Outdoors in Georgia [Jan. 1977]

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Japi^r?* 1977 50c

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George Busbee
Governor
Joe D. Tanner
Commissioner
BOARD OF NATURAL RESOURCES
Wade H. Coleman
Chairman Valdosta-- State-at-Large
Donald J. Carter Vice Chairman Gainesville--9th District Leo T. Barber, Jr.
Secretary Moultrie-- 2nd District
James F. Darby Vidalia-- lit District Dr. Robert A. Collins, Jr. Americos-- 3rd District
George P. Dillard Decatur-- 4th District Mary Bailey Izard Atlanta-- 5th District
James A. Mankin Griffin-- 6th District Lloyd L. Summer, Jr.
Rome-- 7th District
J. Wimbric Walker
McRae-- 8th District Walter W. Eaves
Elberton-- 10th District
Sam Cofer
St. Simons Island Coastal District Leonard E. Foote Waleska-- State-at-Large James D. Cone Decatur-- State-at-Large A. Leo Lanman, Jr.
-- Roswell State-at-Large
DIVISION DIRECTORS
Parks and Historic Sites Division Henry D. Struble, Director
Game and Fish Division
Jack Crockford, Director
Environmental Protection Division J. Leonard Ledbetter, Director
Geologic and Water Resources Division Sam M. Pickering, Jr., Director
Office of Information and Education David Cranshaw, Director
Office of Planning and Research J. Clayton Fisher, Jr., Director
Office of Administrative Services James H. Pittman, Director

OutdOOrS ii> Georgia

Volume 6

January 1977

Number 1

FEATURES

Amicalola Falls State Park

Jingle Davis 2

Walleye

Aaron Pass 6

Solo Hike

Robert Ottley 10

Outdoor Education Center

Bill Hammack 14

Water Availability

David Cranshaw 19

Interview with Governor Busbee

20

Interview with Leonard Ledbetter

22

Soapstone Ridge

Linda Billingsley 28

DEPARTMENTS

Letters to the Editor

31

.... Outdoors in Touch

edited by Bill Hammack 32

On the Covers: Water, water everywhere? Is it? Really? This issue of O/G ponders that question starting on page 19. Front Cover: Mark Williams; Back Cover: Bob Busby.

Aaron Pass Rebecca N. Marshall Dick Davis Bill Hammack Jingle Davis
Susan K. Wood

MAGAZINE STAFF
Phone-656-5660

David Cranshaw Editor-in-Chief

Bill Morehead

Editor

Managing Editor
Writer Writer Writer Writer Writer Priscilla C. Powell

Liz Carmichael Jones Mike Nunn Bob Busby Edward Brock Bill Bryant Jim Couch Circulation Manager

Art Director Illustrator
Photo Editor Photographer Photographer Photographer

Outdoors in Georgia is the official monthly magazine of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, published at the Department's offices, Room 714, 270 Washington Street, Atlanta,
Georgia 30334. No advertising accepted. Subscriptions are $3 for one year or $6 for three years. Printed by Williams Printing Company, Atlanta, Georgia. Articles and photographs may be reprinted when proper credit given. Contributions are welcome, but the editors assume no responsibility or liability for loss or damage of articles, photographs, or illustra-
tions. Second-class postage paid at Atlanta, Georgia. 31,000 copies printed at an approximate cost of $16,500. The Department of Natural Resources is an Equal Opportunity employer, and employs without regard to race, color, sex, religion, or national origin.

Received

7 F

1977

DOCUMENTS

Editorial

Wfoter,Witer Eterywhere?

w,ater, as a natural resource, is not like a tree

We or a deer or a trout.

cannot grow, reproduce

or otherwise make any more of it. It is available

in a finite quantity and is produced by conditions

beyond our control. All that we will ever have is

what we have right now. If what we have right now is used up, or is polluted to the extent that

it cannot be used again, we will have no more.

One of the many magnificent natural re-

sources in our state, one we always have taken

great pride in, has been our water supply. Plenty

of water, we have always believed, was a con-

stant, and we have taken it for granted. Plenty? As unlikely as it may seem, the hard fact is that

we are on the verge of a water shortage in Geor-

gia, and if something is not done about that

soon, the matter will become a full-blown crisis.

Not a crisis far down the future, but a crisis

now.

The Department of Natural Resources has researched this problem and found what we regard as an efficient way to deal with it. At our request, Governor Busbee is asking for specific legislation which would provide proper management of the state's available surface water by the Department of Natural Resources. He asks that the General Assembly pass this legislation in its ses-
sion which begins this month. If proper management of our state's water is
not provided now, we face calamity for our industrial progress, our recreation, our way of life.
You say we are crying "Wolf?" Let's remember that the final time the boy who kept crying
"Wolf" called out, there was something out
there.
/(jtUiJ Ca SL^ttjiuS"

Jai>uary 1977

Outdoors it) Georgia

Amicalola Falls
State Park

By Jingle Davis

Lndians were probably the first humans to see
Amicalola Falls, high in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Georgia. Even in that era, when
every landscape glistened with natural beauty, they must have been impressed by the sight of the cold mountain stream plunging from the
high ridge and splashing down a series of ledges until the land flattened and the falls once more became a mountain stream.
Cherokees called this highest Georgia water-
-- fall Tumbling Waters Amicalola, in their lilt-
ing language.
The land around the falls is now a 260-acre
state park and the land around the state park
is now the Chattahoochee National Forest. Though the time has long past since Indians roamed these slopes and forests, there is a reas-
suring sense of things unchanged about Amica-
lola Falls.
As I drove into the state park on a crisp autumn day, the wild honey smell of the air and sunlight burnishing copper leaves called up pleasant childhood memories of fall trips to the
mountains.
Henry Johnson, Amicalola's knowledgeable
and enthusiastic superintendent, directed me to
Japuary 1977

my cabin. I was assigned to one of the five rustic
structures situated beside the stream at the base of the falls. I was, at first, a little disappointed that I wouldn't be staying in one of the newer cabins which overlook the 16-acre lake at the top of the falls. After driving up the steep road (camping vehicles and trailers, beware!) to the
lakefront cabins, however, I felt more comfortable farther down the valley. Also, the lower
level cabins are closer to the visitor center, the
group picnic area and the scenic reflecting pool.
My cabin was snug and charming. Completely
equipped with linens, pots and pans, and gas
heat, the cabin also had its own outdoor picnic
table and chairs overlooking the stream. Clerestory windows in the pine-paneled living room, bath and kitchen framed views of autumn foliage worthy of an artist's signature.
I wandered outside and sat on the stream bank, listening to the joyful sounds of water rushing over rocks. The sun dropped behind the mountains and the light changed from gold to
blue to purple.
As the sun set, the air acquired that delicious chill so conducive to good sleeping under stacks
of blankets.

The view from the top of Amicalola Falls is spectacular
anytime but especially so in the jail.
The 16 acre lake at the top of the jails is fine
jor fishing or just sitting.
Photos by Jingle Davis
Why is it that morning coffee perked in the
mountains smells and tastes so much better than coffee made anywhere else? After breakfast, I
laced on hiking boots and went to meet Henry and Bear, Henry's part red bone, part Plott puppy, whose feet are still about three sizes too big. We'd decided the night before to explore one of the several trails which wind through
the park.
Our morning hike would cover an official approach trail to the famous Appalachian Trail,
which begins about seven miles north of the park at Springer Mountain. Henry said quite a few hikers choose to begin or end their Appalachian Trail hikes at Amicalola, where there are comfort stations and overnight parking places for
vehicles.
With Henry setting a pace in keeping with my
coastal flatlander's lack of acclimatization to the
thinner air, we meandered up the trail. Henry
climbed easily, while Bear and I stumbled over rocks and roots and vines. Fall flowers were in bloom, competing with the colors of leaves which flamed the treetops and glided like bright
birds down to the path.
We skirted dense stands of mountain laurel
and ducked under fallen tree trunks. Henry
stopped often to let me catch my breath and to
point out clumps of fragrant wild ginger or
shiny galax. He is knowledgeable about moun-
-- tain wildlife and called attention to things I
might have overlooked a tiny orchid almost buried in a bushel of fallen leaves; a gray squirrel perched like a pewter teapot on a scarlet sourwood branch; a spiderweb still jeweled with morning dew. Bear seemed compelled to answer every bird that called through the woods and the mountains echoed with his bell-like voice.
We passed an old amphitheater ("We had a
wedding here this spring," Henry said) and the

ruins of a moonshine operation, then climbed up a steeper section of trail through a maze of
kudzu to an old road, now closed to cars. From
here, the view of the mountains was spectacular.
We met a group of college students who were
ending a three-day hike down the Appalachian
Trail. "This is one of the nicest views we've seen," one commented, passing around a baggie of granola. "Hey, don't feed the walnuts to the puppy; I wanted those walnuts," another pro-
tested. When one hiker complained of sore feet, Henry cheered him with the story of a man who
had hiked over 200 miles on the Trail wearing two right tennis shoes. "His feet gave him a lot of trouble, too, and he sure left strange tracks," Henry drawled.
The last part of our hike led through the pioneer camping area (no charge to organized youth groups; reservations required) and on to the regular camping area, which offers 25 campsites, most with water and electrical hook-ups. Water skaters projected tinker-toy shadows on
the stream bed under the bridge which leads from the campground to the lake.
We arrived at the lake just as a fisherman was
reeling in a respectable-size rainbow trout. "She's still ahead of me," he said, gesturing to
his wife. "And I caught all those night crawlers
for her, too," the husband sighed, obviously not too upset about supplying worms to the compe-
tition.
Outdoors it? Georgia

Henry said fishermen do need a license to fish in the lake, but said a trout stamp is not re-
quired. No swimming or private boats are al-
lowed, but park boats with electric motors are
available for rent.
Since it was almost lunchtime, we headed back down the mountain; this time, following
the paved road. I quickly realized that walking
down a mountain road can be harder on the legs than climbing up a mountain trail. Henry said
if I recovered by mid-afternoon, we'd hike another park trail which leads to the base of the falls. That sounded too good to miss, so after
lunch we were climbing again. The first part of the falls trail, though steep, is
relatively easy. Sometimes edging along at the very rim of the racing Whitewater, the trail commands breathtakingly beautiful views of glisten-
Jat>uary 1977

ing foliage, huge jutting rock ledges and mountains rolling away into the hazy distance. The rust-colored rocks beside our path were over-
glazed with translucent green, precisely the color
of a small crayfish who was apparently deter-
mined to climb to the top. Henry said the trail
which led all the way up the falls is now closed
to people. "The trail is steep and slippery and we had several fatal and near-fatal falls," he
explained.
I was not disappointed that we wouldn't be climbing the entire 729-foot ridge. From our
vantage point, the rocky ledge at the top seemed to be leaning out toward us, water spreading like a lacy fan above our heads. It was impressive, but I had unpleasant visions of people clinging, fly-like, to the underside of a sheer, waterslick cliff if they tried to go higher.
On our way back down, we met an elderly
couple watching a small ringneck snake bask-
ing on a sun-warmed rock. The snake slid away into the bushes, and the couple turned to admire
a pair of hawks, riding the thermals.
"This place is so lovely," the woman said softly. "My husband and I have been coming
here for years, and it never seems to change." There, again, the concept of endurance. The
Indians had a saying that only the mountains live forever. At Amicalola Falls State Park, one can almost believe that it's true.
One bedroom cottages at the state park rent for $10 per night, $60 per week for two people; two bedroom cottages are $ 14 per night, $84 per week for two people plus $2 a night for each additional person. Three bedroom cottages have
a base rate of $22 per night for the first six people plus $2 a night for each additional person. The weekly rate for six people in a three bedroom cottage is $132. (There is a $1 nightly charge for children under 12 years old; no charge for children under two years old.)
Rates are $3 nightly at the campground. (Reservations are not accepted for the regular campground, though they are required for groups using the pioneer campground. Cottage
reservations must be made through the park
office.)
Amicalola Falls State Park is located 16 miles northwest of Dawsonville via Ga. 136, 183, 52.
Day use hours are from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m.

iJk

By Aaron Pass Art by Mike Nunn

woosh-zzzzzz-thunk. The awful sound came floating
back out of the inky blackness to assure me that, once
-- again, I had successfully missed the lake. "Maybe it's
just up on the shore," I hoped. Tug on the line no give
-- -- tug harder still no give. The plug's treble hooks were
A solid into something. final stiff yank moved the boat.
"You hung up again?" came the voice of my

partner whose silhouette was faintly visible
against the starlit sky.
"Yeah, takes a fellow a little while to get the hang of this night casting, doesn't it?"
"Yes it does. How many more nights is a
little while?"
Slowly the rocky shoreline of Lake Blue Ridge appeared in the feeble beams of our hand
lanterns. Following the line, I saw my small
crankbait jammed between two rocks at least
six feet above the water line. Salvaging the lure,
we once again began probing the rocky
drop-offs and shelving points. This technique is typical of bass fishing and our lures were popular bass patterns, but bass were not our
targets. In the black, cold March night with
only the hum of an electric motor to warm us,
we were after walleye. Also known as the walleyed-pike, pike and
jack, the walleye is well-known as a food and sport fish to northern anglers. In Georgia, comparatively few of the state's fishermen go out purposely to catch them since walleye water is restricted to the northern one-third of
the state.
"Most fishermen around here use bait and still fish at night; a few troll spinners and jigs,
but very few plug cast," said my fishing partner, Kim Primmer. We were using crankbaits just a
bit smaller than those bass anglers heave upon the water. "The walleye is a highly predacious
fish and takes plugs very well," my partner
allowed.
He was in a position to know since as a fisheries biologist with the Game and Fish
Division, Northern Region, Primmer works on some of the state's top walleye reservoirs. More
important he is also a walleye fishing enthusiast starting as early as November. "The best time to plug-cast for walleye depends on water
temperature," Primmer said. "They move up
into the shallows after water temperature drops below 65. Fishing is normally good from
November through April, but falls off during March when the fish spawn. They don't bite well during the spawning period." Primmer
fishes at night, starting about an hour before sunset. "Walleyes are definitely night feeders.
A few will be caught in daylight hours, but
success will pick up noticeably after dark. Some folks use lights, but I haven't found it
helps much with artificial lures."

Thinking back, I remembered that Primmer

had volunteered to take out another writer a
month earlier. On that date I had been grouse

hunting in three inches of snow at Wolfpen

Gap. "Did you take that newspaper fellow

fishing?"

"Nope, he got snowed in and couldn't make

it. If he had been crazy enough to come up,

I would have been crazy enough to have gone,

but I'm glad he didn't."
We were fishing Blue Ridge, which is one of

the best walleye lakes in the state, but other

lakes are also promising. Burton is another
popular walleye fishery. Some large fish are also

coming out of Hartwell and Lanier.

"Knowing a lake is the real key to successful

walleye fishing whether bait or artificial lures

are used," Primmer said. "Not every good

looking spot produces, but a truly good spot

will continue to attract fish. The fisherman has

to locate these areas and be able to find them at
night. It also helps to know the lake when you're trying to get home in the dark."
The walleye isn't noted as a great fighter. He

neither jumps nor attacks a lure with great
gusto. Not wishing to try my host's patience

further, I avoided the shoreline and lobbed a

toss to the deep water on the other side of the
boat. On the retrieve I thought I had hooked a

A -- small stick, then the stick seemed to flinch a bit. fish no, it was only the gyrations of a

fouled plug. Reaching over into the darkness to

clear the hooks I discovered a 14-inch walleye,

about average for Blue Ridge. For all their

lethargy in the end of the line, you should treat

the business end of a walleye with respect.

Their jaws are studded with needle sharp teeth.
To land one without a net, grasp the fish by the

back of the head, across the gill plates.

Coasting through the night to the splashes (and

occasional thunks) of lures dropped deftly

against the shore, I was jarred by a lure

landing right in front of me. "What

happened, casting to a close rise?"

I kidded.

"Line's snarled," said a voice

from the night.

"Your line is too heavy. It springs off

the spool and tangles or cuts your casting

distance," I advised, unasked.

"Yeah, but that way I don't hit the bank as

often as you do."

&

Outdoors it? Georgia

Photo by Aaron Pass
I

Solo Hike

By Robert Ottley Photography by Bob Busby

Waaking up that Saturday morning, January 3,
A was an experience I won't soon forget. typical

winter morning in the Appalachian Mountains

of North Georgia, it was cold, perhaps colder
than usual. Nestled in my goosedown cocoon, I

-- wasn't fully aware of the temperature until I
unzipped wow! But I had come prepared for

freezing cold, so I quickly donned down parka

and mittens, long Johns and thick socks. Peeling
off my mittens to start breakfast, however, I immediately felt my fingers stiffening up from the

cold. I first came to realize just how cold it was
when I attempted to pour water from my can-
-- A teen into the boiling pot it was solid ice.

quick walk to the stream solved that problem

though, and soon I had hot water for coffee and
oatmeal. So I mixed up my breakfast and took

the remaining water off the stove. In minutes it,

too, was frozen solid.
On New Year's Eve I had made a New Year's

resolution to bring myself to a closer awareness
and a more intimate knowledge of my environ-

ment. And I decided there was no better way

than solo backpacking to "get back to nature."
So the next day, New Year's Day, I was up at

4 a.m. getting ready for a trip to the mountains.

TV No sitting around the

watching football

games in a warm city home that day!

Not a large percentage of people use a vaca-
tion, from school in my case, to spend a few days

in the woods, confronted with a limited menu,

10

Outdoors it? Georgia

maximum physical exertion and freezing tem-
peratures. But that sort of thing just comes natural to me. I was brought up taking weekend
excursions all over the state with my father and brother. As I got older and could organize my
own trips, I began to discover the pleasure of
paddling alone across a silent lake, or cresting a majestic peak. While alone with nature, one is able to realize things about his environment, himself, even his fellow inhabitants that are
somehow locked away when settled in the daily routine. At least that's how it seems to me.
I finally got all my gear together and was off
to spend a weekend in Georgia's mountains. So
while many celebrations were getting started,
while teams headed for the locker rooms for half-time deliberations, I watched the sun go down from the peak of a majestic ridge. I de-
cided on one of my favorite campsites in Georgia, along Nottley Creek, as my destination for a short hike, and to proceed from there. When I
arrived at the spot after a few hours' walking, I was so enchanted by the sight of a beautiful double waterfall robed in winter's white that I decided to cut out the next day's hike and spend
all my time there. And I patted myself on the
back for deciding to bring along some extra camera gear. Those falls were just breathtaking.
I spent the rest of the morning and most of
the afternoon setting up camp and meandering
around the area looking at various scenes that I
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11

would return to the next day armed with camera and film. As the afternoon slowly turned into evening, I got trigger happy and climbed a nearby ridge to snap a few shots of the mountain at dusk. Returning to camp with barely enough
light to see, I busied myself with supper. After finishing off a gourmet meal of dried food, I
made my preparations for the night.
Sitting on the ground leaning against a tree, I relaxed and for the first time thought about being alone. I shuddered at some of the thoughts
that crossed my mind. I was lectured again by
the silent narrator of the wild, on how powerless and small I am next to the untamed world of
nature. As my ears began to tingle from the crisp night air I went into my portable bedroom and closed my eyes on another day.
12

I awoke early, anxious to take some photographs. But someone up there didn't want to cooperate and had blanketed the area with a thick fog. As the morning wore on, the fog dissipated a little only to be replaced by overcast skies and occasional downpours. I had planned to spend the day shooting pictures then break down camp and head for home that night. But the lighting was unacceptable all day, so I decided to add an extra day in hopes that tomorrow would be better. I ended up spending all day exploring the neighboring ridges and unsuccessfully trying to dodge showers.
While walking around on top of one ridge, I
happened to glance down into the valley below. I spotted a small trail picking its way down the
side of the next mountain. After staring at it for
Outdoors it? Georgia

a few minutes, I realized that it was the same trail I had used to come down to the falls the day before. Hoping to get a different view of the falls themselves I moved on. Suddenly I saw the magnificent sight below me. Through the mist I could see both falls in all their glory, shrouded by clouds of dark green mountain laurel.
Soon, the sky threatened rain once again and
A I hightailed for home. somewhat uneventful
evening was spent in the tent because of the rain. I even had to cook inside.
I guess the sudden chilliness in the air caused
me to sleep extra soundly, for I wasn't aware
that the rain had stopped and the skies had cleared until the next morning. Rushing through
breakfast and fumbling with my camera with numb fingers, I finally was ready to take some
photographs. The promise of a beautiful day
caused my excitement. Even though there was
ice on everything at the camp, I wasn't prepared
for what I was to see when I made my way up to
the falls. Anything that had contact with water was covered with ice. Mist from the falls had frozen on all the surrounding rocks and vegetation. The whole scene looked like something out of a fairy tale. Light glimmering off the stream was reflected even more by ice all around me, making the place resemble a giant house of
mirrors.
Working with numb, almost frostbitten fingers, I snapped shot after shot, often pausing to
revive the circulation to my hands and feet. Ad-
justing the cold metal of camera and tripod was almost torture. The morning and early afternoon were quickly spent engulfed in photog-
raphy.
I eventually wrapped up the picture-taking session and headed back to camp. Noticing that
my time was rapidly slipping away unless the
walk back to the car was to be a moonlight mission, I quickly broke camp. With everything
packed up, I shouldered my backpack and
headed down the trail. I knew I had to cross the creek in order to pick up the trail back to the car but I discovered a new obstacle that wasn't there when I made the first trip over.
The giant rocks on which I had picked my way over the rushing current were now covered
with a thin but treacherous layer of ice. There was no alternative, so I figured I had no choice but to risk it. I got about three-fourths of the
Jai?uary 1977

way over before it happened. I slipped, falling

to the stream. Some desperate clawing paid off,
and I went in feet first, saving my gear from a
A sure soaking. quick three steps got me out of
that frigid water, but I was soaked to my thighs

with sub-freezing water.
The stiffening of my pants persuaded me that

I'd better get on up the trail to some dry clothes.
Reaching my car a few miserable hours later, I immediately shed my pack and still damp, frost-

covered pants and boots.
A few minutes later, in dry clothes, I picked
up my pants which had frozen. To my amaze-

ment I could lean the pants on the car and they
wouldn't bend, even with the weight of my hik-

ing boots on them!
Soon I was driving in the comfort of my heated car back through the mountains on my

way home. Although I was still lifted by the

spirit of nature, I was saddened by the thought

of returning to the "other world." I also couldn't
help but wonder if my son would someday be

able to discover the beauty of a pristine, ice-

covered waterfall, or only be able to look at old

photographs.



Editor's Note: The author, a 17-year-old senior at Marietta High School, hiked a side trail, roughly paralleling the Appalachian Trail east
N of US 19-129 north of eel's Gap. He walked
alone some five miles to Nottley Falls on Nottley Creek, camped, and returned to his starting
point.
13

Outdoor

By Bill Hammack Photography by Bob Busby

Nestled in the golden valleys of North Geor-
gia's Lumpkin County is a place embracing 240
acres of hill country magnificence, flamboyant in
the fall wearing its autumn coat of many colors,
lush with greenery spangled with wildflowers in the spring, a tranquil place where breezes mur-
mur to the treetops, accenting the cathedral quiet, where the five-acre lake, home of bass and
bream, shines in the sun. Throughout the year, Georgia people, young
and old ones, come to this natural area, the Blackburn Outdoor Education Center of the state's Department of Natural Resources (DNR), but they don't come to relax.
"This is not a vacation spot," says Bob Baker, supervisor of DNR's outdoor education pro-
gram." This is a place for a learning experience."
A former state park, closed in September
1975 as the economic crunch clamped harder on state funds, Blackburn is ideal as an outdoor classroom for the thousands of Georgia young
people participating in DNR's outdoor educa-
tion program. This year the state was able to provide out-
door education to about 6,500 students from
seventh graders through high schoolers, many of whom take advantage of weekend field trips during the school year at Blackburn. The center,
opened this past April as a training area, further serves as a facility for workshops for the state's outdoor education teachers during the summer.
And there are others who benefit from the
14

program. For example, this past summer, students in the Governor's Honors Program from North Georgia College in Dahlonega participated in a workshop at Blackburn. Like all the other students, they camped out on one of the 34 sites at the facility; save for two primitive campgrounds that have only outdoor water faucets and old-fashioned outdoor toilets, the sites are equipped with electrical outlets, hot water
showers, grills and tables. From four to six students live in their tents at each site; some chaperons and teachers bring campers for their own
use.
Head teacher of any group of students from
any Georgia school usually is the regional coordinator for the region in which the school is
located. The regional coordinators set an example of cooperation; for example, when a student
group expresses an interest in a survival course,
Jim Graham of Cartersville, an expert in sur-
vival techniques, comes to teach. During the summer, coordinators run work-
shops for outdoor education teachers from throughout the state. First year teachers are required to take the basic 55-hour course covering such subjects as basic boating and firearm safety. They come back each summer for advanced workshops in various fields; this past summer, there were such courses as archery and bowhunting, survival, muzzle-loading firearms, and
map and compass study. Last summer Bob Baker introduced a new
Outdoors ii? Georgia

Education Center

Photo by Bob Baker

Japuary 1977

15

Orienteering is one of the skills taught at Blackburn.

-- program to take additional advantage of the
Blackburn facility a special summer camp for high schoolers whose names have been sub-
mitted by their outdoor education teachers.
"We taught them about the same courses as
those taken by the teachers in the advanced workshop," said Steve Ruckel, regional coordi-
nator for North Georgia, who lives at Black-
burn. "The students really enjoyed it. After the seven-day camp was over, some of them didn't want to leave."

16

Outdoors \t) Georgia

As word of the outdoor education workshops spread, more and more people want to take part
in them. They're held in three locations in the state: at Blackburn in North Georgia, at South Georgia College in Douglas and at Middle Georgia College at Cochran. Facilities permit an average of 35 outdoor education teachers in each workshop. While priority is given to teachers in the outdoor education program, the workshops and courses are open to other groups
when space permits.
"We have requests from organizations like the
Boy Scouts," said Ruckel. "If a group wants to participate in a program, if members of the
group understand that they'll be here strictly for
educational purposes, and if we can schedule them, we offer them all the resources we can."
Outdoor education people say they hope to be able to hold more programs more frequently, such as the popular hunter safety course. But a regional coordinator like Steve Ruckel totes
loads on both shoulders. As the only outdoor
education official currently living at Blackburn, he not only serves his 27-county region as coordinator, but performs most of the maintenance
work at the center, and that job alone can keep
one man busy. However, Ruckel does have help;
on weekends, for example, students in the va-
rious programs may see Bob Baker, the outdoor
education boss, running a tractor as he helps in
mowing the grass or scraping the roads. Baker further helps out when he can find time in such
programs as boating safety, held at Blackburn on the facility's five-acre lake.
-- Even with the help of his boss and of others
who pitch in from time to time, Ruckel a 28year-old Kentuckian who earned his bachelor's degree in wildlife management at Purdue and
his master's at Virginia Polytechnic Institute
says the long hours he puts in would nearly knock him out, if he didn't love outdoor education work.
"This is where I want to be and this is what I want to do," he says, standing on a high point
where years ago W. W. Blackburn, a Florida man who fell in love with these hills, built a cot-
tage that looks out over a magnificent vista of the southern Blue Ridge. "If I can teach youngsters and older people something about the out-
doors and how to enjoy outdoor sports safely,
January 1977

maybe I can help them gain a little better under-
standing of this priceless heritage we've got."
Here are some of the outdoor experiences available at the Blackburn Outdoor Education
Center:
BASIC ORIENTEERING, one and one-half days: the compass points, map sign recognition, orienting the map by using landscapes, the com-
pass and bearings, drawing a map, scale, finding a bearing from a map, declination.
BASIC SURVIVAL, one day: introduction
to survival, preparation of a survival kit, fire
building, traps and snares, food preparation, building your shelter, building a solar still.
BASIC FIREARM SAFETY, one day: no-
menclature, sight picture, sight alignment, safe handling, "on-range" activities.
Bob Baker lends a coaching hand to a student in Advanced Firearm Safety.
17

ADVANCED FIREARM SAFETY, one
day: review of basics, marksmanship, walk-
through range activities, flying target identifica-
tion.
BASIC BOATING, one-half day: safe boat
handling, docking, rules of the road, using
PFD's (personal flotation devices).
ADVANCED BOATING, one-half day:
navigation by chart, emergency procedures,
night operation, towing skiers.
ADVANCED CANOEING, one day: funda-
mentals of canoeing, river canoeing.
BASIC BOW HUNTING, two days: intro-
duction to archery, equipment, how to select equipment, bow stringing, shooting a bow, bow hunting limitations, the legal requirements, how arrows kill, pre-hunt scouting, bow hunting methods, recovery of game, tracking wounded
game, field archery participation.
ADVANCED FISHING, one-half day: fly
fishing, lure making, care of your equipment.
EXPERIENCES WITH WILDLIFE, one-
half day: Georgia's wildlife, making nest boxes,

making feeders, planning food plots, how to

make a mast survey, casting tracks, making

study skins.
TREES AND PLANTS, one-half day: tree

identification, plant identification, aging trees,

nature trails, wildflowers, leaf collecting.
BASIC POND MANAGEMENT, one-half

day: aquatic vegetation identification, how to

determine fertilization needs, how to check pond

reproduction.
A MINIATURE ECOSYSTEM, one-half

day: how an ecosystem works.
BACKPACKING, two days: basic backpack-

ing, hiking in, spending the night, hiking out.

Georgia's schools not taking part in the state's
-- outdoor education program at present and in-- terested individuals who would like more in-

formation about the program are invited to write

or phone Bob Baker, Chief of the Education Sec-

tion, Office of Information and Education, De-

partment of Natural Resources, 270 Washing-

ton St., S.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30334. The

phone number is (404) 656-3534.



The Outdoor Education Center is a key element in the Department's Outdoor Education Program. It is particularly valuable to students from urban schools where
suitable sites for teaching firearm safety, boating
safety, wildlife and
botanical subjects are not available.

Outdoors it? Georgia

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF'S NOTE
Surface water availability and management is going to be a prime concern to the 1977 Legis-
-- -- lature. This concern reflects the real problems
Georgians face or soon will face concerning this valuable resource.
Such a natural resource issue will have to compete for attention with the other necessary
demands made on the upcoming Legislature.
Such competition with other worthy programs is expected, but this is one resource issue that
won't go away. We can deal with it now, while
we still have time, or postpone our care and management and let these problems feed into
chaos.
The interviews with Governor Busbee and Environmental Protection Division Director Leonard Ledbetter are remarkable in their candidness, and in their straight forward recognition of the problems and the tough give-andtake these problems demand. Some readers have been urging our magazine to develop articles which deal with demanding, controversial, en-
vironmental issues. This is our response.
WATER AmiLABILITY

WATER AVAILABILITY

QIC INTERVIEW

GOVERNOR
GEORGE BUSBEE

'Our problem, and one that we might as well face and deal with, is simply the lack of management of the water resources that we have."

Outdoors in Georgia: Governor Busbee, one of the major thrusts of your administration over the last two years has been to build the economy of Georgia by attracting new business and industry. Does the state have the water resources necessary to support this growth?
Governor Busbee: Georgia does have the water that it needs to allow our communities to grow and to support industrial expansion if we properly manage the water resources that we have. In fact, Georgia has one of the most abundant supplies of water of any state in the
nation.
The groundwater situation in south Georgia is a good illustration. As you know, most water users in south Georgia, both cities and industries, get their water from deep wells supplied by underground reservoirs. Back in the early 1970's, we began to realize that there were limits to the amount of water that could be pumped from these reservoirs without creating problems for other users. The most serious problem was occurring along the
"We must have a complete management program in
Georgia for protecting the water supplies of our com-
-- munities, industries and citizens. I emphasize the word
complete because one essential tool is still lacking a management program for our streams, rivers and reser-
voirs."

coast where saltwater was beginning to intrude into

freshwater wells.

Recognizing the difficulties approaching, the 1972

General Assembly passed the Groundwater Use Act and

established a groundwater management program within
the Department of Natural Resources. We are able now

to work with industries and communities in locating new

wells for plant expansions and proposed industrial loca-
tions. Our management capability allows us to locate

major groundwater users in areas where they will have

adequate supplies and will not adversely affect the rights

of others.

Today we find ourselves in the same situation with
We surface water as we faced with groundwater in 1972.

are just beginning to experience major problems with

insufficient surface water supplies in certain locations.

Those problems are primarily attributable to lack of
resource management. If we take action now and estab-

lish an effective management program for our surface

water resources, there will continue to be enough water

for the state to grow.

Outdoors in Georgia: Governor, problems as serious

as water shortages don't simply arrive one day. They are

generally the result of long standing neglect or failure to
act. Why hasn't state government already recognized and

dealt with this situation?

Governor Busbee: There is really no good reason for

the failure of government to recognize this problem. All we had to do was look to the water-scarce western states

or the heavily industrialized northern states to recognize

that shortages were on the way. But it was easier to view

water as a free and unlimited resource and put the prob-

lem off for others to deal with.

The reason for today's recognition has been the recent

demands placed on our towns and communities by the

We industrial growth now taking place in Georgia.

have

growth taking place in every sector of Georgia's

economy: agriculture, business, recreation and industry.

This expansion has placed new demands on our water

supply systems by the day. Local officials have suddenly

realized that their public water supply systems cannot

support the additional demand.
Outdoors in Georgia: You have pointed out the way

in which the groundwater problems of the state were
identified and dealt with. What legislation will be con-

sidered in the coming session of the General Assembly

20

Outdoors it? Georgia

to deal with our surface water problems?
Governor Busbee: We must have a complete manage-

ment program in Georgia for protecting the water sup-

plies of our communities, industries and citizens. I em-

phasize the word complete because one essential tool is
-- still lacking a management program for our streams,

rivers and reservoirs.

During last year's session of the General Assembly, I

had legislation introduced which would give Georgia the

necessary tools to manage our surface water supplies

from a statewide perspective. I didn't intend for the bill

to pass last year, but I wanted to bring the subject before

the public so it could be carefully studied and consid-

ered over the next year.

That year has passed, and I believe that now is the

time to act. During the last nine months five state agen-

cies have studied the bill in great detail. I have met with

each of these agencies and discussed the workability of

the approach and the need for action. All of these

agencies are in complete agreement that the legislation is

adequate and much needed, and that it will not burden

water-users with bureaucratic red-tape.

Minor modifications are now being made to the bill

based on the review of state agencies. I hope to have the

revised version of the bill ready for introduction when

the General Assembly comes to Atlanta in January.

Outdoors in Georgia: Would you summarize the ma-

jor provisions of the proposed law?

Governor Busbee: The program would work in essen-

tially the same way as the groundwater management pro-

gram. Issuance of permits would be the responsibility of

the Environmental Protection Division of the Depart-

ment of Natural Resources.

Basically, the law would require a permit for surface

water usage that exceeds 100,000 gallons per day on a

monthly average. It takes a large water system to use
that much water in a day, so the small user or the small

farmer won't be bothered with having to obtain a permit.

This permit process is important to our existing com-

munities and industries because once a permit is ob-

tained, the user will have reasonable assurance that

future supplies of water will be available.

Another positive feature of the bill is that it would

establish a simple administrative mechanism to prevent

anyone from being denied their rights to a water supply.

Presently, the only recourse an individual has is to go to

court, which is an expensive process.

Outdoors in Georgia: But some groups feel that addi-

tional study is needed before legislation is introduced.
Do you think this is justified?

Governor Busbee: I personally feel that the time has

come for the General Assembly to act positively and

responsibly in respect to this legislation. The subject of

surface water management has been more than ade-

quately studied from the standpoint of the need for a

statewide water management program.

Each time a new industry locates in Georgia we are

placing additional demands on a very limited resource

We water.

have the choice of going ahead and establish-

Japuary 1977

ing a program that will insure that industries will locate in areas that have adequate water supplies, or we can

wait, fail to act, and let those industries locate in areas that are going to run out of water five or ten years down

the road.

We already have a good understanding of the prob-

We lems.

have the technical data needed to start the

program. But as I mentioned earlier, it's always easier to wait than to act. I hope this is one instance where gov-

ernment will take the lead and act before a real crisis

develops.

Outdoors in Georgia: Governor, one of the most dis-

cussed aspects of this bill is that it places the permitting authority within the Department of Natural Resources.

After all, surface water management deals with other aspects in addition to environmental protection. What

thoughts do you have in this regard?

Governor Busbee: I'd like to answer that question with a question. Where else can we put it other than the

Department of Natural Resources?
DNR has all of the major water-related legal authori-
ties that now exist. They are doing a good job of manag-
ing and administering a tremendously complex program
already. The only alternative would be to establish a new state agency or commission that would duplicate
much of the work already done by DNR. Industry

would then have two state agencies to deal with rather

-- than one. Also, two functions that are closely related
water quality and water supply would be separated. This just wouldn't make sense.

Five state agencies have looked at this legislation over the last year, and all five unanimously agreed that the

permitting authority should be with the Environmental
Protection Division of DNR. Outdoors in Georgia: Governor Busbee, we appre-
ciate this opportunity to talk with you. The surface water problem in Georgia certainly deserves our attention.

Governor Busbee: Yes, it deserves immediate atten-

tion.
You know, the Southeast is now and will continue to
be the fastest growing region of this country. The state of Georgia has the opportunity to capitalize on that growth and continue to build a stronger economy. That

stronger economy means more jobs and higher wages for

Georgia's citizens.
But unmanaged growth in itself is not good. In the end, we could find ourselves paying more than we gain. Programs such as the surface water management program are intended to deal with situations before they
become problems. An industry that locates in Georgia

isn't going to do anybody any good if it runs out of water

in ten years.
Shortages of any major resource people, energy, air,
-- -- dollars, water or others mean a constraint on our

ability to provide for a better quality of life for our citi-

zens. Through proper, responsible management we can

eliminate these shortages. This is where we have to aim

our water resources management program, and I intend

that we will be successful.

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21

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WATER AVAILABILITY

QUI INTERVIEW

LEONARD LEDBETTER

"We feel that we need some new legislation coordinating the management of surface water."

Outdoors in Georgia interviewed Leonard Ledbetter, director of the Environmental Protection Division
of DNR, the division of government
in Georgia with the primary responsibility for water resource management.
Outdoors in Georgia: Mr. Ledbetter, surface and ground water are
among the most abundant resources in Georgia. Can it really be that our
state has water problems?
Ledbetter: Yes, we have water
-- problems in fact, we're out of wa-
ter in many places in Georgia today. For example, if you want to locate a
large water-using industry north of
-- Atlanta, we're out of water it's not
there. Not surface water or ground-
water. You would have to go below
the Fall Line or off the Piedmont Plateau to get the amount of water it takes to support a large carpet industry, a sizeable food processing
plant, a large textile operation, or a pulp and paper mill.
Even in the immediate area south of Atlanta on the Piedmont Plateau
we're out of water. It's not there.

This area is under study right now
with the Corps of Engineers. Governor Busbee asked the Corps to evaluate the water supply in Coweta County, Spalding County, Fayette County
and Henry County. The human
population projected for those areas
by the year 2000 is on the order of 250,000 people. Water is simply not there in those counties, groundwater or surface water, to meet such a
population's need.
Outdoors in Georgia: To continue
with that line, just where are the critical surface water problems in our state today?
Ledbetter: North of the Fall Line, now. If you look at a map, you'll note that we don't have a Tennessee or Ohio River. Our rivers generally originate in north Georgia. The South and Flint Rivers start right here in the Atlanta area. The Chattahoochee River starts in north Georgia. The
Savannah River comes down out of the hills of North Carolina and forms
the state line between South Carolina and Georgia, but it's still a very small stream in northeast Georgia.

So we really have water problems
north of the Fall Line as far as surface water is concerned for a large water user.
Outdoors in Georgia: One of the
statements often used in the press is the "shortage of available water".
What does this mean? Can you give
us examples?
A Ledbetter: river passing through
a community has what we call a yield. You can only depend on the river to yield a certain amount of
-- water and that's the dependable
amount it has under dry weather
conditions. You cannot design your
water supply system for a city or county or an industry on the basis of what's in that river in January or
February. Your available water is
related to the drought.
Of course the construction of stor-
age reservoirs increases the available
water. When the press deals with
these questions, they normally think in terms of the available water in Lake Lanier, Allatoona, etc. Yet from a technical standpoint it goes
much beyond that. Because even in

"Water may be the controlling factor. Not energy, not a second airport, or some of the things you hear about. It may be the lack
of water."
Photography by Bob Busby
January 1977

"Understand, when we bring more people and more industry into
Georgia, we're slicing the resource
pie again and allocating some of
it away."

-- "We have another option fust to
use the present available water and cease growth and development. Tliere's nothing that says Atlanta has to have six million people."

23

a reservoir the available water in

drought conditions is still very lim-

ited. It's not an unlimited dependable

supply over a period of time.

Outdoors in Georgia: Can you give us some examples as to how water shortages create problems for new

and old industry?

Ledbetter: Industry is not inter-

ested in a site which has no depend-
able supply of water. We must have

the ability to show them from the en-

vironmental standpoint that they can

locate at a site which meets their

water needs, including sufficient

amounts of water with modern treat-

ment to take away the residual

wastes. Most water-using industries,

even with today's best technology,

still have residual pollutants which

have to be assimilated in the natural

river system. Such an industry does

not want to locate in an area where

all of the river or almost all of it will

be taken out, utilized in processing

and discharged into a dry river bed.
We cannot allow that to happen

that would be poor management of

our water resources.
Now as far as existing industry is

concerned, it becomes very critical
because of what may be happening upstream. In other words, if we have

a growing community that's using more and more of a river upstream,

the industry gets worried.

Another concern, of course, is that

some other water user upstream can

cause a degradation of the water quality. For example, even using our
best technology for Atlanta, Cobb

County, and Douglas County on a

stream like the Chattahoochee River,
we still cannot allow Newnan access

to the Chattahoochee for their water

supply needs because of the quality

of the river.
Outdoors in Georgia: That brings
up another question. How does this

water availability shortage affect an

individual homeowner or an indi-

How vidual family?

does it affect an

urban, suburban or rural citizen?

Ledbetter: Well, let's take them separately. The number one impact

for the homeowner on a public water system is going to be cost. As

water becomes shorter in supply, and

has to be transported farther, and

undergoes higher levels of treatment, it's going to cost more.
It's going to cost the city or county that's transporting and treating the water more. Energy is going up, the costs of pumping, delivering and the cost of labor is going up. So as our water supply and availability be-
comes more of a problem, the costs
are going to increase.
Secondly, for some urban areas in this country (and in this state), the ability to continue to grow and the type of development that they can have will be limited by water or the
lack of it.
A case in point: Because of the
relatively small rivers, the Etowah and Oostanaula, coming together to form the Coosa River at Rome, we have to be very careful to assure that the water quality standards are met
in that area. The ability of Rome and
that part of Georgia to attract certain industry which could provide jobs and continued economic growth is already curtailed by the lack of water. Significant water using industries simply cannot meet their water needs
in that area.
For the small town and rural person, the situation is somewhat different. Our Groundwater Use Act of 1972 gave us a very good management tool, and we feel we're already in pretty good position to protect the rights of the individual from the

standpoint of groundwater. An ex-
emption of irrigation wells and other agricultural uses is the major prob-
lem confronting us under the Groundwater Use Act. It's the sur-
face water that we're not managing properly. Rural people using groundwater are in a pretty good position. Rural people relying on surface water are in the same boat as urban people relying on surface water.
Outdoors in Georgia: In regard to
Rome and the Coosa River, would you comment on the recent PCB contamination problem there and how it
is likely to affect the Coosa River
drainage area?
Ledbetter: What we're really talk-
ing about here are the "pathways to
man", and by that I mean the air he breathes, the water he drinks, and the food he eats. We've got to be
concerned about contaminants like
PCBs in the drinking water or in the
fish. We've got to do a better job in this country and in this state identifying situations like the one developing in and near Rome, Georgia. The Coosa River is a very major river for
this state.
This river affects part of this state
and another state (Alabama) be-
cause it is full of fish that are not
satisfactory or acceptable for human
consumption. How long will it be be-
fore the Coosa River fish will again
be fit for human consumption? I

Surface water stored in reservoirs increases available water, but in drought conditions the available supply is very limited.

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24

Outdoors h) Gcortjia

-- don't know nobody does.

Outdoors in Georgia: Since you

occupy a critical position in state

government you are, perhaps of all

the people in the state, the man to

ask this question to. I'd like to ask

you if you can frankly give our read-

ers a general view of water pollution
problems in this state. Where are we? What is the status?

Ledbetter: Well, we're one of the

few states today that can say our in-

dustries generally have modern wa-

ter pollution control facilities. We've

got maybe one relatively small indus-

try on the coast that still hasn't in-

stalled a waste water control system.

But if you look at the state as a whole,

our industry has responded excep-

We tionally well.

haven't resolved all

-- of our problems some industries

probably need to upgrade their

waste water facilities because they're
-- on small streams they're still put-

ting an unacceptable demand on the

people's water resources.

Now, people tend to lose sight of

this impact on the water resources.

Like the seafood industry; they

tend to lose sight of the fact that had

we not cleaned up water pollution,

had the Department of Natural Re-

sources not managed the shrimping

industry and protected the marshes,

there probably would be little or no
-- seafood shrimp, shellfish and the -- like to support their selfish interest

-- to make a profit off the people's re-
source because those shrimp don't

belong to them.

The shrimp belong to the people.

The state has got to implement regu-

latory programs to manage those re-

sources for the people. Otherwise,

they'll all be gone anyway.
OK, to come back to industry in

general. For many years industry had

the attitude that they had the right to

use the Savannah River and the Sa-

vannah harbor and pollute the hell

out of it.

Well, that's changed and industry's

attitude has changed. They have ac-

cepted the obligations and responsi-

bilities to use the people's water re-

sources more wisely and to con-

tribute in cleaning them up and pro-

tecting them. They're doing that not

only by constructing the facilities,

Large users of groundwater are regulated by the Groundwater Use Act of 1972.

but by spending thousands of dollars each day operating and maintaining their water pollution control facili-
ties.
Today, our municipalities and local governments are the major prob-
We lem in water pollution control.
still have major towns that have a long way to go to get modern pollu-
tion control facilities installed.
But an installed facility is nothing more than a concrete monument if it doesn't operate. Aquatic life in a river or a creek has got to be protected by operating a treatment plant
seven days a week. You can't operate one five days a week and turn it off
for the weekend.
We've got a long way to go to get
local governments to cooperate in
DNR this. Another responsibility of
is to educate the elected officials so they will hire and retain qualified

operators of such facilities. Another real problem that we've
never properly dealt with in Georgia is the so-called non-point source pollution. This comes from urban areas like Atlanta, Savannah, etc., or certain agricultural operations which involve siltation or pesticides being allowed to run off into a river.
Shopping center parking lots have particulate matter, grease and oil collected by rains. Trash, debris, etc. at the back of a grocery store will eventually flush into a stream. Quick food
-- places, truck terminals it's amaz-
ing the amount of non-point source pollution you get from an urban area.
Basically, the water pollution problems in Georgia today come from three things: residual pollution from industry, pollution from local governments and non-point source
pollution.

Jatjuary 1977

25

Outdoors in Georgia: Speaking again of municipalities, there have been reports, specifically the CarterJohnson report of 1974, which portend a serious crisis for Atlanta and downstream areas of the Chatta-
hoochee. What is your present un-
derstanding of this situation? Is Atlanta going to use up the Chattahoochee?
Ledbetter: Well, yes. The study you referenced predicts that by the
year 2015, Atlanta will completely consume the Chattahoochee. Noth-
ing going past Atlanta. Now, you've got to have some water in a river bed to carry away the residual pollutants.
We have already established that the
river needs 750 cubic feet per second
for this flushing purpose, roughly
500 million gallons a day passing through Atlanta.
Therefore, we are already at that point. The Department of Natural
Resources is one of four agencies studying the Atlanta crisis. The others are the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, the Atlanta Regional Commission and the Corps of Engineers.
This study is being conducted and we're evaluating alternatives, but it
appears now that even the most optimistic alternative shows that we will use all available water out of Lake
Lanier and the Chattahoochee River
by the year 2000. Any acceptable
alternative must provide for other uses, such as recreation, fishing, power generation, flood control, etc.
We haven't even started addressing
the question of what we're going to do after the year 2000. It's still something we haven't really confronted, and we're not developing an answer.
Outdoors in Georgia: This brings
us slam up to another question. One
of the major reasons the Corps of Engineers and others give for building dams on our rivers is to create
new supplies of standing water. Do
you agree with this reasoning and are you in favor of such new dams?
Ledbetter: I don't think it's so
much whether I'm in favor of dams or not. It's that we have certain lim-
ited resources and water resources
are one of them. What the people of
this state and country have got to

come to grips with is how we manage

these resources.

Our generation has been so caught

up in solving some of the problems
-- of past generations you know, past
generations polluted the air and wa-

ter resources and abused them, cut
down our forests and so forth. Their philosophy was that they had unlim-

ited resources.

Well, we've learned better and

have spent most of our time cleaning

up the air and water and, in general,

trying to correct the sins of the past.
Now, we are on the brink of turning
-- around to look the other way of

looking to the future.
We're getting away from protect-

ing the environment as such and more into the realm of management
of the resources. How do we manage

the available air and water resources

for the future?
OK, now you relate that to some dam on some river. What's the priority going to be? On a river like the

Chattahoochee above Atlanta, you
know it's going to be to put a dam
on the river to provide a water sup-

ply for the essential needs of man.
-- We have another option just to
use the present available water and
cease growth and development.

There's nothing that says Atlanta

has to have six million people.
Water may be the controlling factor. Not energy, not a second airport, or some of the things you hear about. It may be the lack of water. Obviously, when we get to the point where we are using all the available

dependable water supply, there's go-

ing to be an agency like the Environ-

mental Protection Division which

steps in and says you can't connect more customers to your water sys-

tem.
We've already done that. We re-

cently advised Dekalb County that

they could not continue to connect

water customers to their system with-

out a plan for the provision of more capacity, because our records show that this past summer Dekalb Coun-

ty exceeded the approved design ca-

We pacity of their water plant.

told

them they had to come to grips with

this matter and give us a program to

meet their water needs. We're going

to have to clamp down on them
sometime. We haven't said we're go-
ing to do it now, but we've given
them fair warning. You just can't get
into a situation where you just keep connecting customers because when the drought comes, everybody's out
of water.
So the matter of a dam on this or
that river for any purpose has got to be put into perspective. This involves input from more than governmental
-- agencies it involves input from all
the people. It involves more than just the concern of the groups emphasizing growth and development of a
particular area.
The people's resources need more public participation in their manage-
ment. Outdoors in Georgia: There's an-
other question that I should ask. Is there really anything government can
do about water problems? How do
you answer critics who say that gov-
ernmental rules and regulations just get in the way and add more bureaucratic red tape instead of helping?
Ledbetter: Well, government can and must deal with matters like natu-
ral resources. Like many other citi-
zens, I get concerned about certain areas into which government is moving and operating. But if there's one area which government must exercise a strong role it is in the proper management, utilization and protection of natural resources.
These resources do not belong to a
-- corporation or to any group they
don't belong to any conservation or
-- any environmental group they be-
long to all the people of the country.
-- We all have a concern at stake if
the government is not going to manage these resources, who is? The question is, how do you manage these
resources without getting over-regulated? Well, you have the people
who talk about free enterprise and
worry about governmental encroachment on the rights of privacy and so forth, but those people cannot operate as an island in today's society. They cannot operate as a hermit.
They are the same ones who squawk loudest if some other user of the resource encroaches upon them. Then they are ready for government

26

Outdoors it? Georgia

We to come and deal with it.

see that

often. And I get some satisfaction

out of that, some days, too. Often
you hear those people who have al-
ways said that we have too much
government and too much regula-
-- tion you hear them scream be-- cause some neighbors polluting their
fishing lake or something they
scream to us, "Why in the hell aren't

you doing your job?"
To the people who say that we

have too much government and too
-- much regulation I say, stop and

think, think about the fact that we

are no longer trying to conquer the

west. We've conquered it, used it, wasted it, and now we've gotten ourselves down to the point where we're

going to have to deal with very lim-

ited resources.
When you look at Georgia, California, or the world, you know that

we've got limited resources and we're

going to have to manage them

whether you're talking about air,

water, aluminum, iron or energy.
-- They're all very limited and we've

just started to manage them.

Outdoors in Georgia: Frankly
then, how do you view the water fu-

ture of Georgia?

Ledbetter: Well, I guess I'm natu-

rally an optimist. Life's too short to

go through it being a pessimist. I
think that if we get some good legis-

lation which I know we can and

will because we've got people that

are knowledgeable in the legislature,

we'll get the proper management

tools that will see us through.

We're quite fortunate in Georgia;

after all, we're the largest state east

of the Mississippi, and we still have
most of the state undeveloped. We

have some gross abuse of our water
-- resources but nothing like some

We areas of the Northeast.

don't

have the kind of shortages that the

western states have.

I think that the future of the

Southeast, Georgia in particular, is

very optimistic. We're going to have

to recognize though, that there are

certain areas of this state where fu-

ture utilization of water is going to

be very limited.

We're going to have to recognize

that the better approach to resource management is to live within our

means.
Outdoors in Georgia: What can

the readers of Outdoors in Georgia

and other citizens do to help solve

these water problems?

-- Ledbetter: Well, I think they need
to become better informed and I

hope articles like this will help them. They need to become knowledgeable

to the point that they recognize the

resource limitations and relate wa-

ter to energy and to other resources.

Then they need to express their

concern to the elected officials. They

need to let their local officials know,

for example, that they don't want

them to attract the wrong type of in-
-- dustry to their community that they

don't want them to allocate the avail-

able water resources to one or two

industries.

They need to express these kinds

of concerns to their local officials,
their own local chambers of com-

merce, so that these officials are real-

ly wise in selecting and recruiting

additional commercial operations in-

to their area.

They need to express the same

concerns to their elected state offici-

als and urge them to use caution in

allocating the people's resources.

Understand, when we bring more

people and more industry into Geor-

gia, we're slicing the resource pie

again and allocating some of it away.

Simple math tells you that there is

only 100 percent and every time we

use a fraction, that fraction is no

longer available. Whether it goes to

a pulp mill or to a candy factory or

to an automobile assembly plant or

whatever, it's gone. It's been used.
The man on the street has to be-

gin to understand that, to grasp that
he needs to let officials know that he

wants them to deal with his resources

in a wise manner.

<j|)

400_

Increased demand for surface water by industrial and community expansion could outstrip the supply without proper management.

January 1977

27

Soapstone

28

Outdoors it? Georgia

Ribae

T o preserve an ancient soapstone quarry site in the
metropolitan Atlanta area, a group of Georgians banded together in a massive fund-raising effort. Their goal $300,000. What magic mystique has led these people,
some of whom have never seen the site, to devote many
-- hours in making contacts begging and pleading for -- money from all sources to purchase this precious
place?
Soapstone Ridge in DeKalb, Fulton and Clayton Counties is, geologically, the largest ultramafic intrusion in Georgia and perhaps in the southern Piedmont area. Although the soapstone nomenclature is used synonymously with steatite, it refers to all talcose massive rocks. Early inhabitants of Georgia possibly 3,000-5,000
-- -- years ago who knew this fine-grained rock would hold
and radiate heat without breaking, chose to quarry it to
make bowls, pipes, atlatl (spear thrower) weights, etc. Since this was the pre-pottery period, these utensils became valuable, not only in usage, but also in bartering.
Evidence of extensive quarrying, both above ground
-- and below, has been found this was possibly the first
"industrial park" in Georgia. Although the whole ridge of 25 square miles has been nominated for the National
Register of Historic Places, three particular properties
which contain the largest and best preserved aboriginal steatite quarries in the southeastern United States have been on the prestigious National Register List since 1973.
One of these sites was to have been acquired by the Georgia Heritage Trust Program in 1974 when one negative vote against the purchase on the State Properties Commission put its acquisition into limbo. This one
-- is called the "prime quarry site" on the Ridge this is
where the citizens' group named the "Preserve Soap-
stone" task force enters the picture.
Banding together in a statewide effort for one imme-
-- -- diate purpose only to buy this prime site the "P.S."
task force has representatives from the Georgia Heritage Trust Commission, the Georgia Conservancy, the Nature Conservancy, the DeKalb Federation of Garden Clubs, Georgia State University, the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, Fernbank Science Center, the DeKalb Historical Society, the Natural Science for Youth Founda-
tion, the Atlanta Audubon Society, the Cedar Grove Civic Association and the DeKalb County Departments
January 1977

By Linda Billingsley
Photography by OIG Staff
One of the prime quarry sites shows many evidences of the ancient Indians' work to break off hunks of
-- soapstone to fashion into bowls. Some were apparently
unfinished when abandoned no one knows why. 29

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of Planning and Parks. Armed with a commitment from the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners of $50,000
from the 1977 budget, these citizens are leaving no "soapstone" unturned in Georgia to try to raise the additional needed money to buy this site.
The Georgia Conservancy has set up a special receiving account for donations which are tax-deductible and will be returned to donors if this site is not purchased. Most of the DeKalb delegation to the General Assembly are also supporting this acquisition. The base of support, though, must be an effort by concerned citizens to preserve this rare example of past culture that
is in great danger of being lost forever. In August, the Georgia Heritage Trust Commission
adopted a resolution which said, in part: "The Georgia Heritage Trust Commission supports the citizens' efforts in DeKalb County to raise the money to purchase the Prime Soapstone Quarry Site. . .and offers help and assistance, wherever possible.
"The preservation of this nationally significant archaeological site is urgent if the area is to be saved for future generations as an educational research laboratory and
as a natural scenic area."
-- In addition to its archaeological significance, this site
does indeed contain a beautiful natural setting an abundance of wildflowers, wildlife, large rock outcrops, steep slopes, marshes, a lake and a near climax hard-
wood forest. The added benefit is through opportunities
for passive recreation, such as nature trails, accessible to
a large metropolitan area. What other major city in the
United States has such a rare and significant oasis on its border?
Georgians are blessed with a fantastic opportunity to

NJSALE
Commercial development from expanding Atlanta threatens Soapstone Ridge.
help preserve this fascinating place for present and fu-
ture generations. Many examples of late Indian sites
(500-1200 years ago) have been preserved in Georgia
--Etowah and Ocmulgee Indian Mounds are but two -- examples but none are nearly as old as Soapstone
Ridge.
Editor's Note: Linda Billingsley is Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Conservancy and is a
member of the Georgia Heritage Trust Commission. She
has been very active in efforts to preserve Soapstone Ridge.

30

Outdoors ip Georgia

Letters
to tl>e Editor
Here's proof that I enjoy OIG.
Enclosed is my check for another
three year renewal. However, I must
object to the editorial in the November issue of OIG.
First, your so-called negative ac-
tion by Congressman McDonald is
not viewed as such by all of us in the Seventh District. This particu-
lar park controversy was made an
issue by his opponent before the recent election, and we re-elected a great Congressman.
I personally don't feel that I should be taxed for Atlanta's parks
and recreation, and that's exactly the real reason for the Chattahoochee Park. The Atlanta newspapers, in so many words, recently stated this and their concern for Atlanta's future park needs. Obviously Atlanta is not concerned with the cesspool below Atlanta which is also the Chattahoochee.
As I understand it, several parks, here and elsewhere, are being closed for lack of interest and funds.
Why not a user fee? With a proper
fee all worthy parks, recreation areas and even National Forests could be self-sustaining. Properly designed
and laid out with only one, maybe two entrances, and exits at the larger
areas, they could be better controlled
with less manpower than presently
required. Also this to a great extent would eliminate the midnight disturbances, such as the recent ones at Lakes Lanier and Allatoona.
OIG is not available free to every-
one and that's as it should be in a capitalistic society. Parks and recreation should not be exempted. Noth-
ing is free. Oversimplification, per-
haps, but we all must live with
reality.
Alfred W. Garrett, Jr.
Cedartown, GA
I was somewhat encouraged by
-- the editorial, "No Park This Year,"

which appeared in the November issue of Outdoors in Georgia. This was the first item of substance to appear in your publication since you tossed caution to the wind in August and took a firm stand in opposition to deaths on the highway.
It is disheartening that the fine talent which produces the bland stories found within your colorful covers can't be channeled toward informing citizens about current and important environmental issues such
as PCB's and the proposed Richard B. Russell Dam. These problems are real, immediate, and demand our attention and action, now. I doubt that they will ever be dealt with in Outdoors in Georgia.
What are PCB's? How will they effect our environment? How can
future spills be avoided? What will
the latest Corps of Engineer Pyramid cost taxpayers, the sportsman, our children? Your magazine has the potential to inform Georgia's citizens, and the citizen has the right to be informed.
Your magazine is safe; I'm quite sure that you anger no one. That, I
fear, is a condemnation, not a praise. You, as journalists, are not doing your job if no eyebrows are raised.
So, be content to produce a magazine with pretty photographs and moody little tales of someone's childhood love affair with his rifle and
continue to ignore the important, yes controversial, issues that will ultimately determine our state's future.
Richard Simon
GA East Point,
See page 19, this issue.
I have delayed writing you for the first 2-3 years because I didn't want to take all the time necessary to find all the nice words I could say about your magazine. Your features, photography and art are outstanding. As a former part-time hunter, out-
doorsman, and now particularly as a
part-time fisherman, you stand at the
very top of my magazine list.
I travel a lot in the southeastern

states and spend considerable time in your southeastern area (SavannahBrunswick).
Fishing in some of our travels is sometimes limited due to the high
cost of non-resident licenses. Why
don't the states make it easier for
traveling senior citizens with limited incomes to fish as long as they are paying guests of that state?
Enclosed is my check for three
more years.
J. C. Stone
Bynum, AL
ANS. Thanks for the kind words. As to the matter of fishing licenses and travelers, the income derived
from the sale of licenses is a very large part of the budget for our fisheries management activities. Our
non-resident fishing licenses, at $10.25 (season) or $3.25 (5-day trip) are hardly exorbitant. Regardless of what other fees or costs a tourist pays during the course of a visit, they directly contribute very
little to the work of our fisheries
section.
Here is my subscription to Outdoors in Georgia. To be honest, I've
been skeptical about subscribing to a "sportsman's" magazine because I
don't hunt or fish regularly. However, seeing some old copies of OIG
on a friend's desk I glanced inside and discovered that your magazine covers the whole outdoor spectrum.
As a photographer who enjoys the outdoors very much I was amazed
and delighted at the full scope of articles in OIG. The photography is great, the articles informative and high-spirited. I even enjoyed the hunting stories.
I'm also giving a gift subscription
to a friend. Now we both can enjoy the magazine for ALL people who
love Georgia's outdoors!
Enclosed please find my check
for the amount of eight ($8.00) dol-
lars, five ($5.00) for my subscrip-
tion plus three ($3.00) for the gift subscription.
Russell Clay
GA Marietta,

Jaijuary 1977

31

Outdoors Toucl? ii)

edited by Bill Hammack

PCB INVESTIGATION IN GEORGIA
Joe D. Tanner, Commissioner of Georgia's Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and Leonard Ledbetter, Director of DNR's Environmental Protection Division, had some good news on the PCB front for anglers in the Lake Hartwell section. Earlier, Tanner had had good news about PCBs for fishermen and fish-
erwomen throughout Georgia, save in the Coosa River basin. However, Tanner and Jack Crockford, director
of DNR's Game and Fish Division, had some bad news
for duck and woodcock hunters in the Coosa RiverFloyd County area.
PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl) created great concern not long ago when its presence above the five parts per million (ppm) limit recommended by the federal Food and Drug Administration was detected in some Georgia fish.
Last August the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an advisory against eating fish from the main body of Lake Hartwell and the Tugaloo River. However, Leonard Ledbetter held that this action by EPA was taken on incomplete data, and that fish from Georgia waters in the Hartwell area posed no problem. In November, the EPA agreed with Ledbetter and lifted its advisory against eating fish taken from Tugaloo River and the main body of Hartwell. As
soon as DNR heard that happy word, Tanner and Led-
better let everybody know.
Word for hunters in the Coosa basin, however, is not happy. Investigation by DNR revealed that wood ducks, mallards and woodcock from the Coosa-Floyd County area have PCB levels exceeding the five ppm limit, and the Board of Natural Resources issued an
advisory against eating them. Jack Crockford said, "I
am not surprised at these findings in light of the PCB
levels in fish taken from streams in this area."
In September DNR closed the Coosa from Rome to the Alabama border and sections of the Oostanaula
and Etowah Rivers to commercial fishing and issued advisories against eating fish from those portions of those streams because of PCB levels above the five
ppm limit. The advisories on these rivers are still in effect. The Coosa was closed to commercial fishing
from the confluence of the Etowah and Oostanaula Rivers to the state line. The Etowah was closed to commercial fishing from the U.S. Highway 41 1 bridge downstream to the confluence with the Oostanaula, which was closed from State Highway 156 downstream to the confluence with the Etowah.
Crockford emphasized that the advisory against
eating wood ducks, mallards and woodcock taken in the Coosa basin area does not apply to game birds in any other area of the state.
Other wildlife tested by DNR in this area showed either minor trace amounts of PCB or the chemical was

not detectible. Among species tested were squirrels,
bullfrogs, beavers, rabbits, snakes and muskrats. Investigation for PCB continues throughout the state
as EPD and Game and Fish monitor wildlife. In a state-
wide study of fish taken from streams and lakes throughout Georgia, EPD found that no closure or warning advisory was necessary except in the Coosa basin. In fact, PCB was non-detectible in the majority
of the fish tested-- traces of PCB below 0.20 ppm are
not detectible.
On balance, anglers and hunters in Georgia can be free from PCB fear, except in the Coosa basin. DNR
will continue its investigations in that area-- as well as staying on the alert for PCB or any other chemical hazard throughout the state-- and will immediately report to the public whatever they find as soon as they
find it.
CONSERVATION RANGERS ON THE JOB, ON THE GROUND . . .
Time: the night of Nov. 8 and the early morning hours of Nov. 9.
Place: Coffee County, Ga.
Sgt. Harvey McCauley and Ranger Herman Wells of
the Game and Fish Law Enforcement Section got a phone call from somebody who wanted to remain
anonymous. The caller tipped the rangers about what might be some illegal night hunting for deer by a certain person on a certain field in Coffee County. The rangers drove out to the field and waited. By 8:30 p.m., a pickup truck appeared. Soon, the intent of the two persons in the truck became obvious. The officers apprehended the men for illegal deer hunting at night, carried them to the sheriff's office and confiscated the vehicle and firearms. Neither was the man about
whom they had been tipped. They returned to the same
field, parking in the same spot near the field. At 10:30 p.m. they stopped a second truck with two individuals in it, made a case for hunting deer at night, took these two to the sheriff's office and confiscated the vehicle and guns. The rangers still had not caught the man
about whom they had been warned. Again they re-
turned to the same field, same parking spot. At 1:15 in the morning, a third truck with two men in it showed
up. The rangers attempted to stop it, but the truck took off, the driver ignoring the flashing blue light of the rangers. The rangers chased the truck for three miles,
when the driver of the truck lost control and hit a pine tree. The truck was demolished. The rangers took the men to the hospital. Neither was the man they had been told to apprehend. When the hunters were re-
leased back into the custody of the rangers, the officers carried them to the sheriff's office and did the paperwork confiscating the wrecked truck.

32

Outdoors it? Georgia

After arresting six men, confiscating five firearms and three vehicles in about five hours, the only comment Sgt. McCauley had was, "If Herman Wells and I hadn't run out of nighttime hours, I do believe we'd
have caught the man we were looking for. Maybe we'll
have better luck next time."
AND . . . IN THE AIR
As Georgia's first 1976 dove season opened, avia-
tion support for Game and Fish Law Enforcement resulted in 70 cases being made for illegal hunting, most
of which were booked on opening day, reports Captain Charles A. Spillner, chief pilot of the Law Enforcement
Section.
In providing aerial support for dove season opening this year, the aviation unit flew more than 29 hours, checking fields throughout the state. Law Enforcement fliers and airborne observers always are on the lookout for any illegal activity, such as illegal fishing, coastal and inland, night deer hunting and baited duck ponds.
"Besides assisting in the apprehension of violators,
Game and Fish Law Enforcement aircraft on patrol act
as a deterrent to illegal hunting and fishing," Spillner
said. "Our records show that when we log a good num-
ber of hours of flight time in an area, illegal activity there is reduced."
Game and Fish Law Enforcement aircraft, while few
in number, cover the state.
LEWIS ISLAND, A NATIONAL LANDMARK
Lewis Island, which lies above Darien in the lower Altamaha River swamp, has become an official item on the National Registry of Natural Landmarks.
In ceremonies at Darien, a bronze plaque signifying
the island's new status was presented to the state of Georgia. Sam Cofer of St. Simons Island, coastal mem-
ber of the Board of Natural Resources, accepted the plaque on behalf of the state from David Thompson of the National Park Service.
Cofer said Lewis Island is a prime example of a
rare natural area, noting that it exhibits several rare
species of plant and animal life. He said 1,300 year old bald cypress trees grow on the island, and that swallowtail kites have been observed there.
He pointed out that "William Bartram was one of
the first natural historians to assess our local natural heritage. The acquisition of Lewis Island helps us
carry forward and protect what Bartram first saw. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources accepts re-
sponsibility for the stewardship of this area." Lewis Island will eventually be used for outdoor
education, primitive recreation, hunting and fishing and other activities, Cofer said.
FIRESIDE CRAFT-ART SHOW
February 19-20, 1977 Unicoi State Park
Have you ever watched the hands of a true artisan as he skillfully completed the fabrication of some item
Jarniary 1977

such as a beautiful basket, a colorful quilt soon to
grace a little girl's bedroom or perhaps a handmade doll worthy of your greatest envy? Many of these almost forgotten arts and crafts will be on display at Unicoi State Park between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, February 19-20, 1977, as the annual Fireside Craft-Art Show opens,
opens.
For the second year, Unicoi's beautiful lodge and conference center will be the scene for this show which
will attract many of the finest craftsmen from the Southeast who will be exhibiting and selling their work
at the show. Unicoi State Park superintendent, Glenn Suggs, has
stated that he and his staff are eagerly awaiting this year's show, fully anticipatfng last year's visitation of 4,000 people will be easily surpassed. There will be
many special activities planned over the winter week-
end at the north Georgia mountains state park such as craft demonstrations and mountain music.
Unicoi's restaurant will feature its usual good food from old country recipes and hospitality from breakfast through supper both days.
The park will provide parking and shuttle service from the parking area to the lodge at no cost. Suggs quickly reassures anyone interested in attending the show that there is no admission charge to any of the special activities planned for the weekend.
Overnight accommodations are available at Unicoi and in the nearby alpine village of Helen.
At least 40 craftsmen from throughout the Southeast are planning to exhibit their wares with crafts ranging from basketry, candles, creative blacksmith-
ing, dulcimer making, handblown glass, handmade dolls, handmade furniture, and jewelry. There will also be exhibits on macrame, photography, pottery, stained glass, stuffed toys, watercolors, weaving and wood carving.
Information on lodging at Unicoi State Park as well as printed information on the second annual Fireside
Craft-Art Show may be obtained by contacting Unicoi
State Park, P.O. Box 256, Helen, Georgia 30545, (404) 878-2201.
MAGAZINE PRICES GO UP
In March subscription rates for Outdoors in Georgia will be raised. The new rates will be: $5.00 for one year, $8.00 for two years, and $9.00 for three years. In addition, the six month subscription offer will be dropped. All new subscriptions postmarked before March 1, 1977 will be processed at the old rates.
The decision to raise the rates was not made lightly. The same inflationary spiral which has
affected the business community has affected Outdoors in Georgia. In the face of rising costs it has become necessary to increase prices if the quality of the magazine is to be maintained.
33

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Received
FEB 7 1977
DOCUMENTS UCA LIBRARIES

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