Through a National Grant from Back Country Horsemen of America, local fundraising efforts, and largely through a donation from a local concerned citizen, Todd Burkhalter from Drive Planning and the Burkhalter Ranch, Back Country Horsemen of North Georgia has purchased two new lawn mowers. One lawnmower replaces the current Jack’s River Fields Campground lawnmower near Blue Ridge, Georgia and the other will be used at the Cottonwood Patch Campground near Chatsworth Georgia.
The longstanding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at JRF has been the focus of fundraisers to purchase weed eaters, hand tools, safety equipment and a trailer to store this equipment. For two years, BCHNG volunteers at Cottonwood Patch have had to rely completely on using their own equipment to complete the required maintenance at Cottonwood Patch Campground. The distance between the two campgrounds is cost prohibitive for volunteers to drive to both campgrounds. With equipment now on both sides of the mountains, it makes the required maintenance tasks much easier and less time consuming.
Back Country Horsemen of North Georgia maintains the Jack’s River Fields Campground in the Chattahoochee National Forest near Blue Ridge. This includes mowing the grass, cleaning the vault toilets, cleaning out the fire rings and keeping up with the general maintenance of the campground. We agreed to take over the maintenance of the campground ten years ago when the Forest Service was going to close it. They entered into an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) to maintain the campground for the Forest Service.
Two years ago, the Forest Service was going to close the Cottonwood Patch Campground near Chatsworth, but BCHNG agreed, through another MOU to maintain that campground also. BCHNG also maintains the equestrian trails in the Conasauga District of the Chattahoochee National Forest including the Cohutta Wilderness. We practice and we teach Leave No Trace principles in our communities.
For additional information on BCHNG, go to our website, bchng.org, our Facebook page, or contact Molly Campbell at mjf1114@ellijay.com.
