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February 16, 2011

Happy trails?

Charles Oliver charlesoliver@daltoncitizen.com

The Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest stretches across 867,000 acres of North Georgia and contains more than 800 miles of recreational trails.

And around 1.1 million people ride, bike or walk those trails each year.

“It’s a playground for a lot of folks,” said Forest Supervisor George Bain,

Bain says the U.S. Forest Service wants to develop strong partnerships with those who use those trails. That’s why the Forest Service held a public meeting Tuesday night at Dalton City Hall to let people know more about the trails and to get their input.

“We know we have issues with some of the trails,” he said. “Some of them may have been poorly built or they may be in bad locations.”

Al Polk, a staff officer with the Forest Service, said there are 250 separate trails across the forest, and 112 are reserved for non-motorized use, such as walking, bicycling and horse riding. A total of 730 miles of trails can be used by hikers. Some 240 miles can be traveled by horses, and 141 miles can be traveled by bicycle.

Bain said he does not anticipate the trail system will be expanded, but he added that is possible. Rather, he said the meeting was focused on preserving and getting the best use out of the current trail system.

About a dozen people attended the meeting, and they were split into several groups to discuss a set of principles the Forest Service and others have developed to guide its maintenance of the trail system. Those principles call for a “diverse quality trail experience” that is economically and ecologically sustainable.

The Forest Service plans four more public meetings in Blue Ridge, Kennesaw, Clarkesville and Eatonton over the next month.

For more on the trail system and the process visit www.fs.usda.gov/conf under the “Recreation” section. You can sign up to follow the Forest Service on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ChattOconeeNF.

 

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