Independence Week Marks Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of Boating Ban on Chattooga

For Immediate Release Sunday, July 01, 2001

Now is the time to act to gain legal boating access to the Chattooga Headwaters!

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the boating ban on the Chattooga Headwaters. The policy banning boaters just does not make sense and it is time for whitewater boaters to enjoy the same legal access to this magnificent section of the Chattooga River that fishermen and hikers have enjoyed for decades.

The closure of the Chattooga above Highway 28 was done without an open EA or EIA, without public input, and with no evidence of damage or conflict resulting from boater use. Furthermore a former District Ranger, with ties to the fishermen who oppose sharing the river with boaters, unilaterally made the decision to close the river. This was inappropriate policy making and doesn't make sense. In fact, this is the only stretch of river in the entire USDA Forest Service that is closed to boating.

The management plan for the wild and scenic Chattooga River has been under review by the district planners in the Andrew Pickens District of Sumter National Forest for the last 18 months. We expect a draft of the proposed revision available for public comment any day. This is our chance to lift the boating ban and American Whitewater needs your help!

Our discussions with the Forest Service indicate the boating ban on the Chattooga Headwaters will not be lifted with the proposed changes to the river management plan without your help. The District Ranger states that the Forest Services does not see a need to open the river to boaters. In other words, the Forest Service does not recognize sufficient boater demand for access to the Chattooga Headwaters and also argues there are sufficient alternatives in the area (Overflow, Chauga, etc.) to justify keeping the headwaters sections closed to boating.

We need to show demand from the boating community and let them know that this boating ban should be lifted!

What can you do to help?

You can visit, phone, and write the Andrew Pickens Ranger District and let Mike Crane and Greg Borgen (the river planners) hear your demands to open the Chattooga Headwaters to boating. The Andrew Pickens Ranger District offices are located on Highway 28 just south of Whetstone road between Mountain Rest and Walhalla at:

Andrew Pickens Ranger District
112 Andrew Pickens Circle
Mountain Rest, SC 29664

Next time you are in the area drop by and ask to talk with them about the river. If you can't stop by, pick up the phone and call Mike Crane or Greg Borgen and talk to them about the boating ban. Their phone number is (864) 638-9568.

Either way read the following background and ask them hard questions about the reasons the river is closed to boating. Tell them you feel the current boating restrictions don't make sense and should be changed. Then, drop us an email or a phone call and let us know what they told you.

Most importantly write them a letter now! Above all else at least write them a letter demanding the boating ban be lifted. The attached example is a good starting point. Take it and modify it, make it personal, and mail it as soon as possible. The time to act is now. Send a copy of the letter to all the people shown (you will find all the addresses included in the file).

Let him hear from you by email too. Visit the Chattooga River Management discussion area at and let the district planners know that you are monitoring their decisions. Ask about the plan. Keep repeating the message that the boating ban doesn't make sense.

Background Information

The Wild & Scenic Chattooga River is one of the Southeast's most beautiful and dramatic places. Understandably, hikers, photographers, and fishermen as well as whitewater recreationists take great joy in visiting this river. Though the river below the highway 28 bridge (including the West Fork drainage) is open to whitewater boating (commonly referred to as Sections I (West Fork), II, III, & IV by the Forest Service), the remote headwaters (identified by boaters as Sections 00, 0, and 1) have been closed to boating since July 1, 1976.

As demonstrated on other regional rivers, such as Overflow Creek, river use in the headwaters will be self-limiting and complementary to other user groups. The three river sections are unlikely to receive more than a couple of hundred boating visitors per year. The limiting factors include the facts that: the river mostly runs in the colder winter months, the levels are not predictable, the river rarely stays at a runnable level for more than a 24-hours at a time, access is difficult, and parking is limited.

Our members have identified the Forest Service's headwaters boating ban as a source of frustration for several decades. The general perception within our community is that the closure is inconsistent with the purpose of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act as well as the Forest Service's management plans for the region. Furthermore, the ban appears to have been imposed by a District Ranger with strong ties to the local fishing organizations that oppose boating access on the Chattooga.

Stay tuned to American Whitewater's website for updated information about access to Chattooga Headwaters.