Thanks to all who came to this public meeting!
We had a packed house with at least 100 people in attendance, including District Ranger Robbie Sitzlar, representatives from the Southern Research Station and the Nature Conservancy, members of the wood products industry, and dozens of citizens who live, work, and recreate in the project area. We appreciated the discussion and debate, and hope all will submit comments to the Forest Service to voice their opinions about this project. The deadline to comment is Wednesday, May 8th, and instructions for commenting are on page 2 of the Scoping Notice. You can read the details of the proposal in the Purpose and Need for Action, and read the Chattooga Conservancy’s talking points in this post.
Unfortunately the lighting did not agree with our projector and our presentation was difficult for many to see– if you’d like to look over it, we’ve posted it here for download:White Pine Public Meeting Presentation.
PUBLIC MEETING
White Pine Management Project
Thursday, May 2nd
7:00PM- 8:00PM
Long Creek Community Center
Long Creek, SC
Join us for this meeting to learn more about the Andrew Pickens Ranger District’s “White Pine Management Project.” The district is proposing to harvest 66 stands of Eastern white pine on approximately 2,148 acres in Mountain Rest and Long Creek. The tree-cutting would be followed by herbicides, prescribed burning, chipping, and/or planting.
The White Pine Project would impact popular recreation areas used by the public for horseback riding, mountain biking, hiking and scenic enjoyment. It would also affect streams, rare stands of old growth timber, and adjacent private landowners. Comments are due on May 8th.