Chattooga Quarterly
Spring, 2006

Painting courtesy of the artist, Nancy Oppenheimer. The original now hangs in First Citizens’ Bank, in Banner Elk, North Carolina.

Director's Page
In the conservation business we are often faced with moral and ethical challenges. Take, for example, the current debate about bear hunting with dogs. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the South Carolina Bear Hunters Association have proposed a bill known as H4448 in the South Carolina Legislature to extend the season for hunting bear with dogs. Read more.

The Smoking Gun
Last year, we began a campaign to increase public awareness of the rampant pollution affecting Stekoa Creek that included an article entitled “Stekoa Creek Water Monitoring Project,” which appeared in the fall 2005 issue of the Chattooga Quarterly. Since that article was printed, we have noticed increased concern amongst the community as well as our membership about the plight of Stekoa Creek. Given that so many of our members have now become more interested in this battle, I would like to take this opportunity to provide you with an update on the progress of the Stekoa Creek Water Monitoring Project. Read more.

Farming and the Global Economy
We have been repeatedly warned that we cannot know where we wish to go if we do not know where we have been. And so let us start by remembering a little history. As late as World War II, our farms were predominantly solar powered. That is, the work was accomplished principally by human beings and horses and mules. These creatures were empowered by solar energy, which was collected, for the most part, on the farms where they worked and so was pretty cheaply available to the farmer. Read More.

Bears and Hogs
The 2006 session of the South Carolina State Legislature is considering a bill to extend the season for hunting bear with dogs in the Mountain Hunt Unit, which includes Greenville, Pickens and Oconee Counties. This area also includes the South Carolina section of the Chattooga River watershed. Currently, hunters can hunt bear with dogs in the Mountain Hunt Unit for one week of the designated bear hunting season. Bear may also be hunted with primitive weapons for one week, and for one week during the gun hunt. The South Carolina Bear Hunters Association is based in Pickens County, and drafted H4448 that was introduced at the state house by Representative David Hiott and Senator Larry Martin, both of whom are from Greenville. According to the bear hunters, the reasoning behind the proposed season extension is that they need a dog training season as well as an extended kill season due to evidence that the bear population in the mountains has expanded enough to sustain a greater harvest. Opponents of the bill dispute the population estimates, and claim that bear hunting with dogs violates the rules of fair chase and encourages trespassing on private property. Read more.

Watershed Update

• Chattooga Headwaters Boating Controversy
• Horse Trail Debacle
• April Fools!
• Stekoa Creek Greenway Breakthrough
• Nuclear Salvation
• Take To The Skies
• The End Of An Era
• The Old Iron Bridge Is No More
• Chattooga River Watershed Cultural Heritage Series Upcoming Events