Conservation groups reach agreement with U.S. Forest Service on Chattahoochee timber sale

A vital brook trout stream and other streams in the Tallulah River watershed of the Chattahoochee National Forest will be protected under an agreement between with the U.S. Forest Service, Georgia ForestWatch and the Southern Environmental Law Center. The agreement, reached on June 3, resolves the forest group's administrative appeal of a proposed 90-acre timber sale in the Chattahoochee in north Georgia.

The Forest Service agreed to make key improvements to the timber sale in the Tallulah Ranger District. The trout stream, Flat Branch, will be protected by a buffer based on state best management practices for "primary" trout streams which support reproducing populations of trout. The Forest Service also improved its plans to monitor other streams in the project area. Further, the agency agreed to take steps to prevent illegal ATV (all-terrain vehicles) use on closed roads, which has caused severe erosion in the Chattahoochee - a growing concern among conservationists. Georgia ForestWatch representatives also will have the opportunity to go out in the field with the Forest Service to observe the layout of the sale and the actual logging.

"We appreciate the Forest Service's willingness to respond to our main concerns about this timber sale," said Wayne Jenkins, Georgia ForestWatch Executive Director. "This is one of the first projects under the recently revised forest management plan, so we hope this sets a good precedent for the future."

"Trees and vegetation in the buffer will shade the stream and keep the water cool, which is what brook trout need," said Sarah Francisco, attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. "And the additional water quality monitoring and ForestWatch's firsthand observation of operations 'on the ground' will help hold the Forest Service accountable."

Georgia ForestWatch is a premier conservation group in north Georgia whose primary mission is to protect and restore public lands of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests and to inform the public about the value of these landscapes. The Southern Environmental Law Center is a regional non-profit advocacy organization that works with the South's conservation community to protect southern forests, water, air, wetlands, coastal resources and rural landscapes.