This weekend I decided to count up all the Upper Chattooga "Action Alert" e-mail comments sent to the Sumter Forest Service from the CamoCoalition.com, ProtectGeorgia.com, Georgia Outdoor Network, Trout Unlimited and other web sites. Most of the comments were either for Alternative 1 (paddling ban), Alternative 4 (de facto paddling ban) or Alternative 8 (no paddling ban or restrictions).
I categorized all the comments that supported Alternative 8 as Pro-Paddling. Everything else was categorized as Anti-Paddling. I don't guarantee the following numbers are 100% accurate, but they are close enough for government work. Here are the results:
CamoCoalition.com Action Alert:
Anti-Paddling: 657….67%
Pro-Paddling: 318….33%
I still have a warm spot in my heart for CamoCoalition.com. If you remember, it was the first site we used to submit our Forest Service comments. It took them 18 hours to discover Pro-Paddling comments were being sent through their site before they shut it down. Ahhh censorship! The hour it was shut down, Pro-Paddling comments outnumbers Anti by 50! The site came back as a members-only site later the next day and remained active for almost a week. We used the site for less then a day and Pro-Paddling comments account for almost a third of all comments submitted through CamoCoalition.com! I’d call that a win!
Trout Unlimited Action Alert:
Most paddlers didn't know that Trout Unlimited had their own official comment site going. We knew about it, but it wasn't widely publicized. TU didn't trust their members to tow the party line. So, their members were only allowed to add a closing comment to the official TU anti-paddling talking points. Stalin would have been so proud!
Anti-Paddling: 310….100%
Pro-Paddling: 0….….0%
Here’s a cool fact: TU generated 310 comments the entire time their site was up. Compare that with Paddlers who, in 18 hours, generated 318 comments on the CamoCoalitoin.com site! That's another win!!!
Georgia Outdoor Network Action Alert:
This was probably the best site. It came online late in the game and we were able to use it for about two days. They didn't require a membership and allowed everyone to write their own comments instead of using a form letter. However, the information that was given to their members was misleading. Many of them thought the Forest Service was allowing motor boats and commercial rafts in the Upper Chattooga. One guy simply wanted to know when the water was going to be turned on in his hunting lodge!
Anti-Paddling: 266….75%
Pro-Paddling: 88….25%
Still we managed a 25% comment rate in the short time we knew about the site! I’d call that another WIN!!
Miscellaneous & Protect Georgia Action Alert:
I couldn't remember which sites all the Action Alert e-mails came from, so I grouped the ones I couldn't identify in a miscellaneous category along with ProtectGeorgia.com.
Anti-Paddling: 351….90%
Pro-Paddling: 36.…10%
Can't win them all!
Now let's look at the totals of all the Action Alert E-Mail sites combined:
All Action Alert Comments
Anti-Paddling: 1584….78%
Pro-Paddling: 442....22%
With all the roadblocks stopping Paddlers from using the sites, like membership requirements, websites going offline, hidden web pages, not being on the "Action Alert" e-mail notification list and not being able to change the comment; Paddlers still turned in a whopping 22%!! WOW!!
Now lets take out the Trout Unlimited Action Alert site. Remember, you couldn't send a Pro-Paddling comment through TU, only the official TU anti-paddling talking points. No free thought allowed!
All Action Alert Comments minus TU
Anit-Paddling (no TU) 1274….64%
Pro-Paddling (no TU) 442….26%
WOW! Even with all the obstacles in our way, the very motivated paddling community stepped up to the key board and delivered a 26% Pro-Paddling comment rate!! WOW!!
Remember, a majority of the Action Alert comments were submitted from people who had little or no prior knowledge of the Upper Chattooga issue. All they really knew came from a one-sided statement that said something like "save the pristine Upper Chattooga from destructive Paddling." I can't help but wonder what would have happened if they had honest information from both sides of the argument. Maybe the guy that didn’t want boats on the Upper Chattooga because it brings in fuel might have changed his mind.
How will all the Action Alert e-mail comments affect the Forest Service's final management decision? In an interview with Indipendentmail.com, Michelle Burnett, a public affairs officer with the U.S. Forest Service in Columbia said,
"We have gotten a lot of the same comment, many in the form of form letters," Burnett said. "For example, if we received responses from 500 individuals who all submitted the exact same comment, then that one unique comment would be addressed."
Read the entire article here:
Sounds like a lot of time, effort and money went to submit a single ani-paddling vote! However, I can't help but feel the sheer number of comments will play into the Forest Service’s final management decision somehow.
The Forest Service says they don't pay attention to sheer numbers. However, your Congressmen and Senators do! The deadline to submit comments on the Upper Chattooga proposed management plan has passed for you and me, but not for them! Please take a moment to forward your comments to your Senators and Congressmen. Ask them to help persuade the Forest Service to manage the Upper Chattooga in a fair and equitable manner, and allow the paddling community the same access as other environmentally friendly user groups enjoy.
What happened when I wrote my Congressman and Senator? My Congressman sent me a noncommittal form letter. However, my Senator replied by sending a Pro-Paddling letter to the Forest Service's DC office and then on to the Sumter Forest Service. The Forest Service doesn't care who I am, but they listen when a Congressman or Senator talks.
Rob’s Capital Hill Vote:
Congressman: 0……50%
Senator: 1……50%
I'd call that another win! Your voice can be heard!
Send your vote to Capital Hill. Don't be out voted by an angler. If we work together, we can win this one!
Rob Maxwell
Atlanta, GA
Upper Chattooga Online Action Alert Comments -- I Counted Them All -- Here Are The Results New 
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