The U.S. Forest Service will hold the next meeting on April 30 at the U.S. Forest Supervisor's office in Gainesville.
During February and March, the Forest Service began a series of public meetings to provide opportunities for discussion on the long-term management of recreation trails in the forest.
A key component trail users suggested for the long term plan was working with volunteers to help assess trail conditions, identify trail problem areas and management priorities, and providing maintenance of trails for the designed use.
The meetings were the beginning of a new effort to "understand the desires and expectations of trail recreationists and to develop a common understanding of natural resource management issues."
Those planning to attend the April 30 meeting are asked sign up in advance by calling the forest supervisor's office at 770-297-3000 or emailing [email protected].
"I am encouraged how many trail users attended our first meetings, and I hope people continue to be engaged in this collaboration process," said George Bain, Forest Supervisor for the Chattahoochee and Oconee. "People who attended provided thoughtful comments and were clearly sincere about working to meet our long term goal: providing a diverse, quality trail system that is maintainable and ecologically sustainable."
The information gathering process will continue in the coming months to address comments trail users brought forward during the initial meetings: better communications about trail information and volunteer opportunities, more volunteer training and coordination with user groups who provide volunteers, and development of a long term trails management plan that addresses the needs of all trail users including hikers, bikers, equestrians, and motorized vehicles.
"These first meetings have already produced new and expanded existing partnerships with groups of trail users and their volunteers," said Alan Polk, Recreation Staff Officer for the forest. "As spring arrives, there are upcoming opportunities for volunteers to immediately help improve trail conditions. Hopefully this will work will increase people's enjoyment of the forest, while also better protecting watersheds and benefitting local communities who support these popular recreation activities," he said.
There are about 1.9 million visitors to the forest each year, with over half of the visitors enjoying more than 800 miles of recreation trails. More information on the trail collaboration and volunteer opportunities is available on the forest website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/conf.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2011/4/237791