CLEVELAND, Ga.—The headwaters of the Chattahoochee River have been preserved thanks to a gift from the Trust for Public Land (TPL) to the state of Georgia. TPL and the Department of Natural Resources celebrated the protection of three critical river access areas on Oct. 15 at Wildwood Outfitters in mountainous north Georgia.
These headwaters will “become a public recreation access point in perpetuity,” said David Martin, chairman of the Georgia Advisory Council for TPL. Small riverbank parcels in White and Habersham counties, long used by Wildwood outfitters as places to dock and disembark, and a 37-acre parcel where Mossy Creek enters the river in Hall County are now state land.
A group of conservationists, government officials, and volunteers marked the milestone at a “paddling press conference.” They traveled in kayaks and canoes along the pristine river on a windy yet sunny day.
The leaves were just starting to turn. Hawks and buzzards floated in the sky, while a beaver raised its curious brown head. The Chattahoochee was named one of the most threatened urban rivers in 1993 and 1994, by American Rivers, a conservation advocacy group. Since then, TPL and others have done much to protect it.
Florida, Alabama, and Georgia are engaged in “water wars” over how to share and care for the Chattahoochee. A federal judge has set a deadline of 2012 for the states to resolve the conflict, or Atlanta must stop drawing its drinking water from the river.
The Chattahoochee begins in a small spring a little south of the end of the Appalachian Trail. It flows southwest to Florida. Martin said TPL and its many partners have a dream of creating a “blueway”—a water trail, much like the “greenway” of the Appalachian Trail.
People will be able to leave the national Maine to Georgia hiking trail and float all the way to the Gulf of Mexico on the river, with plenty of public land along the way to disembark. The three parcels are “three more links in the chain,” said Martin.
Water quality, wildlife habitat, and quality of life for people will all be strengthened by protecting land along the river, said Todd Holbrook, deputy commissioner of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. When he heard of the possibility of parkland at the headwaters, he said, “I about ripped the map out of his hands and said we have to have that!”
Holbrook explained that almost all who are really active in conservation started from recreation, “It has to be fun.” People who fish, canoe, hunt, hike, and camp grow to love the land and then “step up into that stewardship role,” he said. Access is critical to allow people to develop a love for the natural world.
The Gale family founded Wildwood Outfitters in 1972, and approached TPL hoping to support the blueway idea. They sold it to TPL at a discount, and will keep running their water recreation business on the banks.
The large Mossy Creek parcel came from the John Stembler estate. TPL both donated part of it and sold another part to Georgia. Martin said the conservation group would love to donate all the land it buys, but cannot afford to do that. TPL preserves land by buying it and holding it undeveloped so that government entities can turn it into parkland.
TPL started the Chattahoochee River Land Protection Campaign in the 1990s. The coalition of donors, government agencies, and other nonprofits have bought more than 16,000 acres and protected over 76 miles of riverfront, said Martin.
These headwaters will “become a public recreation access point in perpetuity,” said David Martin, chairman of the Georgia Advisory Council for TPL. Small riverbank parcels in White and Habersham counties, long used by Wildwood outfitters as places to dock and disembark, and a 37-acre parcel where Mossy Creek enters the river in Hall County are now state land.
A group of conservationists, government officials, and volunteers marked the milestone at a “paddling press conference.” They traveled in kayaks and canoes along the pristine river on a windy yet sunny day.
The leaves were just starting to turn. Hawks and buzzards floated in the sky, while a beaver raised its curious brown head. The Chattahoochee was named one of the most threatened urban rivers in 1993 and 1994, by American Rivers, a conservation advocacy group. Since then, TPL and others have done much to protect it.
Florida, Alabama, and Georgia are engaged in “water wars” over how to share and care for the Chattahoochee. A federal judge has set a deadline of 2012 for the states to resolve the conflict, or Atlanta must stop drawing its drinking water from the river.
The Chattahoochee begins in a small spring a little south of the end of the Appalachian Trail. It flows southwest to Florida. Martin said TPL and its many partners have a dream of creating a “blueway”—a water trail, much like the “greenway” of the Appalachian Trail.
People will be able to leave the national Maine to Georgia hiking trail and float all the way to the Gulf of Mexico on the river, with plenty of public land along the way to disembark. The three parcels are “three more links in the chain,” said Martin.
Water quality, wildlife habitat, and quality of life for people will all be strengthened by protecting land along the river, said Todd Holbrook, deputy commissioner of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. When he heard of the possibility of parkland at the headwaters, he said, “I about ripped the map out of his hands and said we have to have that!”
Holbrook explained that almost all who are really active in conservation started from recreation, “It has to be fun.” People who fish, canoe, hunt, hike, and camp grow to love the land and then “step up into that stewardship role,” he said. Access is critical to allow people to develop a love for the natural world.
The Gale family founded Wildwood Outfitters in 1972, and approached TPL hoping to support the blueway idea. They sold it to TPL at a discount, and will keep running their water recreation business on the banks.
The large Mossy Creek parcel came from the John Stembler estate. TPL both donated part of it and sold another part to Georgia. Martin said the conservation group would love to donate all the land it buys, but cannot afford to do that. TPL preserves land by buying it and holding it undeveloped so that government entities can turn it into parkland.
TPL started the Chattahoochee River Land Protection Campaign in the 1990s. The coalition of donors, government agencies, and other nonprofits have bought more than 16,000 acres and protected over 76 miles of riverfront, said Martin.
