Thomas Nelson's remarks, whose intention is to log Hurricane Creek, to retired Professor James Parker, former curator of Hurricane Creek, and who is opposed to logging project.  James Parker’s REMARKS are IN ALL CAPS.

Thomas Nelson’s wetlands remarks are in bold (bold added).

"Hi Jim,

Dr. Potter and Dean Bodri have taken your concerns regarding the plan to harvest trees at Hurricane Creek to heart and asked that I address them as they were presented. Although we have different views of how to enhance the biological integrity and utility of the tract for future generations, I believe that both views are valid and have their merits. Your concerns fall into several categories. To save space, I have grouped his concerns and my responses accordingly. Below are my responses to the concerns you raise:

I. Concerns about roads and impacts on neighbors.

?   There is only one way to access the property.

?   Truck traffic would severely damage roads.

?   Resident would object to likelihood of damage to utilities under the road

?   Access road would have to be repaired after timbering.

?   Private landowners in the area would object to road damage.

?   Truck traffic would damage the water line under road.

Response, Nelson: We will strive (with the help of the Georgia Forestry Commission) to minimize the effects of logging on the Hurricane Creek tract and our neighbors. GFC assures me that they can help us write the contract and select a contractor with a good record of harvesting with minimal impacts.     

Paker: MINIMAL BY WHOSE STANDARDS? 

Nelson: Forests all over Georgia are harvested regularly by the timber industry. As with any industry there are responsible and irresponsible companies. The road leading to Hurricane Creek is in bad condition now. One advantage to these harvests is that the contractor will have to repair the road before and after harvesting. Currently, the cost of NG repairing the road for access is prohibitive.

Parker: NOT SO.  THIS IS MOSTLY COUNTY ROAD AND THE COUNTY SHOULD REPAIR IT.

II. Concerns about damage to the Hurricane Creek tract and its structures. 

?   Culvert is rusted through and would not handle truck traffic

?   Gate would have to be left open leaving area unsecured

?   Trucks would severely limit parking area

?   Trucks would damage road from parking area to shelter

?   The scenic beauty of the area would be damaged for many years

?   ~$100K of effort has gone into Hurricane Creek (structures and upkeep)

?   On-site structures could be damaged

?   “Wetland” area may be obliterated

Nelson: Response: You are correct about the old culvert. It is rusted and beaver damage is causing it to erode badly. 

Parker: THE ROAD FROM THE PARKING AREA TO THE CLASSROOM SHELTER GOES DOWN A HILL.  THIS DAMAGE WOULD BE PERMANET AND MAY PREVENT AUTOMOBILE TRAFFIC IN THE FUTURE. 

Nelson: These sites will have to be rolled and re-seeded after harvesting. This is SOP for timber harvests and will be included in the contract.  The gate is a chain extending between trees across the entrance road. It can be unlocked in the morning and locked again at night by contractors. 

Parker: HOW CAN AN OUTHOUSE BE MOVED?  DO THEY PLAN TO MOVE THE 8 FT DEEP DRILLED HOLE TOO?  THERE IS ALREADY ROOM TO DRIVE A VEHICLE AROUND THE OUTHOUSE.  A FEW SMALL TREES COULD BE REMOVED TO PROVED AMPLE ROOM TO DRIVE TRUCKS AROUND IT. THERE IS ALSO AMPLE ROOM ALONG THE ROAD WITHOUT HAVING TO MOVE THE UTILITY HOUSE.  THESE ARE JUST EXAMPLES OF WANTING TO UNDO WHAT I HAVE DONE.

Parker: NOT TRUE.  THE WETLAND WAS POINTED OUT TO ME BY A PERSON FROM THE GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURSES.  WHEN I FIRST BEGAN DEVELOPING THE SITE ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO THERE WAS STANDING WATER IN THE AREA MOST OF THE YEAR.  FOR THE PAST 5 YEARS OR SO WE HAVE HAD DROUGHT CONDITIONS AND THE WATER TABLE HAS BEEN LOW.  WATER DRAINS OUT WHEN THE WATER TABLE IS LOW.  THERE HAVE BEEN SOME EXCAVATION OF TWO AREA WITHIN THE WETLAND AREA TO SERVE AS DEEPER HOLDING POOLS.  THE VEGETATION ON THE AREA IDENTIFIES IT AS A WETLAND.  THERE WERE MANY BLACK WILLOWS ON THE SITE BUT MOST OF THEM HAVE DIED IN THE PAST 4 YEARS DUE TO DROUGHT.  OTHER SPECIES SUCH AS RIVER BIRCH, SYCAMORE, JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT, ETC. ARE TYPICAL SPECIES FOUND IN WETLANDS.  A WATER PUMP WAS INSTALLED NEAR THE CREEK AND A 400+ FT. LINE (2 INCH) WAS RUN TO THE SITE TO USE TO PUT WATER INTO THE AREA DURING EXTREME DROUGHT.  THIS SYSTEM PUMPS 90 GALLONS PER MINUTE OR ABOUT 5,000 GALLONS IN AN HOUR.  THE PUMP WILL RUN ALMOST 2 HOURS ON A TANK OF FUEL (ABOUT 1 ½ GAL.).  THIS IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF NOT KNOWING (OR WANTING TO KNOW) THE HISTORY OF THE AREA.

Nelson: Money spent on the project to date has reaped relatively few educational rewards for NG students and the community. The site is rarely used by biology classes or student researchers. The proposed plan is to create an educational area in keeping with the purpose of Biological Field Stations – education and research. 

3.  Concerns about the ecology, aesthetics, and mission of Hurricane Creek. 

?   The proposal is contrary to the original mission statement relative to property use

?   Harvesting will disrupt natural succession for the next 50 years

?   Mountain long leaf pine is not native to northeast Georgia and does not benefit wildlife

?   After harvest, weedy growth will inhibit re-growth of trees.

?   Harvesting threatens the biological integrity of Hurricane Creek and the Etowah

?   No buffer is wide enough to protect endangered fish in these streams

?   Rare plants will be threatened by the harvests

Nelson: Creation of a research-based landscape design will increase the site's research and educational value.

Parker: WRONG AGAIN.  IT WILL DECREASE IT AND LIMIT THE AREA TO MORE HIGHLY SPECIALIZED STUDY INSTEAD OF A BROADER RANGE OF OPPORTUNITIES. 

Nelson: Natural succession is the progressive replacement of species on a site over time. Succession will continue in the 30-year old uncut plots and in the forest openings. It is this dynamic that provides fascinating research questions and educational opportunities.   

Parker: THIS IS ALREADY OCCURRING, WHY DISRUPT IT AND SET IT BACK FOR MANY YEARS?

Nelson: Researchers have established that stream buffers (retained vegetation along banks) are effective filters for reducing run-off and erosion. Georgia legislation requires 50’ buffers on trout streams. Our plan doubles that width to 100’ to provide extra filtering.   

Parker: WATER RUNOFF IS DOWN HILL, NO AMOUNT OF BUFFER WILL PROTECT THE ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE STREAMS.

Nelson: It is pertinent, but easy to forget, that north Georgia was stripped of its trees 100 years ago. Native species exist today because they withstood that period of unregulated clear-cutting and mining. The loblolly pine plantation that covers most of the tract today was planted ~30 years ago Plantations were established with the intent of harvest. This is not a native forest, it is a crop. 

Parker: UNFORTUNATELY ALL FORESTERS VIEW A FOREST AS A CROP TO BE HARVESTED AT SOME POINT.  HOPEFULLY, THEY WILL EVENTUALLY LEARN THAT IF YOU LEAVE IT ALONE IT WILL EVENTUALLY BECOME A MATURE MIXED HARDWOOD FOREST THAT WOULD LAST FOR AN INDEFINITE PERIOD. 

Nelson: Aesthetics is in the eye of the beholder, but biological diversity can be measured. The site will have greater biodiversity for the next 30 years if the plan is implemented than if not.  

Parker: NOT TRUE.  SUCCESSION IS OCCURRING AT A FASTER AND FASTER RATE ON THE TRACT NOW.  CLEARCUTTING CERTAIN AREAS AND PLANTING A MONOCULTURE OF LONGLEAF PINE, THEN PERIODICALLY DOING CONTROLLED BURNS OF THE AREA, WILL IN NO WAY ENHANCE DIVERSITY.  A MONOCULTURE IS NOT DIVERSITY.  AS YOU ALREADY SAID, IT IS A “BIOLOGICALLY STERILE” ENVIRONMENT.  PLANTING THESE PINES WILL ALSO MEAN HARVESTING AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE. 

Nelson: There are several biological legacies that survived the original clear-cutting and plantation period on the site. These need to be preserved. You have cited several species that we want to protect, particularly pink lady slippers, an orchid listed as “unusual” in Georgia by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.  

Parker: (A PROTECTED SPECIES)

Nelson: The plant occurs in a small area that can be marked and buffered from timber harvest.  

Parker: WHAT GUARANTEES TO WE HAVE FOR THIS?   

Nelson: We also suspect that the tract is a “seed bank”, with seeds of other species long dormant in the soil due to the lack of natural burns, disturbance and ecological succession.  Under the proposed management scheme, it may be that populations of plants such as the pink ladies slipper and other desirable species will increase, increasing the biodiversity of the site.   

Parker: THIS IS ALREADY HAPPENING, WHY DISRUPT IT?   

Nelson: We do not know what the range of long leaf pine was at the time of European settlement. Lumpkin Co. likely was at the northern extent of the species’ range in Georgia.

Parker: THIS IS A VAGUE ASSUMPTION. 

Nelson: We do not know how successful the species will be on our site.

Parker: (A VERY IFFY PROPOSITION)

Nelson: But, there are hypotheses that can be tested by student researchers on the site. 

The Hurricane Creek plantation has reached the age where natural senescence, pine beetle outbreaks,  

Parker: (PINE BEETLES ARE A NATURAL PREDITOR TO THE PINES ON THE AREA, LET THEM DO THEIR WORK IT WILL ONLY SPEED UP SUCCESSION)

Nelson:…and fire create a very real liability. 

Parker: FIRE IS A NATURAL EVENT, ONLY THE SHELTER AND OTHER FACILITIES NEED TO BE PROTECTED.  I HAVE WORKED TO KEEP DEBRIS AWAY FROM THEM.

Nelson: Dead trees are not marketable and the cost of reforestation will fall to the landowner. 

Parker: REFORESTATION IS OCCURRING NOW NATURALLY WITHOUT ANYONE’S HELP.

4. Pine Valley provides a better alternative for forest study than Hurricane Creek.

Response: Nelson: The proposed plan was developed in response to the question, what can we do with the Hurricane Creek tract to increase its use and educational value? The question was pertinent because 6 years ago

Nelson:...and was granted responsibility for managing that tract. We have no similar responsibility for the larger Pine Valley tract.

However, there are several drawbacks to the Pine Valley tract for timber harvest. First, the site is relatively steep and naturally forested.

Parker:(I DON’T BELIEVE THIS AREA HAS BEEN ADEQUETELY LOOKED AT.  TRUE SOME AREAS ARE MORE HILLY, OTHERS NOT.  MUCH OF THAT AREA WAS TIMBERED AT THE SAME TIME AS HURRICANE CREEK AND REPLANTED WITH PINE TREES.  A LARGER AREA AVAILABLE WOULD MEAN MORE PINE TIMBER TO BE HARVESTED.)  

Nelson: Replacing native hardwoods with long leaf pine will create a greater ecological disturbance than converting a loblolly to long leaf plantation. 

Parker: FOR THAT AREA MAYBE, BUT THAT AREA IS NOT BEING USED FOR ANYTHING RIGHT NOW.

Nelson: Second, the site is more heterogeneous in topography, soils, and vegetation, making it less suitable for research.

Parker: THERE ARE NO HILLS IN THAT AREA THAT CANNOT BE EASILY TRAVERSED BY MOST ANYONE.  I KNOW I WOULD NOT HAVE A PROBLEM AT AGE 66.  HOW OLD A PERSON DO YOU PLAN TO DO THESE PROJECTS? 

Nelson: Finally, the Georgia Forestry Commission has indicated that the economic downturn has resulted in a decreased demand for hardwoods.  Should we go forward with the plan to create replicated plots to study mountain long leaf pine at Pine Valley, it would probably be at a cost to the institution since timber companies would be unlikely to make the endeavor profitable.   

Parker: SO THERE YOU HAVE IT!  THE REAL PLAN IS TO MAKE A PROFIT AT THE COST OF DOING DAMAGE TO A DESIGNATED CONSERVATION AREA.  HOWEVER, I CONTEND THAT CUTTING PINES IN THE PINE VALLEY AREA (NOTICE THE NAME?) WOULD BE MORE PROFITABLE THAN CUTTING IN THE HURRICANE CREEK AREA SINCE THE FORMER AREA IS FOUR TIMES AS LARGE.  I DON’T THINK YOU HAVE LOOKED FOR THE PINE FORESTS THERE.    

Nelson: In addition, the much needed road and culvert repair to Hurricane Creek would most likely be delayed for an indefinite period of time due to the anticipated expense.   

Parker: AGAIN THE REPLACEMENT OF THE CULVERT WILL ONLY CAUSE MORE DAMAGE TO THE CREEK THAN LEAVING IT AS IS.  IT IS CURRENTLY A GREAT WALKWAY TO ACCESS THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE CREEK AND WILL HANDLE LIGHT VEHICLE TRAFFIC.  AGAIN, MOST OF THE ENTRANCE ROAD IS COUNTY OWNED AND SO THE COUNTY IS OBLIGATED TO REPAIR IT FOR PUBLIC ACCESS.

Nelson: I hope this clarifies my proposal and allays your concerns regarding the proposed plan. 

Parker: NO IT ONLY INTENSIFIES MY OBJECTIONS TO WHAT YOU PLAN TO DO   

Nelson: I would be happy to address additional concerns in person. It is very important that all parties understand the pros and cons that are inevitable in land management. 

Parker: AND CERTAINLY YOU HAVE MUCH TO LEARN IN THIS REGARD. 

Nelson: Although we have different viewpoints regarding the future of the tract, I truly appreciate your previous work on the site and your interest in its future. I believe that the proposed plan offers greater educational benefit to NG students, the university, and the North Georgia community consistent with our primary mission. I hope that you will continue to work with us to develop the site to its greatest educational benefit, conduct productive research, and I look forward to working with you.