Still Time to Provide Input on Park Trails!
Thanks to those of you who have already provided feedback on the condition of the more than 80 miles of trails in the fifteen land units along the river that encompass the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA). Comments may be made through the end of May, so please make sure to click here to access the Social Pinpoint interface. You can also provide comments by email to: atr2017survey@gmail.com.
As a frequent park visitor, you know what is important in your area: what sections of the trail system should be retained, added to, changed and/or improved. Park consultant Applied Trails Research will review all comments and incorporate them into the Trail Management Plan currently underway and expected to be completed this fall. Also, please complete an online survey to tell us about yourself, your use of the park and your desires for recreational activities within our national park.
Symposium Celebrates 40 Years of Partnerships
To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of our national park, CPC launched this year’s Park Symposium with a presentation by Chatty Stover, a leader in Friends of the River – the organization that fought to establish the CRNRA. Her chronology of the events through the 1970s that led to the signing of the park legislation by President Jimmy Carter in 1978 was enlightening to the audience of sixty people representing local governments, elected officials, chambers of commerce, tourism agencies, river-related businesses and nonprofit leaders.
Superintendent Bill Cox delivered a “state of the park” address and moderated a panel of local officials from Roswell, Sandy Springs and the Cumberland Community Improvement District who presented on exciting new projects that will enhance our national park. Javon Clark with the Fowler YMCA described the summer camp that takes place at the Chattahoochee River Environmental Education Center, the location of the symposium, and Walt Ray with Trust for Public Land related its bold vision to connect public land along a 100-mile stretch of the Chattahoochee. A panel of three outfitters that use the CRNRA – Nantahala Outdoor Center, High Country Outfitters and River through Atlanta – concluded the event.
Thanks to the Georgia Water Coalition for supporting this symposium for the past two years to highlight the value of a healthy river to the local economy and to encourage collaboration. Check out news coverage here.
PEOPLE OF THE PARK
Sarah Low began rowing when she was in middle school in Virginia and was recruited by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she rowed on the university team all four years. In graduate school at the University of Washington, she began coaching high school students. Today, you can find Sarah on the Chattahoochee River, six days a week, with the Atlanta Junior Rowing Association (AJRA), which is celebrating 30 years of training metro Atlanta youth on a “great, rowable stretch of river.”
From its boathouse on Azalea Drive near Roswell, AJRA offers instruction from introductory (learn-to-row) classes to competitive training on the Chattahoochee from Morgan Falls Dam to the 400 Bridge. Forty percent of AJRA seniors receive college scholarships for the sport; last year, an AJRA student placed sixth in the World Rowing Junior Championships in Lithuania.
As AJRA’s executive director, Sarah oversees the instruction of 260 middle and high school students during the year and 400 students during summer camp. She says that she “loves seeing the next generation unlock its love for the sport” and that anyone who wants to work hard and has a good attitude can succeed. Her favorite river memory: the wildlife, especially deer swimming across the Chattahoochee. For more information, see www.ajracrew.com.
THINGS TO DO IN THE PARK
Hike with CRNRA Naturalist Jerry Hightower – Reservations required at 678-538-1200.
- Wed, May 16 (10am-1pm) – Vickery Creek Unit, Magnolias and Ridge Top Wildflowers. A great loop hike through the oak hickory ridge forest and the ridge top trail on steep slopes above the Vickery Creek ravine. Moderately strenuous.
-
Fri, May 18 (11:20am-2pm) – East Palisades Unit, Overlook Ridge and Cabin Creek Trail. Spring wildflowers and a grand view above Devil’s Race Course Shoals. Moderately strenuous.
-
Sun, May 20 (11am-3pm) – East Palisades Unit, Indian Ridge, Charlie’s Trapping Creek to Mountain Heath Creek to view extraordinary rock outcrops on this hike with the Georgia Botanical Society. Moderately strenuous. Reservations at 770-206-0338.
Park Fun for All Ages – Reservations required at 678-538-1200.
Become a member of Chattahoochee Parks Conservancy today!
As a member, you can help us achieve our vision of an inspired and thriving community of support for the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. Click here to join!
Chattahoochee Parks Conservancy Inc. is proud to support our Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, a unit of the national park system managed by the National Park Service.