Why are there only Francis Marion & Sumter (FM&S) National Forests employees on the core team?
Because the Sumter Revised Land and Resource Management Plan was appealed, and the Sumter is the lead forest for management of the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River, core team members were selected from the Francis Marion and Sumter. The core team is also working closely with an extended core team – pulling expertise as needed from the National Forests in North Carolina and the Chattahoochee National Forest. Later, an interdisciplinary team of experts from all 3 forests will determine the impacts (social, biological and physical) of the various alternatives developed for managing the Chattooga River above Highway 28. The core team is comprised of 2 FM&S employees, all based in Columbia: Tony White (team leader) and Joe Robles. 35. Will public input/meetings impact the Forest Service’s final decision? Yes. For example, we listened to input we received at the first meeting, and we made changes in the format for the second meeting. We plan to continue considering the comments we receive in
