White County/Helen, Georgia Designated an Appalachian Trail Community

White County/Helen, Georgia Designated an Appalachian Trail Community

Thursday, November 22, 2012

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The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), along with the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club (GATC) and the city of Helen, invites the public to attend the official designation of White County/Helen, Georgia as the newest Appalachian Trail Community™ on November 30, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. The ceremony will be held at the Bandshell Amphitheater located 100 feet north of the Chattahoochee River near Hwy 17/75 in downtown Helen, Georgia. This event is free and open to the public.

Over 40% of White County is comprised of state and federal public lands, making outdoor recreation a dominant feature of this mountain community. The city is most known for its Bavarian flavor, giving tourists a taste of the southern Appalachians.

The designation ceremony will begin with the national anthem performed by Charles Aiken, thru-hiker and longtime GATC volunteer and Trail-maintainer. Aiken was first introduced to the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) at age 12 and has continued to share his passion for the Trail ever since. He recently developed a hiking program, now active in various North Georgia schools, where students can learn about the history of the A.T. and experience the outdoors.

Following the national anthem, various guests will present including Mark Wenger, executive director/CEO of the ATC, Morgan Sommerville, southern regional director of the ATC, Mayor Judy Holloway and Tom Aderhold, former president of GATC and longtime volunteer awarded the 50 Year Service Award by the National Park Service for his efforts managing the A.T.

The Appalachian Trail Community™ is a new program of the ATC, the nonprofit responsible for management and protection of the A.T. Launched in 2010, this program recognizes and thanks communities for their part in promoting the A.T. as an important local and national asset.

EVENT OVERVIEW
* White County/Helen, Georgia A.T. Community Designation Ceremony
* Date: November 30, 2012
* Time: 11:00a.m.
* Locations: Bandshell Amphitheater in downtown Helen, 100 feet north of the Chattahoochee River near Hwy 17/75


Jeff
Hiking in the Smokies

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Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest Hosts Weekend of Trails Collaboration

Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest Hosts Weekend of Trails Collaboration

Thursday, January 19, 2012

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The outcome of a groundbreaking effort by the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests to work with trail users to identify and maintain a diverse, quality trail system on the Forests will be unveiled during a weekend of public workshops and meetings beginning January 20th at Unicoi State Park near Helen, Ga. Last year the Forest Service began the Collaborative Trails Initiative, or “CoTrails,” by bringing together trail users to address shared concerns. The result is a five part strategic plan that the Forest Service and CoTrails volunteers are now ready to start implementing.

“The influence of this effort will be far-reaching, benefitting not just trail users by offering a more satisfying recreation experience, but also by protecting watersheds, improving forest health, and contributing to local and regional economies that depend on forest-related recreation,” says Forest Supervisor George Bain. “This collaborative effort has the potential to have a lasting impact on quality of life for generations to come.”

The Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests receive 2.2 million visitors each year, and the primary activity is use of the national forests’ 850 miles of designated system trails. Hikers are not the only ones who take advantage of the recreation opportunities that the trails provide. Cyclists, hunters, anglers, off-highway vehicle enthusiasts and horseback riders all recreate on national forest trails. Collaboration with all trail users offers the opportunity to address management challenges of increasing public demand and use, limited agency resources for maintenance, and potential competition between recreation users.

Beginning in 2011 the Forest Service hosted a series of meetings in communities surrounding the national forests to find out how all trail users could work together and with the Forest Service to help create a diverse, quality trail system that is maintainable and minimizes environmental impacts. More than 350 people attended those meetings, and a core group of forty plus volunteers coalesced to see the effort through the planning stage.

“Now we’re ready to begin the real work implementing the plan,” said Carlos Martel, a horseback rider and volunteer member of the CoTrails Working Group who helped author the plan. “We need everyone who uses and cares about recreational trails on the national forests to join this effort and volunteer to make our national forest trail system the best it can be.”

The CoTrails Strategic Plan outlines five objectives that include engaging volunteers, inventorying and assessing existing trails, creating a forest-wide interactive online map of the trail system, and identifying unauthorized trails and opportunities to incorporate new system trails on the national forests.

The weekend of CoTrails activities begins on Friday, January 20th at 6 p.m. with the CoTrails Strategic Plan launch and general meeting followed by a social hour. This meeting is open to anyone interested in supporting and becoming active in the implementation of the CoTrails Strategic Plan. Volunteer project teams will be formed to work on specific plan objectives.

A Saturday morning kick-off begins at 9 a.m. and will include presentations from the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests, CoTrails volunteers, and Applied Trails Research, with the goal of providing an introduction to a trails assessment process that will be occurring on the national forests. Following the kick-off, one of the most popular and sought after trails training opportunities, “The Art and Science of Trails,” will be offered free to anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the science behind creating successful trails. This two day training includes a Saturday indoor class and a Sunday field session conducted at nearby trails. Workshop pre-registration is required, and capacity is limited.

Anyone interested in participating in these activities should contact John Campbell by email. Read the CoTrails Strategic Plan. You can find more information on the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests’ website.



Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

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