Watershed Update

Andrew Pickens Ranger District

The Andrew Pickens (AP) Ranger District of the Sumter National Forest is embroiled in two contentious issues that, according to the Sumter National Forest's recent "schedule of proposed actions," are due for decisions quite soon, tentatively in April. These concern managing recreation uses on the upper Chattooga, also known to some as the upper Chattooga "boating ban" issue, and the proposal to radically alter and develop the historic Russell House area as a tourist destination site. Please check the Chattooga Conservancy's website www.chattoogariver.org for breaking news on these issues, or call the Chattooga Conservancy office. Below is an update on two additional controversial projects on the AP District.

Pine Plantation Conversion: The AP District recently issued for public comment a "scoping notice" describing a massive proposed project to remove non-native loblolly pine stands, and to replace them with "native pine and hardwood ecosystems." On the face of it this may sound okay, BUT many problematic issues emerge upon further examination of the proposal. Here are some details: herbicide application on 3,264 acres; logging of about 6,000 acres within the next 5 years; 12 newly-constructed roads totaling 8.2 miles of brand new "system" roads; and, re-constructing another 59.2 miles of roads. It is also disclosed that "shortleaf pine seedlings would be the major species planted, on a 12 ft. by 12 ft. spacing" in reforestation activities. Simply put: this would not be restoring an "ecosystem," it's just more pine plantations! One can only conclude that industrial scale timber management practices are poised to return to the Andrew Pickens Ranger District-unless citizens get involved, as they have before.

Eliminating the non-native loblolly pine plantations is a good idea, but replacing them with another pine monoculture largely devoid of native biological diversity-as would occur by planting shortleaf pines on a close, 12 X 12 spacing-is not. Add to that multiple thousands of acres of herbicide treatments and its potential impacts on water quality and wildlife, plus all the new roads in a national forest whose present road density is already excessive for many species of wildlife, and it's clear that this project needs some significant changes!

The Chattooga Conservancy recommends these basic changes:

• Employ landscape planning science, that is based on soil type, slope, and aspect, to predict the potential native vegetation on each loblolly stand site
• Where road access already exists, employ restoration forestry techniques that will ensure the regeneration of a true native forest, which was indicated by the Forest Service's "Chattooga Watershed Ecosystem Management Demonstration Project" of the mid-1990s to be composed of predominantly hardwood species
• Do not build more new system roads for access, but instead manage these sites either by "cut-and-leave" treatments or by "benign neglect," both of which would promote the regeneration of a native forest type
• Employ cost-benefit analyses that will disclose the anticipated expenses of eliminating the loblolly plantations as well as any further forestry treatments

Please submit your comments on this major proposal to the Andrew Pickens District. The deadline for comments is April 7, 2010. The scoping notice is available on the Sumter National Forest's website, at this link: www.fs.fed.us/r8/fms/sumter/resources/projects.current. Comments may be sent several ways: by mail to AP Ranger District, via email and fax, and by telephone. Contact the Chattooga Conservancy for more information.

Section II Bamboo Grove: Many a float trip on Section 2 of the Chattooga has pulled ashore to enjoy the extraordinary old growth bamboo patch on the river's South Carolina side, in the Sumter National Forest. Visitors to the historic Russell House area also would seek out this special place to enjoy the quiet and shadowy interior created by the oversized bamboo canes. Unfortunately, the bamboo was recently destroyed on orders from the Andrew Pickens Ranger District.

Why? A couple years ago, the Andrew Pickens District announced a new program to eliminate invasive non-native plants such as kudzu, privet, honeysuckle, autumn olive and others. The Chattooga Conservancy applauded this effort, even working with the Forest Service on a demonstration project where we helped plant native species at the Section 2 put-in on Highway 28. In addition, the Chattooga Conservancy specifically requested that the small, unusual old growth bamboo patch on Section 2 be exempt from this program, due to its extraordinary characteristics, the low likelihood of its spreading, and its public enjoyment values. For the record, this request was renewed in 2009, and we also asked to be notified of any pending action here. But with no notice, and to the surprise and fury of many, this landmark was leveled in late October 2009.

Stekoa Creek Watershed
319(h) Project Approved

The Chattooga Conservancy has been working in cooperation with the City of Clayton to gain final approval of the "Clayton/Rabun County Watershed Project," that addresses reducing "non-point source" water pollution in the Stekoa Creek Watershed in Rabun County, Georgia. This project was tentatively selected by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources in late 2008 as a candidate to receive Section 319(h) grant funding from the Environmental Protection Agency; however, the grant requires matching funds, a provision that nearly extinguished the project. The City of Clayton finally secured the match through the valuation of the land donated for the future Stekoa Creek Park (see Watershed Update, Chattooga Quarterly Spring/Summer Solstice 2009). The city asked the Chattooga Conservancy to compose the project's work plan, and in February 2010 this work plan was approved!

A brief history of the beleaguered Stekoa Creek is useful to see why the Clayton/Rabun County Watershed Project was selected for 319(h) grant funding. Stekoa Creek is a major tributary to the Chattooga River, and is widely acknowledged as the greatest source of pollution in Chattooga. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources have classified Stekoa Creek and several of its major tributaries as "impaired [polluted] waterways" under Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act. A "Total Maximum Daily Load Implementation Plan" (TMDL Plan) was commissioned by the State of Georgia in 2003, and aimed at restoring Stekoa Creek to its designated use as a primary trout stream. But the TMDL Plan was not implemented to stem the flow of sedimentation and fecal coliform into Stekoa Creek, and the state subsequently revisited the original TMDL Plan, releasing a "Tier 2 TMDL Plan" in September 2007-but still no progress has occurred in improving Stekoa Creek's water quality.

Now, enter the Clayton/Rabun County Watershed Project, which is designed to finally begin implementing Stekoa Creek's TMDL Plan. This project contains five main components that will demonstrate the needed measures for reducing fecal coliform and sediment pollution in Stekoa Creek. Specifically, they are:

• Stekoa Creek Stream Bank and Buffer Zone Restoration, which will abate the ongoing non-point erosion and sedimentation problems within the stream's 50-foot buffer zone on a 2.9-acre site by correcting areas of eroding stream banks, and restoring native vegetation in the 50-foot buffer zone to act as a sediment filter along Stekoa Creek. This project site is the future location of the Stekoa Creek Park.
• Rural Septic System Database, that will organize the Rabun County Health Department's list of septic tanks geographically (by watershed and sub-watershed). Then, this data is to be portrayed in visual form via Geographic Information Systems, overlaid with the Stekoa Creek flood plain and the flood plains of its major impaired tributaries. This should provide information about the current septic tank population, and help to identify failing septic tanks contributing to fecal coliform pollution in the Stekoa Creek watershed
• Rural Septic System Rehabilitation: Funding will be provided to financially needy households for rehabilitating failing septic systems located in flood plain areas of the Stekoa Creek watershed
• Agricultural Best Management Practices Demonstration: The objective is to recruit at least one property owner within the Stekoa Creek watershed flood plain who is agreeable to implementing a demonstration project that will install agricultural best management practices such as restricting livestock access to the creek, and providing alternative watering systems
• Water Quality Data Collection and Analysis: Water samples will be collected in the Stekoa Creek watershed in adherence with a State Quality Assurance Plan, to identify hot spot areas of fecal coliform pollution suspected to be attributable to failing septic systems, and to demonstrate the effectiveness of septic system rehabilitation and implementing agricultural best management practices in reducing non-point source fecal coliform pollution in the Stekoa Creek watershed

The Clayton/Rabun County Watershed Project will begin to scratch the surface of much of what's needed on a larger scale, to clean up Stekoa Creek. The project will be ongoing for the next 3 years. Visit the Chattooga Conservancy's website www.chattoogariver.org to read the work plan in its entirety.

Chattooga River Ranger District

The Chattooga River Ranger District plans to address "illegal ATV user-created trails," as per a scoping letter dated 1/29/2010. The project will include numerous areas across the district, and adjacent to the Chattooga River. The Chattooga Conservancy applauds this effort, and has specifically requested that the illegal ATV trails into "8-Ball Rapid" and into the confluence of Stekoa Creek and the Chattooga River be closed, and that associated erosion and sedimentation issues be addressed by the project.

Upcoming Bird Watching Expedition

Join expert birder Jack Johnston on the Chattooga Conservancy's annual bird watching expedition. Jack will lead a short hike into the woods to identify Neotropical migratory birds arriving in the Chattooga watershed from their over-wintering homes. Jack will be sharing his wealth of knowledge about bird songs and distinctive markings to identify the birds heard and/or seen on the outing.

The outing is planned for a Saturday morning in late April or early May. The group will meet at the Ingles parking lot in Clayton, GA, at 8 a.m. sharp. The date for the birding expedition will be publicized on the Chattooga Conservancy's website, and by way of community announcements throughout the Chattooga River watershed area.