Tag Archives: Georgia

Prescott National Forest boss Matthews leaving

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Daily Courier  3/17/2013
Excerpt:      “Prescott National Forest Supervisor Betty Mathews is leaving her post for a similar one in Georgia.  Mathews said she wants to be closer to her sister and mother in Georgia and South Carolina. She grew up in North Carolina.

Her last week on the Prescott Forest will be April 8, about two years after she came here.  “It’s been a wonderful community to work with,” Mathews said of the Prescott region. “I felt very welcome. People really care about their national forest. People love the outdoors here in Arizona.”    …..”
Read entire article at http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=117150

Bat-killing white-nose syndrome moves southeast

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Summit County Voice 3/13/2013
Excerpt:        “SUMMIT COUNTY — The spread of a lethal bat disease to Georgia and South Carolina once again heightens concerns that humans may be implicated in the transmission of the fungal spores that cause white-nose syndrome.

State and federal officials announcing the discovery of the disease in southeastern bat populations warned that there’s growing evidence that humans are a factor in the spread. White-nose syndrome has now spread to 22 states and 5 Canadian provinces over the past seven years.  ….”
Read entire article at http://summitcountyvoice.com/2013/03/13/bat-killing-white-nose-syndrome-moves-southeast/

Report on Chattahoochee Forest roads hits obstacle

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Gainesville Times 1/27/2013
Excerpt:          “Completion of a study of the Chattahoochee National Forests’ road system has been slowed by a leadership change in the Gainesville-based Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests.

The previous U.S. Forest Service supervisor, George Bain, who had been named 2012 Federal Land Manager of the Year, left soon after the award in October to take a director’s position in Montana, said Judy Toppins, spokeswoman for Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests.

“We’re hoping to have a new forest supervisor by the end of the spring,” she said. “These are big decisions and we’re waiting to have our forest leadership in place before we move forward with results of the study.”     …”

Read entire article at http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/section/6/article/78925/

 

Scientists trying to thwart kudzu bug

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Macon Telegraph; 1/27/2013
Excerpt:        “MACON, Ga. — At last, the “Vine that Ate the South” may have met its match.

To most longtime Southerners, it sounds great: a bug that loves to eat kudzu and can kill off half an infestation of the tangled vine in a couple of years.

What’s not to like?  A lot, it turns out.   The bean plastapid, commonly called the kudzu bug, also likes to eat soybeans as well as wisteria and some ornamental plants.     …….”

Read entire article at http://www.macon.com/2013/01/27/2331874/scientists-trying-to-thwart-kudzu.html

Trail users put aside differences to clear path

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Atlanta Journal Constitution; 12/2/2012
Excerpt:     “Gary Monk, a retired pilot and Appalachian Trail enthusiast, was more than a bit surprised when the head of U.S. Forest Service in north Georgia asked him to join a panel with bikers, equestrians and off-roaders.

“At first I thought it was a joke,” Monk recalled. “I don’t like the horse people and they don’t like me. And no one likes the ATV people because they’re so loud.”   ……”

Read entire article at http://www.ajc.com/news/news/trail-users-put-aside-differences-to-clear-path/nTLFM/

Bain named federal land manager of year

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Gainesville Times 10/12/2012
Excerpt:   “The Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest is in good hands — really good hands.  George Bain, its forest supervisor, was named the 2012 federal land manager of the year for the U.S. Forest Service.

Bain, who has been with the Forest Service for 35 years, was in Washington on Thursday to accept the award.  “This is unexpected and quite an honor,” Bain said prior to leaving for his trip. “It feels a little humbling quite frankly.”  …”

Read entire article at http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/section/6/article/74065/

Forest Service, Native Community Seek to Protect Sacred Site After Some Claim Mayan Connection

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Indian Country 9/3/2012
Excerpt:   “Track Rock Gap—a 1,200-year-old archeological and Native American sacred site, located about 75 miles north of Atlanta, Georgia—has long gone undisturbed.

Yet, the site, which is home to a variety of Cherokee and Creek stone petroglyphs and located in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, has lately become the subject of national attention with claims that the area is connected to the Mayan people.   ….”

Read entire article at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/09/03/forest-service-native-community-seek-to-protect-sacred-site-after-some-claim-mayan-connection-132451

$7 million allocated to add lands to Tennessee and Georgia’s national forests

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Chattanooga Times Free Press 4/7/2012
Excerpt:  “Tennessee and Georgia are among 15 states to receive a share of $40.6 million from the U.S. Forest Service.
National foresters in Tennessee are receiving $5 million to complete the $40 million purchase of a 10,000-acre tract called Rocky Fork to add to the Cherokee National Forest.
And national forest service officials in Georgia will receive $2 million to acquire three parcels to add to the Chattahoochee and Oconee national forests.  ….”
Read entire article at  http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/apr/07/7-million-allocated-add-lands-tennessee-and-georgi/

Upper Chattooga River boating delayed

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Asheville Citizen Times 3/28/2012
Excerpt:   ” No boats allowed.
That is the latest decision in the 36-year-old saga over access to the Wild and Scenic Upper Chattooga River. The U.S. Forest Service granted a stay this week, halting its plans to permit boating on 17 miles of the river’s headwaters, which begin near Cashiers and flow through portions of Georgia and South Carolina.
A Forest Service decision announced two weeks ago approved non-motorized boating to start March 16 on the Upper Chattooga for the first time since 1976, during periods of high water flow, between Dec. 1-April 30.
But before the river ever reached high enough flow levels for one boat to launch, the Forest Service on Tuesday declared a boating moratorium in response to a request from Greenfire Law, on behalf of Georgia Forest Watch, the Sierra Club and Wilderness Watch, said Linda Brett, spokeswoman for the Southern Region Forest Service in Atlanta.    …..”
Read entire article at  http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20120328/OUTDOORS/303280032/Upper-Chattooga-River-boating-delayed

Chattooga ruling draws anger

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Asheville Citizen Times 3/17/2012
Excerpt:   ” In an angry and epic tug-of-water war, environmental organizations and a collective of boater groups filed appeals challenging the U.S. Forest Service’s decision earlier this week to allow limited paddling on the Upper Chattooga Wild and Scenic River.
After a 36-year boating ban on a 21-mile stretch of pristine river with headwaters in the Cashiers area of Jackson County, the U.S. Forest Service announced Tuesday that it would open the waters to non-motorized boating December through April at high rates of water flow……”
Read entire article at http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20120317/OUTDOORS/303170033/Chattooga-ruling-draws-anger