Georgia ForestWatch

06/05/2026

Tomorrow is National Trails Day, and there’s no better place to celebrate than the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest!

Whether you're joining a volunteer project, exploring a favorite trail, attending a guided hike, or simply getting outside with family and friends, National Trails Day is a chance to connect with the places that make our public lands special. This year's celebration also includes a Forest Service fee-free day at standard amenity recreation sites.

Looking for an event near you? We've got opportunities happening across the forest.

Check out the full list of National Trails Day events and activities here:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/r08/chattahoochee-oconee/events

However you choose to celebrate, remember to recreate responsibly and help leave our trails a little better than you found them.

06/01/2026

Georgia ForestWatch is the only nonprofit organization with a mission solely dedicated to ensuring the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest remains healthy and available for future generations, and we can only pursue our mission with the support of the community.
Visit our website at www.gaw.org

05/29/2026

05/29/2026

The White House is attempting to slash and burn the USFS and completely eliminate the agency’s forest research programs in their proposed FY2026 budget.

Future generations are counting on us to be good stewards of our shared public forests, and these USFS research programs protect trees, reduce destructive wildfires, and keep forest ecosystems healthy. Losing this vital research to draconian budget cuts is unacceptable.

Tell your member of Congress today: Full funding for the US Forest Service and forest research programs is non-negotiable!

Please share this post and click the link below to take action today:

https://www.votervoice.net/GreatOldBroads/campaigns/137757/respond

(Photo: Robert Lee Cortes/Pixabay)

05/28/2026

EPA will accept public comments on the proposed rules for 60 days and hold a virtual public hearing on July 7, 2026, for which people can register at the link below to provide verbal comments on both of the proposed rules to EPA.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/public-hearing-for-proposed-regulations-related-to-pfas-in-drinking-water-tickets-1988851418130?aff=oddtdtcreator

EPA wants to gut protections against toxic PFAS or “forever chemicals” in drinking water — putting polluters ahead of public health.

These chemicals have been linked to cancer, liver disease, harm to children and pregnant women, heart attacks, and more. Communities across the country have spent years fighting for clean water, and now those protections are on the chopping block.

“By abandoning and delaying enforceable limits on dangerous industrial chemicals like GenX and other PFAS, the agency is putting polluters’ profits over people and sending a clear message that corporate interests matter more than human lives.” - Kelly Moser, senior attorney and water program leader.

In places like North Carolina’s Cape Fear River Basin, families are already living with the impacts of PFAS contamination while utilities and ratepayers shoulder massive cleanup costs. Polluters should pay, not the public.

Clean drinking water is not optional. EPA must protect people, not corporate polluters.

Photo by Cornell Watson

05/27/2026

Protect the Roadless Rule. It has protected 45 million acres of America's public lands, 63,000 of which are part of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. We need your help! Visit www.savetheroadlessrule.org to take action.

05/22/2026

🗳️

The team at More Than Just Parks have built a handy new accountability tool that shows how every member of Congress votes on America's national parks, national forests, monuments, wilderness areas, and wildlife refuges.

See whether your senators and representatives are in support of public lands here:
https://morethanjustparks.com/congressional-public-lands-score/

05/22/2026

ForestWatch Journal! Links are in captions ~

05/15/2026

AUCTION CLOSED.

Here's the official auction post!

Bidding takes place in the comments of each photo.
Bids are in $5 increments.
Please do not edit bids, place a new comment instead.
Bidding closes on Sunday May 17th at 6pm ET