more.
Coyotes
I don't know how long they crouched there in the tangled shadows beyond the tulip poplars and darkening pines, flanking us like a silent fog, waiting for the perfect time to strike. When the first one cut loose, it was an unvanquished yell of pure wilderness tearing through the dusk. My first thought was that we were under attack by the tormented ghosts of a thousand Cherokee warriors returning to avenge some ancient transgression. I dropped my beer in terror, and the dogs leapt barking to their feet. Wearing only boxer shorts and a beard of beer foam I found myself unprepared for battle, but my fearless hound Duane was already off the porch and charging into the black woods to face the attackers.
Read more.
"Bull Sluice: The Rock Wall"
The year was 1979, and I was a societal refuge working as a raft guide on the Chattooga River. I had spent 8 years ducking in and out of college after graduating from high school in the late sixties, simultaneously trying to avoid going to Vietnam and seeking respite from the propaganda my Forestry professors were trying to force into my unwilling brain at Clemson University. The only place where I found peace was up on the Chattooga River, which I had discovered pre-Deliverance, when the river and the surrounding national forests were still quiet and undiscovered. Throughout the next decade of confusion and uncertainty in my personal life, the beauty and solitude of the Chattooga River watershed helped me cut through the Gordian Knot of life's mysteries, and by the late 1970s I had found a permanent home. Read more.
Pickin' for the Park
Concert Benefit for the Stekoa Creek Park Project
Saturday, December 5th starting at 6 p.m., at the STEKOA CREEK TRADING POST concert hall
(located just off Hwy. 441 S. in Clayton)
Bring the family, join the fun, and support the Stekoa Creek Park Project! Read more.
- Development Proposed for Russell House Site
- Upper Chattooga Decision Appealed
- Stekoa Creek Water Sampling Update
Members' Page
THANK YOU VERY MUCH to everyone who recently renewed their membership, joined as a new member, or contributed gifts, services, and memorial donations to the Chattooga Conservancy. Your generous contributions will help us continue to work on all of the important conservation issues facing the Chattooga River watershed area. Read more.