Cohutta Wilderness

Cohutta Wilderness
IUCN category Ib (wilderness area)
Location	Fannin / Murray / Gilmer counties, Georgia / Polk County, Tennessee, USA
Nearest city	Crandall, Georgia
Coordinates	34°52′32″N 84°37′32″W / 34.87556°N 84.62556°W / 34.87556; -84.62556Coordinates: 34°52′32″N 84°37′32″W / 34.87556°N 84.62556°W / 34.87556; -84.62556
Area	36,977 acres (150 km2)
Established	1975
Governing body	U.S. Forest Service

The Cohutta Wilderness was designated in 1975, expanded in 1986, and currently consists of 36,977 acres (149.64 km²). Approximately 35,268 acres (142.72 km²) are located in Georgia in the Chattahoochee National Forest and approximately 1,709 acres (6.92 km²) are located in Tennessee in the Cherokee National Forest. The Wilderness is managed by the United States Forest Service in Tennessee and is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System.

The Cohutta Wilderness is the second-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.^[1] 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 with the enjoyment of a true wilderness experience".^[2]

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 of the Conasauga River are located within the Wilderness, where the river starts as small cold stream from a spring at around 3,600 feet (1,100 m) and flows north toward Tennessee. The Benton MacKaye Trail 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".^[3]

See also

• List of U.S. Wilderness Areas
• Wilderness Act

References

External links

• Wilderness.net entry for the Cohutta Wilderness
• Sherpa Guides entry for the Cohutta Wilderness
• Consauga River Alliance - Cohutta Wilderness

v t e Protected areas of Georgia Federal National historic sites and military parks Andersonville NHS Jimmy Carter NHS Martin Luther King, Jr. NHS Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park National monuments Fort Frederica Fort Pulaski Ocmulgee National forests Chattahoochee Oconee National wildlife refuges Banks Lake Blackbeard Island Bond Swamp Eufaula Harris Neck Okefenokee Piedmont Savannah Wassaw Wolf Island Wilderness Areas Big Frog Wilderness Blood Mountain Wilderness Brasstown Wilderness Cohutta Wilderness Cumberland Island National Seashore Ellicott Rock Wilderness Mark Trail Wilderness Okefenokee Wilderness Raven Cliffs Wilderness Rich Mountain Wilderness Southern Nantahala Wilderness Tray Mountain Wilderness Wild and Scenic Rivers Chattooga River National Trails Appalachian Trail Pinhoti National Recreation Trail Other protected areas Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area Cumberland Island National Seashore Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve State Parks Amicalola Falls Black Rock Mountain Bobby Brown Buck Shoals Chattahoochee Bend Cloudland Canyon Crooked River Don Carter Elijah Clark F.D. Roosevelt Florence Marina Fort Mountain Fort Yargo General Coffee George L. Smith George T. Bagby Georgia Veterans Gordonia-Alatamaha Hamburg Hard Labor Creek Hart High Falls Indian Springs James H. "Sloppy" Floyd John Tanner Laura S. Walker Little Ocmulgee Magnolia Springs Mistletoe Moccasin Creek Panola Mountain Providence Canyon Red Top Mountain Reed Bingham Richard B. Russell Sapelo Island Seminole Skidaway Island Smithgall Woods Sprewell Bluff Standing Boy Creek Stephen C. Foster Sweetwater Creek Tallulah Gorge Tugaloo Unicoi Victoria Bryant Vogel Watson Mill Bridge Historic parks and sites A.H. Stephens Chief Vann House Dahlonega Gold Museum Etowah Indian Mounds Fort McAllister Fort King George Fort Morris Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation Jarrell Plantation Jefferson Davis Memorial Kolomoki Mounds Lapham-Patterson House Little White House New Echota Pickett's Mill Battlefield Robert Toombs House Travelers Rest Wormsloe Forests Baldwin Bartram Brender-Hitchiti Dixon Memorial Dawson Hightower Paulding Spirit Creek Other Centennial Olympic Park Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center Jekyll Island Lake Lanier Islands Okefenokee Swamp Radium Springs Sapelo Island Stone Mountain Park County, Municipal and Other Parks Cobb County Parks McIntosh Reserve Murphey Candler Park Okefenokee Swamp Park Robert G. Hunter Memorial Park Seaborn Jones Memorial Park Shaking Rock Park The Parks at Chehaw Forests & Nature Preserves Autrey Mill Nature Preserve & Heritage Center Fernbank Forest Marshall Forest Morningside Nature Preserve Phinizy Swamp Nature Park Reynolds Nature Preserve Nature & Environmental Education Centers Birdsong Nature Center Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center Chattahoochee Nature Center Cochran Mill Nature Center Dauset Trails Nature Center Dunwoody Nature Center Elachee Nature Science Center Georgia Nature Center Grand Bay Wetland Education Center Melvin L. Newman Wetlands Center Oatland Island Wildlife Center Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center Panola Mountain State Park Nature Center Sandy Creek Nature Center Savannah-Ogeechee Canal Museum & Nature Center Tidelands Nature Center Tybee Island Marine Science Center West Atlanta Watershed Alliance Outdoor Activity Center Georgia Department of Natural Resources Georgia Forestry Commission (web)

v t e Protected areas of Tennessee Federal National Parks Great Smoky Mountains National Park National Historical Parks & Sites Andrew Johnson National Historic Site Cumberland Gap National Historical Park National Military Parks Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Fort Donelson National Battlefield Fort Donelson National Cemetery Shiloh National Cemetery Shiloh National Military Park Stones River National Battlefield Stones River National Cemetery National Recreation Areas Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area National Trails System Appalachian National Scenic Trail Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail Trail of Tears National Historic Trail National Forests Cherokee National Forest National Wildlife Refuges Chickasaw Cross Creeks Hatchie Lake Isom Lower Hatchie Reelfoot Tennessee Wilderness Areas Bald River Gorge Big Frog Big Laurel Branch Citico Creek Cohutta Gee Creek Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Little Frog Mountain Pond Mountain Sampson Mountain Unaka Mountain Other Protected Areas Natchez Trace Parkway Obed Wild and Scenic River State East Tennessee State Parks Big Ridge Booker T. Washington Cove Lake Cumberland Mountain Justin P. Wilson Cumberland Trail Davy Crockett Birthplace Fort Loudoun Frozen Head Harrison Bay Hiwassee/Ocoee Indian Mountain Norris Dam Panther Creek Pickett Red Clay Roan Mountain Sycamore Shoals Warriors' Path Middle Tennessee State Parks Bicentennial Capitol Mall Bledsoe Creek Burgess Falls Cedars Of Lebanon Cordell Hull Birthplace Cummins Falls David Crockett Dunbar Cave Edgar Evins Fall Creek Falls Harpeth River Henry Horton Johnsonville Long Hunter Montgomery Bell Mousetail Landing Old Stone Fort Port Royal Radnor Lake Rock Island Sgt. Alvin C. York South Cumberland Standing Stone Tims Ford West Tennessee State Parks Big Cypress Tree Big Hill Pond Chickasaw Fort Pillow Meeman-Shelby N. B. Forrest Natchez Trace Paris Landing Pickwick Landing Pinson Mounds Reelfoot Lake T.O. Fuller State Forests Bledsoe Cedars of Lebanon Chickasaw Chuck Swan Franklin Lewis Lone Mountain Martha Sundquist Natchez Trace Pickett Prentice Cooper Scott Standing Stone Stewart State Natural Areas Big Bone Cave Colditz Cove Honey Creek House Mountain Piney Falls Laurel-Snow North Chickamauga Creek Gorge Ozone Falls Stillhouse Hollow Falls Stinging Fork Falls Virgin Falls Other Other Catoosa Wildlife Management Area Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (web) - Tennessee Department of Agriculture (web)