DAHLONEGA — After 64 years under U.S. Forest Service (USFS) management, the 282 acres of Chattahoochee National Forest where Army Ranger students train in Lumpkin County is in the hands of the U.S. Army.
Wednesday's transfer is the result of a provision in the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act passed by Congress, designed to streamline operations at Camp Frank D. Merrill, which sits on the land.
Merrill is home to the 5th Ranger Training Battalion, which conducts the mountain phase of training for the U.S. Army’s Ranger School.
"The 5th Ranger Training Battalion and Camp Merrill look forward to a continued relationship with the Forest Service while maintaining good stewardship of the land within Camp Merrill and the surrounding National Forest where we train," said LTC Clayton Meals, 5th Ranger Training Battalion Commander.
"The Forest Service has a long history of working cooperatively with the Army at Camp Merrill," Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests Supervisor Betty Jewett said. "We are proud to partner with the military and look forward to continuing to work cooperatively here in Georgia."
Both Meals and Jewett commented for a news release issued by the Army.
Among other things, Merrill officials said the transfer will allow the Army to easier make improvements to aging infrastructure at the camp by decreasing a layer of bureaucracy .
"Previously, the Army was operating under two sets of regulations, one on the Army side and one on the forest service side, and any time we needed to upgrade infrastructure or cut down a fallen tree, we had to go through both sides of the house, CPT John Tilley, Public Affairs Officer and Adjutant at Merrill said.
Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, spearheaded the effort to transfer management jurisdiction of the land.
Appearing before the House Armed Services Committee in April of 2014, Collins said USFS management of the land the Army operates on led to "duplicative" procedures and rules that were designed to "satisfy both departments but really result unnecessary federal bureaucracy and waste."
The move comes as the Army has spent the last year working on upgrades at Merrill. Tilley said most of the facilities at the camp are at least 45 years old.
"The chow hall here on camp is the second-oldest chow hall in the Army, behind the chow hall at West Point," Tilley said.
Crews just started the chow hall work and have been upgrading student barracks, offices and the daily operations building.
Tilley said the big project on the horizon is improving an approximately 45-year-old four-acre lagoon on the land. The open sewage lagoon is about 300 meters from the headwaters of the Etowah River, according to Tilley.
"We are upgrading that so it will no longer be just an open lagoon holding sewage. This land swap allows us to really move forward with that project as well," Tilley added.
Out with a frequently asked questions (FAQ) list, Merrill officials said the public will notice very few changes.
Speaking on Tuesday, Tilley said, "our plan is to go to bed tonight (Tuesday) and wake up as if nothing happened."
Tilley also said the public will have continued access to the national forest surrounding Merrill, including roads that currently provide public access. Fishing will also still be allowed.
Two privately owned parcels of property, Mount Zion Church and a small family cemetery, will also remain accessible to the public, according to the Army.
The FAQ list also includes the topic of a fence or other barriers.
"At this time, there are no plans to build any kind of fence around the 282 acres that the Army is acquiring," Tilley said.
The exceptions would include an increase in force protection or terror threat level. The Army could put barriers on entrance points as necessary to provide protection to personnel and facilities on the camp.
"As the threat level decreases and force protection is reduced, those barriers would be removed," an Army release states.
In lieu of any future fence scenarios, Tilley said a public road would be required.
"There would be an access road built that would allow the public onto camp through that access road to forest areas that were previously only accessible through camp."
As the transfer took place Wednesday, Tilley reiterated the public access bullet point.
"On the Army side and on the forest service side, we absolutely want to emphasize that the public will still have access to the land around Camp Merrill as well as to Camp Merrill itself."
Anyone with a valid government issued identification card is allowed to enter camp property. The vehicle and visitors are subject to random searches when entering or while at Camp Merrill, according to the Army.
Wednesday's transfer is the result of a provision in the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act passed by Congress, designed to streamline operations at Camp Frank D. Merrill, which sits on the land.
Merrill is home to the 5th Ranger Training Battalion, which conducts the mountain phase of training for the U.S. Army’s Ranger School.
"The 5th Ranger Training Battalion and Camp Merrill look forward to a continued relationship with the Forest Service while maintaining good stewardship of the land within Camp Merrill and the surrounding National Forest where we train," said LTC Clayton Meals, 5th Ranger Training Battalion Commander.
"The Forest Service has a long history of working cooperatively with the Army at Camp Merrill," Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests Supervisor Betty Jewett said. "We are proud to partner with the military and look forward to continuing to work cooperatively here in Georgia."
Both Meals and Jewett commented for a news release issued by the Army.
Among other things, Merrill officials said the transfer will allow the Army to easier make improvements to aging infrastructure at the camp by decreasing a layer of bureaucracy .
"Previously, the Army was operating under two sets of regulations, one on the Army side and one on the forest service side, and any time we needed to upgrade infrastructure or cut down a fallen tree, we had to go through both sides of the house, CPT John Tilley, Public Affairs Officer and Adjutant at Merrill said.
Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, spearheaded the effort to transfer management jurisdiction of the land.
Appearing before the House Armed Services Committee in April of 2014, Collins said USFS management of the land the Army operates on led to "duplicative" procedures and rules that were designed to "satisfy both departments but really result unnecessary federal bureaucracy and waste."
The move comes as the Army has spent the last year working on upgrades at Merrill. Tilley said most of the facilities at the camp are at least 45 years old.
"The chow hall here on camp is the second-oldest chow hall in the Army, behind the chow hall at West Point," Tilley said.
Crews just started the chow hall work and have been upgrading student barracks, offices and the daily operations building.
Tilley said the big project on the horizon is improving an approximately 45-year-old four-acre lagoon on the land. The open sewage lagoon is about 300 meters from the headwaters of the Etowah River, according to Tilley.
"We are upgrading that so it will no longer be just an open lagoon holding sewage. This land swap allows us to really move forward with that project as well," Tilley added.
Out with a frequently asked questions (FAQ) list, Merrill officials said the public will notice very few changes.
Speaking on Tuesday, Tilley said, "our plan is to go to bed tonight (Tuesday) and wake up as if nothing happened."
Tilley also said the public will have continued access to the national forest surrounding Merrill, including roads that currently provide public access. Fishing will also still be allowed.
Two privately owned parcels of property, Mount Zion Church and a small family cemetery, will also remain accessible to the public, according to the Army.
The FAQ list also includes the topic of a fence or other barriers.
"At this time, there are no plans to build any kind of fence around the 282 acres that the Army is acquiring," Tilley said.
The exceptions would include an increase in force protection or terror threat level. The Army could put barriers on entrance points as necessary to provide protection to personnel and facilities on the camp.
"As the threat level decreases and force protection is reduced, those barriers would be removed," an Army release states.
In lieu of any future fence scenarios, Tilley said a public road would be required.
"There would be an access road built that would allow the public onto camp through that access road to forest areas that were previously only accessible through camp."
As the transfer took place Wednesday, Tilley reiterated the public access bullet point.
"On the Army side and on the forest service side, we absolutely want to emphasize that the public will still have access to the land around Camp Merrill as well as to Camp Merrill itself."
Anyone with a valid government issued identification card is allowed to enter camp property. The vehicle and visitors are subject to random searches when entering or while at Camp Merrill, according to the Army.
