The Cohutta Wilderness was designated in 1975, expanded in 1986, and currently consists of . Approximately are located in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

in the

Chattahoochee National Forest The Chattahoochee River forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida - Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattah ...

and approximately are located in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

in the

Cherokee National Forest The Cherokee National Forest is a United States National Forest located in the U.S. states of Tennessee and North Carolina that was created on June 14, 1920. The forest is maintained and managed by the United States Forest Service. It encompasse ...

. The Wilderness is managed by the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

in Tennessee and is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Cohutta2

The Cohutta Wilderness is the largest wilderness in Georgia. With more than 60,000 visitors each year, it is also the largest, most heavily used wilderness in the Southern Appalachians. In May, 2006, the Forest Service announced new limits on the use of the Wilderness, explaining:

"Overuse from visitors is causing resource impacts that are threatening the very qualities that made this area worthy of wilderness designation. Changes in the management of the Cohutta are necessary to reverse this trend to preserve the wilderness environment and provide
future generations Future generations are cohorts of hypothetical people not yet born. Future generations are contrasted with current and past generations, and evoked in order to encourage thinking about intergenerational equity. The moral patienthood of future g ...
with the enjoyment of a true wilderness experience".

Among the new regulations will be limits on the number of people allowed in a single group and on the use of camp fires. The

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

of the

Conasauga River The Conasauga River is a river that runs through southeast Tennessee and northwest Georgia. The Conasauga River is longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 an ...

are located within the Wilderness, where the

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

starts as small cold stream from a

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

at around and flows north toward Tennessee. The

Benton MacKaye Trail The Benton MacKaye Trail or BMT is a footpath nearly in length in the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States and is blazed by a white diamond, 5″ across by 7″ tall. The hiking trail was created and is maintained by the Ben ...

traverses the Wilderness. The Cohutta Wilderness borders the Big Frog Wilderness which is also located in Georgia and Tennessee. The name Cohutta is derived from the Cherokee word ''cohutta'', which means "frog" or could mean "a shed roof supported on poles".

Rough Ridge fire

The Rough Ridge wildfire began on October 16, 2016 with a lightning strike. Due to drought conditions the wildfire rapidly expanded to 27,870 acres. The fire management objectives were to allow the fire to burn naturally and provide for firefighter and public safety.

References

External links

Wilderness.net entry for the Cohutta Wilderness

{{Authority control Wilderness areas of the Appalachians Protected areas of Fannin County, Georgia Protected areas of Gilmer County, Georgia Protected areas of Murray County, Georgia Protected areas of Polk County, Tennessee Wilderness areas of Georgia (U.S. state) Wilderness areas of Tennessee Protected areas established in 1975 Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest Cherokee National Forest 1975 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 1975 establishments in Tennessee

Rough Ridge fire

See also

References

External links