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GEORGE DAVID'S LETTER TO DAHLONEGA NUGGET Published 12.3.10:
Dear Editor:
I am a fairly large land owner and a life long conservationist. I am imploring the University to not allow the destruction of the Hurricane Creek Wildlife Preserve area as developed by Dr. James Parker.
I own about 60 acres on Hurricane Creek from the head of the lake upstream about a half a mile (Tax Map Parcel 33-1).
Dr. Parker has created a beautiful study area with little or no damage to the environment, which is presently being destroyed by cutting timber and bulldozing to make ponds to make artificial wetlands in an already established wetlands area. I personally inspected this damage on site in November, 2010. Dr. Parker and Dr. Nelson, various other State and local inspectors, Michael Rund, Marshall Mahone, and Katie Klemenchich were also present.
This attempt to make wetlands involves cutting shallow craters lined with plastic to make ponds and “fake” wetlands and the cutting of a good stand of Loblolly Pines to try to grow mountain long leaf pines. Mountain Long Leaf Pine should be grown in the mountains on red clay soil. These experiments should be performed by UGA and State Forestry organizations somewhere else.
In the 1950’s I sold several hundred acres to the U.S. Forest Service behind Amicalola Falls State Park. The Forest Service immediately poisoned all the hardwoods and planted White Pines. What a waste! Hardwood sprouts took over and ten years later the White Pines were gone. In the same time period I hiked from Frosty Mountain to Anderson Watershed Lake in Gilmer County and ran into a similar problem. The Forest Service had cut down all the mature hardwoods in two 160 acre land lots to plant White Pines. One could barely walk through the mass of hardwood sprouts and after 10 years the White Pines were gone.
Let’s don’t make the same mistake on the Hurricane Creek Conservation Tract. Please follow Dr. James Parker’s plan and don’t mess up the work he has done. Read the letter from Michael Rund of November 17, 2010.
In studying for my Masters in Education in Recreation and Park Administration I Environment 600 course taught by Professor Mac Callahan, now retired.
What has happened to the informed, cautious, and long range environmental principals of our past that made our area the most scenic in the State?
Sincerely,
George David, LTC AUS Retired, NGC Class of 1950. Tom Nelson's Letter to the Nugget, Published 11.3.10
I appreciate the opportunity to respond to Ms. Klemenchich's concerns
regarding the Hurricane Creek tract. Like all, North Georgia College &
State University manages its public land in cooperation with the Georgia
Forestry Commission. Over the past 18 months, the university requested and
received plant surveys by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and
wetland surveys by the Georgia Forestry Commission prior to developing a
land management plan for the area. As a result of these surveys, we
received assurance that no protected wetlands occur on the site. In spite
of Ms. Klemenchich's claims, the university has acted as a responsible
steward of the land.
Several years ago, Jim Parker, now retired from North Georgia College &
State University, tried to construct a wetland on the site for educational
purposes. Parker added a pump and PVC pipe to irrigate the area. He then
had students dig several shallow pits to flood the area to make a wetland.
While much effort went into the project, the area would not hold water
because of the sandy soils, deposited over many years by Hurricane Creek
and the Etowah River. We have tried several times to flood the area, only
to have it dry within a few days.
I share Parker's and Klemenchich's interest in providing wildlife habitat
and educational opportunities for our students. To enhance these, we are
currently adding six vernal pools to the site. The "craters" Klemenchich
describes are 30-ft. wide x 3-ft. deep vernal pools that will be lined with PVC
liners to hold water. These pools provide excellent habitat for frogs,
salamanders and plants. We are working closely with Tom Biebighauser, a
wildlife biologist and expert at constructing lined wetland pools in soils
that will otherwise not hold water.
Biebighauser will be here in February to assist North Georgia faculty and
students in completing these vernal pools. The university has invited
state biologists, foresters, and soil conservationists to take part in
this 3-day workshop.
I appreciate Ms. Klemenchich's concern for Georgia's land and wildlife. We
welcome the support and assistance of the community and neighbors and
invite anyone interested in constructing vernal pools to join us for the
wetland construction workshop.
Tom Nelson, Ph.D.
Department Head, Biology
North Georgia College & State University Dr. James Parker's Letter to the Dahlonega Nugget published 11.10.10
RESPONSE TO LETTERS ABOUT HURRICANE CREEK Since my name was mentioned on some recent Letters to the Editor, I am prompted to make some comments. I retired in 2005 from North Georgia College and State University as Professor of Biology after 30 years of service. I, along with my students, was responsible for developing the 62-acres of remote University property which I named the Hurricane Creek Tract Wildlife Conservation Area. This project began in 1999. After my retirement, I was hired as a Consultant and to help maintain the area for over three years. Therefore, I have put nearly 10 years of effort into the area and I believe that I know more about it than anyone. My mission was to preserve the area, promote the conservation of wildlife (especially non-game wildlife), allow for natural succession to occur, make the area more accessible by putting in trails and conveniences so that people could observe nature, and to have an area that will serve as a biological station for students to conduct research projects. Along the way we developed nearly four miles of trails, cleared an area for parking, constructed a restroom facility with a storage room on the back, purchased a utility house, constructed a bulletin board, and constructed an outdoor classroom shelter with a podium and seating for about 24 people and two work tables. We did all this by hand and with simple tools. All of this work is documented with photographs. We also began to compile a list of flora and fauna. Some of the funding was provided by grants from the Department of Natural Resources, Non-Game Wildlife Program and from NGCSU. If one were to assign a dollar value to the work time and materials that have gone into the development of the Hurricane Creek Tract, the amount would fall somewhere between $70,000 and $100,000. In 2009, when I became fully aware of the extent of the plans to clear-cut significant areas of the property and replant with mountain long-leaf pine trees, I went to the President and other officials of NGCSU to voice my concerns and opposition to the area being altered in such a way and suggested an alternative. The alternative was to utilize some of the other 250 acres of forested University property rather than this sensitive 62-acre area which has about a half mile of frontage on the Etowah River. The funding for my position was then promptly terminated. Now a new problem on the area has come to light with the damage reported to the wetland area. I have gone there to see it for myself and found it very disturbing. It has been stated that this is not a true wetland and that I made it into one. This is very incorrect. A number of years back, it was immediately obvious to a Wildlife Resources (Department of Natural Resources) official who visited the area. He identified it is a natural wetland as indicated by the presence of river birch and black willow trees. It was his suggestion to me that the piles of downed trees and abundant invasive Chinese privet be removed to help it along. Upon removal of the debris and privet, we also removed several loblolly pines in order to allow more sunlight in. We also installed a 450 foot pipeline and constructed a pump house near the creek so that water could be pumped there to help keep wetland species alive during periods of drought. Careful and localized hand digging was done to encourage the flow of water and to make some of the low areas deeper in an attempt to get closer to the water table below the surface. We had about a four year drought during that period. It is not true that the water always runs into the ground in a day or so. I have seen water standing in the area for many weeks. The extent to which surface water remains visible on the area depends on the condition of the ground water. When the water table is low and heavy rains flood the area, the water does seep into the ground and disappear within a few days. But when the water table is high it stands on the area for a good while. There is an underground system that connects with another adjacent wetland area on the property, and this conduit continues underground for quite a distance from the creek upstream. This wetland area is an officially certified wetland and is registered with the Corps of Engineers. As such I believe that it is protected by law and that the University has made a gross error in altering it. I understand that shortly after the survey and certification process was done the red flags delineating it as a wetland area were removed by some unknown person. However, any lack of knowledge that it is a certified wetland is no excuse to allow for its destruction. Had I been consulted, I could have informed the parties concerned that it is a protected wetland. One important point that I wish to make is that the wetlands did not have to be disturbed in order to install plastic lined holding pools on the property. They could have been put in any of a number of other locations on the property and within a reasonable distance from the river or creek to have a water supply. The damage that has been done by the bulldozer in creating the six holding pools is that it has seriously altered the condition of the soil which has taken many decades to develop and affected its drainage pattern. One of the larger tulip poplar trees (about 18” in diameter) has been removed, along with colonies of jack-in-the pulpit plants, and a small stand of Carolina silverbell trees that were almost large enough to produce flowers. I also believe that all of the surviving black willow trees have been removed. There has also been some damage to the culvert at the creek by the heavy bulldozer crossing it. I have put my heart and soul into the development of this conservation area with the goal that it should remain as natural as possible and remain a place for people to walk and enjoy nature. I hope that the University and the interest by the community will help to insure this. Sincerely, James C. Parker, Ph. D. Professor Emeritus of Biology
Katie Klemenchich's Letter to The Dahlonega Nugget, Published 11.3.10 Dear Editor:
The Hurricane Creek Tract Wildlife Preserve is a 62 acre tract of property managed by the Biology Department of the North Georgia College. It borders the Etowah and Hurricane Creek, and is located between Hwy 9 and Hwy 52 in Lumpkin County. It is behind the farmland that is behind the Davis Regan Cabin on Hwy 9. On the property are two wetlands, the larger one about an acre in size. These wetlands were certified by a reputable company and registered with the USACE in January, 2010. Any disturbance or modification requires a permit from the Corp, and violators could suffer penalties and/or fines.
In early October, 2010 this wetlands was altered, to the point of removing any trace of it, presumably by someone from the University. The area was bulldozed and six craters, each measuring 15 feet in diameter and sloping to three feet deep in the center. Several large trees were removed, and a large colony of jack in the pulpit plants destroyed. This area was a feeding ground for deer, turkey, turtles, frogs, toads, and salamander, and numerous birds. The nature of the wetlands soil has been severely if not permanently altered.
Whoever did this damage demonstrated disrespect for the environment, the college, and the law. It is believed that this alteration was done without securing the necessary permits, and is in violation of the laws protecting areas such as these.
Private road owners Stephen Hatfield, George David and Clinton Turner along River Highlands did not and would not give permission for logging trucks to use the road. There is a future planned logging project at Hurricane creek also proposed to use River Highlands, and they are opposed to that as well. Removal of wetlands is not mentioned in Tom Nelson’s Executive Summary (see site) that proposes to log 1/3 of the Hurricane Creek Forest. Who gave permission for this action, or who was passed over in getting permission to do this?
We have collected 500 signatures of those opposed to logging at Hurricane Creek, and these were presented to the College President and the Board of Regents this week.
There has recently been so much logging in this River Highlands area it has affected the drainage along the Crest. One homeowner on Frank Christian Road sees a field where a forest was. In addition to initially opposing the logging project, all this logging around the Wildlife Tract makes preserving the tract itself all the more important.
The road owners, I, and many others will continue to oppose more logging on the Biology Tract.
We encourage the University to acquire the farmland adjacent to Hurricane Creek for future planting projects. Acquiring this historic centennial farm is an obvious choice for an expanding University and its programs, and would make the entire area easily accessible from Hwy 9.
We encourage and urgently hope the University will take a leadership role in protecting Hurricane Creek, permanently, as well as all its lands.
Sincerely,
Katie Klemenchich |
Recent Letters to Editor: Re: Ponds, Wetlands, at Hurricane Creek |