The Chattooga River, which starts in the mountains around the Cashiers/Highlands area and flows south to form the border between Georgia and South Carolina, was designated a Wild and Scenic River in 1974. Two years later the United States Forest Service made a decision to prevent boating on the upper reaches of the river, specifically about the Highway 28 Bridge. American Whitewater has been working for over fifteen years to reverse this ban which violates the Wilderness Act and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. AW's efforts gained traction after a successful appeal of the updated Resource Management plan which the Forest Service released in January of 2004. Since that time the Forest Service has failed to reach a new management decision, leading to a federal court case file by conservation-oriented paddlers.
In response to American Whitewater's appeal of the 2004 Forest Service Mangaement Plan, in 2005 the Washington Office of the Forest Service mandated that the Sumter National Forest conduct a user capacity analysis. The US Forest Service spent years attempting to produce a user capacity analysis but failed. They produced a new draft management decision in the fall of 2009 that was promptly withdrawn, and re-initiated the process in 2011. Learn more about this plan.
American Whitewater filed suit in October of 2009 to restore the public’s ability to paddle the headwaters region of the 52-mile Wild and Scenic Chattooga River. The American Canoe Association, Georgia Canoeing Association, Atlanta Whitewater Club, Western Carolina Paddlers, and the Foothills Paddling Club, along with three individuals, are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit follows a 2006 attempt to litigate this issue which was dismissed as “not ripe.” The Judge anticipated a final resolution of the issue by the USFS in a matter of months and thus did not feel litigation was appropriate at that time. Learn more about the law suit here.
American Whitewater's work on the Chattooga started in 1995, attempting to work with the Forest Service and other user groups to come to a simple resolution to the conflict. Click here to learn about the history of the Chattoga and AW's efforts.
Do you have a question or two about American Whitewater's efforts on the Chattooga River? Well we might have already answered it for you. Read AW's answers to some frequently asked questions.
American Whitewater outlines the groups involved in the process of evaluating paddling on the Chattooga Headwaters. Learn who is involved with the process and their roles.
American Whitewater's appeal of the Management Plan has generated much interest not only from user groups but also from media outlets accross the Southeast. Click here to read some of the stories in the press.
Take a look at why American Whitewater is working so hard to get an equal opportunity to enjoy the Upper Chattooga. Enjoy our photo galleries here.
A group calling themselves Friends of the Upper Chattooga recently wrote a letter formally requesting that Overflow Creek, a tributary to the Chattooga River, be immediately closed to boating by the USFS. The USFS denied the request, and American Whitewater followed up with adetailed analysis in support of the USFS position that Overflow is in fact open to paddlers. The request came from groups like the NC, SC, and GA chapters of Trout Unlimited and the Chattooga Conservancy.
American Whitewater’s work on the Chattooga River began in 1995 and we are now in a position to overturn this illegal ban on boating. Our volunteers, pro-bono legal teams, staff, and membership are on the verge of protecting your rights to enjoy Wild and Scenic and Wilderness rivers across the country. If you are interested in supporting this effort AW invites you to join or support AW through a donation today. Your financial help will make this possible, and will help us protect your right to travel through wild places on wild rivers.
Join online today! Donate today!
Today, the US Forest Service released their newest proposal regarding how to manage recreation on the Wild and Scenic Upper Chattooga River, where they currently maintain a controversial ban on paddling. The proposal would allow more paddling than has been proposed by the Forest Service in prior proposals as soon as March of this year. However, like previous proposals, the new proposal would limit whitewater paddling by stream reach, season, and flow, while imposing no such limits on all other similar visitors.
Yesterday, national and regional conservation-oriented paddling organizations submitted comments on the US Forest Service’s 489-page Environmental Assessment (EA) regarding recreation on the Wild and Scenic Upper Chattooga River. Also joining the comments were three individuals that enjoyed paddling the river prior to the controversial 1976 paddling ban.
The Forest Service recently published a 500-page manifesto aimed at continuing the 35 year old ban on paddling the upper Chattooga. If you care about being able to enjoy rivers flowing through public lands, we ask that you submit a comment regarding the upper Chattooga River, and to call your political representative before the August 30, 2011 deadline.
The US Forest Service has announced yet another 45 day comment period regarding paddling on the
Upper Chattooga River (NC/SC/GA) and we encourage paddlers to read the USFS scoping letter and
offer any comments you may have. Also, as a special holiday treat we are pleased to bring
you some rare footage of paddling the Chattooga headwaters prior to the 1976 paddling ban.
On December 2, 2010 United States District Judge J. Michelle Childs issued a decision regarding the mis-management of the Wild and Scenic upper Chattooga River. The decision confirms that conservation-oriented paddlers have a ripe and valid case against the US Forest Service, and the case will now proceed to trial.
Yesterday, conservation-oriented paddlers presented their case against the US Forest Service regarding the agency's illegal paddling ban on 21 miles of the Wild and Scenic Chattooga River in a federal district court hearing. The judge heard roughly four hours of arguments and testimony, and stated that she would issue a decision at a later date.
The USFS announced today that they will further delay reaching a new decision on how to manage recreation on the Upper Chattooga. A 2009 decision was withdrawn shortly after its release, and the agency stated a new decision would be released early in the spring of 2010.
Yesterday the US Forest Service “voluntarily withdrew” their decisions and analysis regarding their illegal ban on paddling the Wild and Scenic Upper Chattooga River. The decisions and analysis were under intense scrutiny in the administrative appeals process, and are currently being challenged in Federal Court. The step is just the most recent in 14 years of avoidance tactics employed by local decision-makers in the agency, and will create massive additional burdens for public participants in the process.
Earlier this week the US Forest Service cancelled their plans to allow a paltry six days of paddling on one small section of the upper Chattooga River (NC/SC/GA) this winter. As it has been for 33 years, the entire Upper Chattooga River now remains banned to all canoeing and kayaking, while all other existing uses have no limits. Conservation-oriented paddlers have challenged the overarching agency decision to ban paddling on the Wild and Scenic Upper Chattooga River in court and in the administrative appeals process over the past two weeks.
Conservation-oriented kayakers and canoeists sought protection in federal court on Wednesday from an illegal decision by the United States Forest Service involving the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River. The USFS decision, which was the culmination of a 2004 administrative appeal by American Whitewater, makes it a federal crime for paddlers to float the northernmost 21 miles of the River and its tributaries except on a limited seven-mile section during 6 or fewer days per year.
American Whitewater and our attorneys have been in contact with US Forest Service officials at the local, regional, and National level asking for prompt resolution of the mismanagement of the Chattooga, which has now been delayed over 2 years. The USFS has not set a new deadline for releasing their long overdue decision, nor shared a reason for the delays.
The contacts below include staff and volunteers working on this project. Make sure you are logged in if you wish to join the group.
| Title | Name | City | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aw-board-lead | Don Kinser | Marietta GA | Details... |
| Aw-regional-coordinator | Charlene Coleman | SC | Details... |
| Aw-staff-lead | Kevin Colburn | Missoula MT | Details... |
Letters in opposition of paddling on the Chattooga from Paul Broun, Robin Hayes and J. Gresham Barrett - Congressional Representatives
American Whitewater's comments on the Integrated Report for the User Capacity Analysis.
Don Kinser's personal report from his trip down the Chattooga Headwaters, as part of the 2007 USFS Expert Panel Study.
American Whitewater's final scoping comments regarding the ban on paddling the Chattooga Headwaters, September 13, 2007
projects
(RSS)
(KML)help
(mobile)
(RSS)
(KML)help
(mobile)