The Chattooga River is one of the Southeast’s great wild gems. From fishing to whitewater to simply enjoying the stillness of nature, it remains a centerpiece of the region’s river culture. Its whitewater became legendary when it was used as the backdrop to the film, Deliverance.
While he was the governor of Georgia, former President Jimmy Carter took a soul-altering trip on the Chattooga River where he ran the infamous Bull-Sluice Rapid in a tandem canoe. He aced it, thanks to the help of paddler Claude Terry, co-founder of American Rivers. In 1974, Carter pushed to have 57 miles of the Chattooga protected as Wild and Scenic. And his experience on the Chattooga would go on to shape his political career as a friend of the environment: Carter worked to expand the national parks system, establish a national energy policy, and create the Department of Energy. He also initiated a “Superfund” to clean up toxic waste sites.
“My motivation was trying to preserve the beauty of God’s world,” said Carter, who at 92 seems as spry as ever. This film is part of a campaign by NRS and American Rivers celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Bravo.
