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32-775: The area was first identified in 1966. It was then designated by Congress in 1975 with the Eastern Wilderness Act . Additional lands were added to Ellicott Rock Wilderness in 1984 with the passing of the North Carolina Wilderness Act and the Georgia Wilderness Act , today designated wilderness totals 8,274 acres (33.48 km). In 1979, all Forest Service land was surveyed under the Roadless Area Review and Evaluation (RARE II) and 1,982 acres (8.02 km) on

64-579: A car or other rolling vehicle. Hatchlings and young turtles need more protein and prefer a carnivorous diet, to which, as they grow, they incorporate more and more plants. A recent study conducted by Davidson College revealed, among other things, that a box turtle can make sounds with its jaws that exceed 75 dB . This sound can be used to scare away predators and even also as some kind of mating call. While it appears that most matings of Terrapene carolina occur in one-on-one encounters, there are occasions when two males will compete for access to

96-494: A dense forest with steep, rugged terrain. Embedded throughout the wilderness landscape are a variety of hardwood trees (creating breathtaking scenes come fall), white pines, and hemlocks with bountiful water sources including a couple waterfalls. One popular waterfall, Spoonauger Falls, is located on the Chattooga River Trail, a short quarter-mile hike from the trailhead located on Burrell's Ford road. The Wilderness

128-630: A land management plan revision, the Nantahala Ranger District on the Nantahala National Forest added 824 acres (3.33 km) of proposed wilderness, currently called Ellicott Rock West Extension. Ellicott Rock Wilderness is named for “Ellicott's Rock,” a rock where all three states come together, on the east bank of the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River on which surveyor Major Andrew Ellicott chiseled

160-785: A majority of the Fork Mountain Trail. North Carolina has one trail, Ellicott Rock Trail, with two trailheads along Bull Creek Road and a big river crossing in the middle. Georgia does not maintain any trails. While there are no officially designated campsites in Ellicott Rock Wilderness yet, many unofficial campsites occur along the trails, particularly along the Chattooga River trail. Unofficial campsites are primitive with no amenities. Eastern Wilderness Act The Eastern Wilderness Areas Act ( Pub. L.   93–622 , 88  Stat.   2096 )

192-476: A mark in 1811 to determine the border between Georgia and North Carolina. Major Ellicott, a well-respected, sought-after surveyor, astronomer, and mathematician, was hired by the state of Georgia to ground-truth the 35th parallel and settle a border dispute between Georgia and North Carolina. The task proved long and arduous, saw difficult terrain, and the location was not accessible by horse. On December 26 with severe weather and limited food, Major Ellicott calculated

224-602: A necrotizing bacterial infection first found in this species April 2011. Another serious treatment of these animals in North America is the capture and sale of hatchling box turtles from the wild. A 3-year study conducted in Texas indicated that more than 7000 box turtles were taken from the wild for commercial trade. A similar study in Louisiana found that over a 41-month period, about 30,000 box turtles were taken from

256-403: A short period, can have detrimental effects. Box turtles want to stay within the area where they were hatched. If one is moved more than half a mile from its territory, it may not find its way back, but may spend years searching for it. This exposes the animal to danger and also disrupts the breeding cycle of which it would otherwise have been a part. While box turtles are very popular as pets, it

288-410: A special permit. Collecting wild-hatched box turtles can cause irreversible damage to populations, because these turtles have a low reproductive rate, as they take a long time to find a mate. Most turtle and sea-turtle societies do not recommend the use of turtles as pets for young children despite their popularity as such. Box turtles are easily stressed if touched excessively and require more care than

320-412: Is generally thought. Box turtles can be easily injured by dogs and cats so special care must be taken to protect them from household pets and neighborhood animals. Box turtles require an enclosed outdoor location, consistent sun exposure and a varied diet. Without this, a turtle's growth can be stunted and its immune system weakened. Finding box turtles in the wild and taking them as pets, even for

352-742: Is home to Glade Mountain of Georgia standing at an elevation of 3,672-foot (1,119 m) and Fork Mountain of South Carolina at an elevation of 3,294-foot (1,004 m). The watershed surrounding the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River is one of the most biologically diverse in the country. The wonderful array of sights, sounds, and smells of the wild flora and fauna bring Ellicott Rock Wilderness to life. A variety of recreation occurs in Ellicott Rock Wilderness including hiking, camping, backpacking, fishing, hunting, kayaking, and orienteering. The Wilderness supports approximately 18 miles of designated terrestrial trails. South Carolina trails include Chattooga River Trail, East Fork Trail, Foothills Connector Trail, and

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384-547: Is responsible for most of the wilderness at 3,394 acres (13.74 km) and the Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia manages 2,021 acres (8.18 km) of the wilderness. Three roads provide access to the proposed "Ellicott Rock Addition": Forest Development Road 646 and County Road 122 from the south, and County Road 121 from the west. Hiking is the only way one can access the interior of

416-604: Is the only wilderness that straddles three states, with boundaries located around the point at which Georgia , North Carolina , and South Carolina come together. Ellicott Rock Wilderness also spans three National Forests. Sumter National Forest in South Carolina is responsible for 2,859 acres (11.57 km), receives the majority of recreation in the wilderness, and is also the lead manager of Ellicott Rock Wilderness. Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina

448-534: The 35th parallel and inscribed the letters "N-G" on a rock along the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River. This put the Georgia-North Carolina border approximately 18 miles south of what Georgia claimed at the time. Due to Georgia's unfavorable results, Major Ellicott went unpaid for over a year and was ultimately paid a tiny fraction of the salary promised. Two years later, a group of commissioners representing both North and South Carolina set out to verify

480-533: The Eastern Wilderness Areas Act explicitly protects lands that both suffered previous abuse and have the ability to recover and therefore be designated for wilderness protection. Box turtles Box turtle is the common name for several species of turtle . It may refer to those of the genus Cuora or Pyxidea , which are the Asian box turtles, or more commonly to species of

512-509: The Ellicott Rock Wilderness is the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River , which runs runs from 2,381 feet to 2,100 feet . The Chattooga Wild and Scenic River bisects Ellicott Rock Wilderness, running through the heart of the wilderness. Made famous more than 45 years ago from the book and later movie, Deliverance , the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River is a prized feature among visitors to Ellicott Rock Wilderness. Many people can be found along

544-709: The Forest Service bill, advocates for wilderness, including The Wilderness Society, the Sierra Club , and Friends of the Earth , and their congressional allies, responded with the proposed Eastern Wilderness Areas Act. Promoted largely by Ernie Dickerman , a Wilderness Society staff member, and George Aiken , a senator from Vermont, the Senate endorsed the bill in May 1974. The final legislation adopted some elements of

576-472: The Forest Service opposed congressional designation of new wilderness areas in West Virginia with land use histories of logging. In 1971, it adopted a "purity" interpretation for wilderness designation so that no eastern or western lands with a history of human disturbance could qualify as wilderness. The Forest Service drafted its own bill as an alternative "to establish a system of wild areas within

608-554: The Forest Service-inspired bill, but it did not alter the definition and intent of the Wilderness Act of 1964. The previous debate regarding the meaning of "wilderness" versus "pristine" land led to the understanding that cultural use of lands should not keep the area from being restored to a "secondary wilderness," with functioning natural processes similar to when the land was in a primary state. Therefore,

640-619: The River enjoying the water, fishing, camping, and boating. There is a strong cultural tie to recreation uses along this river and it maintains a special place in the hearts of its frequent visitors. Ellicott Rock Wilderness is located in the southern tip of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a sub-mountain range of the Appalachian Mountains. It has a temperate climate with an average rainfall of 80 inches per year creating

672-590: The Sumter National Forest (adjacent to the existing wilderness) were classified as Roadless National Forest System land and named Ellicott Rock Extension. The Andrew Pickens Ranger district on the Sumter National Forest recommended the Ellicott Rock Extension as wilderness in 1995 in their Resource Management Plan. Although not fully designated, recommended wilderness is managed as if it were designated wilderness. In June 2017 during

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704-402: The Wilderness Act" and pledged himself to correct the falsity of the so-called purity theory. Senator Frank Church , who had been leader of the Senate debate on the Wilderness Act, observed that "the effect of such an interpretation would be to automatically disqualify almost everything, for few if any lands on this continent—or any other—have escaped man’s imprint to some degree." To counteract

736-797: The capture of turtles can have serious detrimental effects on the wild population. The box turtle commonly lives over twenty years, with verified cases of lifespans exceeding 40 to 50 years. There have been unverified cases of box turtles living for a hundred years and more. Box turtles are omnivorous . Their eagle eyes and keen sense of smell help them find foods such as snails , insects , berries , fungi , slugs , worms , flowers , fish , frogs , salamanders , various rodents , snakes , birds , eggs , among other things. During their first five to six years of life they are primarily carnivorous . Adults tend to be mostly herbivores , but do not feed on leafy greens. Box turtles are known to feed on animals found dead on roadways, victims of being struck by

768-571: The food base of many Asian countries such as China , where they are captured for local food markets despite captive breeding farms. North American box turtles, on the other hand, are endangered by habitat destruction. The forests converted to farmland greatly reduced the number of turtles in many states. The remaining land is often fragmented with highways and urban projects, destroying the animals' habitat . In an attempt to cross man-made additions, turtles are often killed by cars, animals, and other hazards. They are also facing population decline from

800-526: The genus Terrapene , the North American box turtles. They are largely characterized by having a shell shaped like a dome , which is hinged at the bottom, allowing the animal to close its shell tightly to escape predators . Furthermore, the two genera are very different in habitat , behavior and appearance, and are not even classified in the same family . Even though box turtles became very popular pets , their needs in captivity are complex and

832-494: The land of the national forest system" that would have allowed cutting trees to "improve" wildlife habitat and recreation. The organization described the bill as necessary because eastern areas "do not meet the strict criteria of the Wilderness Act." Members of Congress who championed the Wilderness Act resolved to overturn the misconception that wilderness areas included only those "pristine" in nature. Senator Henry Jackson warned of this "serious and fundamental misinterpretation of

864-542: The location of Ellicott's Rock. The commissioners carved a second rock (approximately 10 feet north of Ellicott's Rock) with the inscription "Lat 35 AD 1813 NC + SC" to mark where the North Carolina and South Carolina state lines joined. This second rock is commonly referred to as Ellicott's Rock though more accurately it is named Commissioner's Rock. Commissioner's Rock was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on July 24, 1973. Ellicott Rock Wilderness

896-518: The park. The wilderness contains six trails: The "Ellicott Rock Addition"'s soils are of the Tusquitee-Edneyville-Porters soil group . The area's plant life includes white oak , red oak , hickory , upland hardwood , white pine , and cove hardwoods . Wildlife in the area include migratory songbirds , deer, turkeys, bears, trout, box turtles , common garter snakes , and timber rattlesnakes . One notable landmark in

928-512: The same female . These encounters, which almost never amount to mortal combat, consist of head-butting, shoving, and perhaps attempts to overturn the other. It is presumed that eventually one of the males exhausts himself and withdraws from the field while the other gains access to the female. Mating occurs during nesting season beginning in the late boreal spring and ceasing at the end of the summer months. Asian box turtles are in serious danger of extinction in their habitat because they are part of

960-402: The wild for resale. Once captured, the turtles are often kept in poor conditions, in which more than half die. Those that live long enough to be sold usually suffer from conditions such as malnutrition , dehydration , and infection . Indiana and many other states created strict laws against the collection of hatchling turtles from the wild. In many states it is illegal to keep them without

992-550: Was signed into law by President Gerald Ford on January 3, 1975. The Act designated 16 new wilderness areas in the Eastern United States , including 207,000 acres (84,000 ha) of wilderness on national lands in 13 states. Although it was originally untitled, the bill signed by Ford has come to be known as the Eastern Wilderness Areas Act. The Act built upon the Wilderness Act , which

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1024-570: Was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. While the Wilderness Act created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, the Eastern Wilderness Areas Act applied only to land east of the 100th meridian west . In 1964, both the Forest Service and Congress agreed that eastern areas would have qualified as wilderness. However, six years later,

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