The public will have a chance to learn more about the tug-of-war over recreation on the Chattooga River at a public meeting sponsored by the National Forest Service from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, July 27, in Highlands.

Paddling is currently banned on the upper 21 miles of the Chattooga River, a Wild and Scenic River that tumbles off the Cashiers Plateau. The controversial ban was put in place in the mid-1970s by the Sumter National Forest in South Carolina to protect the river’s solitude and wilderness experience, primarily for backcountry fishermen.

Prompted by a challenge from the national paddling organization American Whitewater, the forest service office in Washington, D.C., found there is a lack of data to justify the ban and ordered the Sumter National Forest to re-examine the ban. The Sumter National Forest is in the early stages of a study.

“The purpose of this meeting is to update the public on where we are in process, share information on data collection methods and explain how the public can assist us in this data collection,” said Francis Marion and Sumter National Forest Supervisor Jerome Thomas.

Forest Service staff and contractors hired to help with the study will present an overview of the data collection methods they will be using. There will also be “interest stations” to answer specific questions about data collection methods and how the public can assist.

Specific topics to be covered at the interest stations include:

• Review of existing literature on the Chattooga River and studies of similar rivers.

• Field observations of existing recreational uses and conditions within the upper and lower Chattooga River corridors.

• Assessments of trail conditions, campsites, litter, and water quality.

• Collection of information on river flows at all four upper river bridges.

• Reconnaissance trips down the river at various flow levels with expert panels of boaters, anglers and researchers.

The visitor use capacity analysis will help make a more informed decision about how the upper section of the river should be managed, according to the Sumter National Forest.

American Whitewater has filed a lawsuit against the Sumter National Forest, questioning why the ban should remain in place while the study is being conducted. If there is no data to justify the ban, the river should be open to paddling until proven otherwise — not closed to paddling until proven otherwise, according to the suit. The Chattooga is the only Wild and Scenic River in the nation where paddling is banned.

The meeting will be held at the Highlands Civic Center located at 600 North 4th Street, which is also U.S. 64.

For additional information on this project see the Francis Marion/ Sumter National Forest’s Web site at www.fs.fed.us/r8/fms.