On Thursday July 15, 2022 Board member Joan Grant presented Patty Livingston, President of the Georgia Equine Rescue League, with a check for $750. GERL is dedicated to helping starved, abused, and neglected horses in Georgia. Go to www.Gerlltd.org for information on this very important equine program.
On Tuesday, July 12, 2022 Board member Joan Grant handed a check for $750 to the Friends of Watson Mill Bridge State Park. Along with the longest covered bridge in Georgia, Watson Mill is one of the most picturesque state parks in the state. CTHA is pleased that these funds will be used to improve the Equestrian Camping Area.
On Monday, July 11, 2022 Board members Joan Grant and Nancy Schwartz presented the folks at A H Stephens State Park a check for $1200 to be used toward improving the trails and Horse Facilities at that State Park. With 19 miles of horse trails A H Stephens gets a lot of use and these funds will help keep this important venue in top notch condition.
On Tuesday, May 17, 2022, Jo West, representing the CTHA Board, presented the leadership of the Friends of Garland Mountain a check for $1,200 to be used toward improving the Horse Trails there. These people have done an excellent job there in maintaining and expanding the trails. CTHA is proud to be able to assist these folks in enhancing an already great place to enjoy horseback riding in North Georgia.
On Wednesday May 11, 2022, CTHA Board members Erma McClain and Nancy Schwartz met with the folks at Don Carter State Park and presented them with a check for $1,200 to be used for improving and maintaining the beautiful horse trails at that park. Giving money to people who will use it to improve the riding experience in North Georgia is a lot of fun. Just look at the smile on their faces.
Sassafras Park and Horse Trails February 2020 Meeting Report
| sassafras_park_meeting_feb_2020.doc |
Foothills Landscape Project
Please take a few minutes and review this, your input is important.
Thank you Debbie Crowe for sending this crucial information onto us.
I'm sending this to you as you are on the Jake & Bull Mtn workday listing. This USFS initiative will impact our trail system. Probably quite a bit as I hear USFS plans to do a LOT of logging around our trail system.
I urge you to submit your comments this week - before the deadline.
Point out specific examples you have seen in other locations of the impact to recreation & trails from what USFS is proposing to do.
Debbie Crowe
Updates:
01/10/2020 30-Day Comment period ENDS!
12/11/2019 Official 30-Day Comment period began
12/2/2019 Draft Environmental Assessment released
Comment Portal - It's quick and easy to register your views with the USFS here: https://cara.ecosystem-management.org/Public/CommentInput?Project=52509
One big problem with the Foothills Landscape Project:
it asks people to give up their rights to participate for the next 20 years.
Over the years, people like you who care about forests have written to the Forest Service, and your comments have saved majestic oak forests, kept mud out of trout streams, and preserved vistas for the enjoyment of everyone. Now the stakes are higher than ever. Foothills is the biggest project in the history of the Chattahoochee National Forest. But there’s still time to improve the project. Tell the Forest Service how you want this unique area managed.
In the formal project review The Forest Service is refusing to identify the specific places they intend to cut trees, apply herbicides, and light fires in the formal project review, so they would be able to do those things across a fifth of the entire Chattahoochee National Forest without having to listen to the public.
The Forest Service (FS) has spoken—a two hour public meeting and 39 days (over the Holidays) is deemed to be enough for the public to read, digest and offer comments on 1000 pages of documentation in the Foothills Landscape Project Environmental Assessment and specialist reports. There will be no extension.
So, between now and January 10, 2020, we who value this National Forest for all it provides us (economically, environmentally, spiritually, recreationally) must review and comment on the Chattahoochee National Forest plans for 157,625 acres of public Forest land. That includes over 60,000 acres of logging and chemicals application, untold temporary roads, 50,000 acres of prescribed fires, and up to 111 miles of trail reroutes.
The Forest Service has taken over a year-and-a-half to write their plans, and they include “new ways of doing things.” But crucially, Project documents do not include the actual locations of most these actions. The Forest Service wants approval of this general Environmental Assessment before any site level analysis of potential impacts to soils, streams, trees, wildlife and recreation. If that happens, the Public will be signing away their legal ability to be involved for the next two decades or more. Even though today’s Forest Service includes many knowledgeable and dedicated individuals, there is no guarantee that the Forest Service will be the same in ten years let alone 20. We the Public who care must stay involved and not give the Forest Service free reign over Our Forest.
Tell the Forest Service that they need to give the public site specific information before making a decision.
Adjacent land owners should be able to tell if the Forest Service is planning to spray herbicide in their backyard.
Mountain bike riders should be able to tell if they are planning to burn along their favorite trail.
Trout fishers should be able to tell if they are planning to log around their favorite stream.
This is not asking the Forest Service for anything new. This is what they have given the public for years. Example comment letters and topic-specific info on: special areas, recreation, and logging and herbicides–starting the first week in January, 2020
The Foothills Landscape Project spans from the South Carolina border to Chatsworth and encompasses 157,625 acres, more than a fifth of the entire Chattahoochee National Forest. The project includes vegetation, road, and recreation management, and proposes up to 55,000 acres of commercial timber harvests and 63,000 acres of herbicide application. It also includes some of our most cherished places:
the lower Chattooga River, well-known for whitewater rafting, and one of our major wildlife habitat corridors
the Jake and Bull Mountain trails, enjoyed by mountain bikers and horseback enthusiasts, and one of the most popular multi-use trail systems on the forest
Grassy Mountain, home to the biggest block of old growth forest we have left in north Georgia
The Foothills are the gateway to the mountains, and the effects of this project will be difficult to avoid when visiting the mountains. Previously, the Forest Service has pursued logging and land management projects one watershed at a time, leaving similar areas untouched. But with Foothills, they’re doing the entire landscape–and if they take the wrong approach, the whole area will be impacted. The scale of the project and lack of information identifying what and where require us to call on your presence and participation to continuing protecting and preserving the Chattahoochee National Forest.
You can read more on the breadth and specifics of this 157,625 acre management proposal at: https://gafw.org/foothills-landscape-project/
Don Carter State Park Horse Trails Now Open!
We had a very successful workday on July 9th, 2018. 22 equestrians came out, 10 riders and 12 on foot to help get these trails open.
A few things to know before you go.
1) You need to have a copy of your Coggins on you or you can stop by the park office and leave a copy on file with them.
2) The is no ride fee at this time, only a $5 parking fee. That will change so enjoy having no ride fee while it lasts.
3) If you plan on going quite a bit, you may want to buy an Annual Park Pass. If you purchase it through the Friends Group, the money stays at Don Carter.
Thank you to all the volunteers, donations, and Cliff Ainsworth-Park Manager for making this long awaited day happen.
Happy Trails,
Bobbie Byers-CTHA President
A few things to know before you go.
1) You need to have a copy of your Coggins on you or you can stop by the park office and leave a copy on file with them.
2) The is no ride fee at this time, only a $5 parking fee. That will change so enjoy having no ride fee while it lasts.
3) If you plan on going quite a bit, you may want to buy an Annual Park Pass. If you purchase it through the Friends Group, the money stays at Don Carter.
Thank you to all the volunteers, donations, and Cliff Ainsworth-Park Manager for making this long awaited day happen.
Happy Trails,
Bobbie Byers-CTHA President
Rainbow Family Gathering
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prevents, among other things, curtailing freedom of speech and requires the right to peaceably assemble. With this in mind comes the announcement from the Rainbow Family of Living Light that they have selected the Bull Mountain area of the Chattahoochee National Forest for their annual gathering. This event will occur from now until after July 4 and our area will be an access point. Please be aware that neither Lumpkin County nor the US Forest Service is legally able to prevent this gathering. The majority of impact will be to Forest Service land, but the gathering may be as large as 20,000 people, which will also cause local impacts. Forest and county roads, especially in the Nimblewill area, are expected to be very congested during the event and road closures and/or traffic detours should be expected. It is recommended that you avoid the access points for their campsite as much as possible.
The Forest Service is mobilizing a national incident management team with experience managing these types of events. The team is working in unified command with the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office, DNR, and Georgia State Patrol to manage this event. For more information, follow @ChattOconeeNF on Twitter and Facebook, download the forest’s free mobile app for your smartphone or tablet, or visit them on the web at www.fs.usda.gov/conf.
2018 Burning Notice - Bull Mountain Trail System
November 2, 2013 Workday Recap
The May 2013 issue of Trail Blazer magazine had a nice article about CTHA and our work on the trails in northeast Georgia. You can read the article by clicking below.
| trailblazer093.pdf |
You may have heard that Georgia is privatizing management of some of our state parks. To date, five have been turned over to a private company. None have horse trails. Click here for the article.
6 Month Interstate Event Permit
Georgia participates with 12 other southern states in the
six-month event permit.
This free permit allows you to transport your equine across
the state lines of :
|
Florida,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina |
Virginia
Oklahoma, Tennessee, West Virginia South Carolina, |
for 6 months OR until your coggins expires for the purposes of shows, trail rides, rodeos, etc. In order to obtain this permit, you must supply a current negative coggins and a valid (less than 30 days old) Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (health certificate).
These have to be originals or certified, notarized copies.
Your event permit and your original documents should be received
within 10 days.
Click Here to get an application from the Georgia Department of Agriculture for the permit.
These have to be originals or certified, notarized copies.
Your event permit and your original documents should be received
within 10 days.
Click Here to get an application from the Georgia Department of Agriculture for the permit.
Once you have it filled out, send it to:
GA Department of Agriculture
Attn: Animal Health / Event Permit
19 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive
Atlanta, GA 30334
GA Department of Agriculture
Attn: Animal Health / Event Permit
19 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive
Atlanta, GA 30334