Resource Name (Heading 1) - USDA Forest Service - US ...
Resource Name (Heading 1) - USDA Forest Service - US ...
Resource Name (Heading 1) - USDA Forest Service - US ...
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Summary of Public Comments - Managing Recreation Uses in the<br />
Upper Segment of the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River Corridor EA<br />
#331- Floating on waterways that are National Wild and Scenic Rivers should not be prohibited regardless<br />
of who the landowners are along the river. (Ltr# 193, Cmt# 321)<br />
Subconcern # I<br />
#311- Some boaters get a thrill out of getting into their boat and sliding down the bank into the river. This<br />
creates areas that funnel water and promotes erosion of the river bank and concentrates drainage from the<br />
surrounding river bank. It also kills all vegetation where the boats slide down. (Ltr# 193, Cmt# 301)<br />
Subconcern # I<br />
#312- Dragging boats up and down the bank is as destructive as cattle drinking in the river. (Ltr# 193,<br />
Cmt# 302)<br />
Subconcern # J<br />
#385- Access to the Chattooga River Corridor should remain by foot only and only on numbered <strong>Forest</strong><br />
<strong>Service</strong> trails. This is consistent with the original Wild and Scenic River plan for the Upper Chattooga<br />
which says that "[tJhere will be no construction of new roads. All existing roads will be closed and<br />
stabilized at the corridor boundary" for wild areas (Ltr# 193, Cmt# 373)<br />
Public Concern 59<br />
The <strong>Forest</strong> <strong>Service</strong> should not permit commercial boating on the Upper Chattooga<br />
River.<br />
Response to PC 59<br />
Commercial boating is not considered in any of the alternatives. See EA Chapter 2.<br />
Sample Public Comment(s) for PC 59:<br />
Please help us preserve the Upper Chattooga River at South Carolina and Georgia. We all enjoy this river<br />
and want to keep it as wild as possible to help protect wildlife and the environment. I hear that another 8+<br />
miles of river may be opened up to public/commercial use. Please do not allow this. (Ltr# 15, Cmt# 1)<br />
Feel free to ban commercial rafting. (Ltr# 85, Cmt# 2)<br />
To further buttress this point, if solitude seeking were a fundamental and irreplaceable concern of the<br />
whitewater running experience among the overall user group, why doesn’t the American Whitewater<br />
Association’s lawsuit demand more restrictive commercial permitting on the lower Wild and Scenic<br />
Chattooga to eliminate the excessive number of folks (40,000 to 70,000 per year) using the river? This<br />
would reduce the number of unacceptable interpersonal encounters that degrades the sense of solitude on<br />
the lower Wild and Scenic Chattooga. Why not prohibit all commercial whitewater rafting on the lower<br />
Chattooga in order to restore the balance of solitude that the self-guided kayakers assert that they need<br />
from the upper Chattooga? (Ltr# 171, Cmt# 7)<br />
Do not degrade this outstanding resource by allowing commercial activity of any kind. (Ltr# 189, Cmt# 3)<br />
Public Concern 60<br />
The <strong>Forest</strong> <strong>Service</strong> should not permit local outfitters to rent boats for use on the<br />
Upper Chattooga River (comment from 2009 EA comment period).<br />
Response to PC 60<br />
The prohibition of commercial boating is continued in all alternatives. However, activities on<br />
private land are outside the scope of this analysis.<br />
Sample Public Comment(s) for PC 60:<br />
#583- To further protect the resources, add the stipulation that local outfitters should not be allowed to<br />
rent boats (inflatable or hard boats) for use on the upper Chattooga. (Ltr# 193, Cmt# 570)<br />
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