Resources

Together Again — ForestWatch Fall Retreat 2021By Sue Harmon, Board Member Foothills Landscape Project – J. D. McCrary, Executive Director More than 90 Georgia ForestWatch members and friends gathered on October 9 at the Lake Winfield Scott Pavilion to celebrate the work we’ve done, learn about the work yet to be done, and welcome our […]

ForestNews

BMTA Seeking National Scenic Trail Status

November 29, 2021

Benton MacKaye Trail Association Seeking National Scenic Trail Status for the BMTA One of our partner organizations, the Benton MacKaye Trail Association (BMTA) announced that they are seeking Congressional approval for the Benton MacKaye Trail (BMT) to be designated a National Scenic Trail. To date, only 11 long-distance trails have received the prestigious designation. These […]

ForestNews

Pollinators on Blood Mountain

November 29, 2021

Pollinators on Blood MountainAuthor: Andrew Linker, Outreach Coordinator A shiny hiney indicates our native carpenter bee, and a fuzzy hiney with stripes would be our native bumblebee! We saw both, as Irenee Payne, Naturalist and Pollinator Coordinator for Georgia Association of Conservation Districts, led an amazing hike up Blood Mountain on the first chilly morning […]

ForestNews

Good News About Cooper Creek

November 29, 2021

Good News About Cooper CreekAuthor: David Govus, District Leader October 2021. A recent settlement brought to an end a lawsuit filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of Georgia ForestWatch and the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club concerning controversial timber cutting plans in the Cooper Creek project. The lawsuit was filed in […]

ForestNews

Book Review: Finding the Mother Tree

November 29, 2021

Book Review: Finding the Mother TreeBy : Sue Harmon, Board Member You probably know of Suzanne Simard from her famous TED talks about how trees talk to each other, which began in 2014 and have been viewed by more than 10 million people worldwide. Simard has now done more than just talk. She’s written a […]

ForestNews

From the Director Fall 2021

November 29, 2021

From the Director Fall 2021By : J. D. McCrary, Executive Director As our planet and climate continue to change, so must Georgia ForestWatch as an organization. Coming in as the new Executive Director has been a heartwarming experience, and while I strive to learn each of your names and more about the organization’s history and […]

ForestNews

History of Mill Creek’s Old-Growth by Cliff Shaw

November 19, 2021

Saving Mill Creek’s Old-Growth Author: Cliff Shaw The Mill Creek watershed in Fannin County contains one of the largest surviving areas of unlogged old-growth forest on the Chattahoochee National Forest. Although part of Mill Creek’s magnificent ancient forest was clear cut by Forest Service timber sales in the mid to late 1980s, the preservation of […]

Around the Forest

ForestNews

Member Spotlight: Dr. Bill Witherspoon

October 26, 2021

Member Spotlight: Dr. Bill Witherspoon Author: Anne Heikkila, Board President Growing up in Knoxville, TN, William (Bill) Witherspoon has been interested in geology since he was 10 years old. It wasn’t until he was in his mid-twenties however, that he decided to make a career out of it. His interest was piqued by a London […]

ForestNews

Around the Forest – Summer 2021

September 7, 2021

Around the Forest : By Jess Riddle ForestwideFoothills Landscape Project: The Forest Service (FS) took the highly unusual step of issuing a revised Environmental Assessment for the 157,000-acre Foothills Landscape Project. The project’s original review in late 2019 prompted over 2,000 public comments, mostly asking for change. In response to that outpouring of concern and […]

ForestNews

Interview with Ed Hunter Chattahoochee Oconee National Forest Forest Supervisor

June 4, 2021

By Marie Dunkle In January 2013 when I first interviewed Ed Hunter for this newsletter, he was fairly new as the U. S. Forest Service (USFS) Chattooga River District Ranger, and I was still in learning mode as the Georgia ForestWatch (GAFW) Chattooga River District Leader. We sat near Stonewall Falls, and I learned that […]