The Committee members shall consist of one BOD member; one Chapter member-at-large; and one individual, TU member or not, that is either handicapped or an advocate for the handicapped. The Committee membership shall consist of Wayne Prosser, Jim Nixon, and Jessie Bradshaw. The Committee may select the Chairperson and designate responsibilities.
The Project should be within the geographic bounds of the Rabun Chapter; be accessible to the public on either National Forest or State lands; and be located on managed, stocked trout waters. The Committee shall recommend the location of the handicap fishing pier to be on the Tallulah River, at some specific location to be determined upstream of Nichols Campground and downstream of Tate City. The pier should not be located within developed campgrounds.
The Agency is responsible for the specific site location, planning, design, construction, signage, and maintenance of the Pier. The Committee may offer to provide guidance in these activities.
Other governmental agencies or non-governmental organizations may be involved in this Project. The Committee may recommend that the GA Department of Natural Resources be involved.
All agreements made between the Committee and the Agency should be legal, ethical, documented, and in compliance with Trout Unlimited and Agency policy and guidelines. A Memorandum of Understanding shall be prepared between the Agency and the Rabun Chapter regarding each entities roles and responsibilities in the Project.
The Committee shall offer to provide funds to the Agency to be used towards the Project. The Agency may provide additional funds. The Committee shall commit funds only to the construction and signage of the handicap fishing pier. The Agency shall fund the planning, design, and maintenance of the pier. The Rabun Chapter has committed $2500 in the 2012 Budget for the construction of the fishing pier. The GA Council has available matching funds for this project; the Committee is to apply to the Council for these matching funds. The Committee may pursue other funding options, such as Challenge Cost Share Agreements with the Agency or other partners.
The Committee and Agency should investigate further fisheries enhancement opportunities within the area of the Project. These may include fish structures and, bank stabilization. The Committee may offer the services of the Rabun Chapter, with support from the Agency, to work on enhancing the fisheries within the immediate area of the pier by constructing structures or performing bank stabilization.
A timeline for completion of this Project shall be developed between the Committee and the Agency.
Regular status updates regarding this project shall be made by the Committee to the BOD. Status updates shall be made monthly at BOD meetings and may be posted in TIGHT LINES.
The Committee is authorized to make decisions within the directions provided. If unsure of direction, the Committee shall bring decisions to a vote by a forum of the BOD.
The Agency representative, District Ranger of the Chattooga River RD, has already been briefly approached with this project proposal and is generally supportive. A more formal meeting between the Agency and Committee shall be done soon in order to begin work on the Project. I am available to facilitate this first meeting between the Committee and the Agency, just let me know.
The Rabun Chapter of Trout Unlimited is fully supportive of this Project and looks forward to working together with the Committee and the Agency towards its successful completion.