Paddle Georgia floats through Murray Monday

Submitted by the Georgia River Network

June 16, 2009 04:52 pm

— Approximately 300 people are expected to canoe and kayak their way down the Coosawattee and Oostanaula rivers beginning Friday as part of Paddle Georgia 2009, a tour sponsored by the Georgia River Network. The 92-mile, eight-day trip from Ellijay to Rome will pass through Murray County on Monday when the entourage debarks below the Carters Lake re-regulation dam on the Coosawattee.
“Paddle Georgia is more than just a canoe trip,” said April Ingle, executive director of the network. “The event will include educational programs on the rivers’ cultural and natural history, tours of attractions and facilities located along the river, nightly entertainment, and a research program in which participants will help collect chemical and biological data to give a snapshot of the current health of the Coosawattee and Oostanaula rivers.”
The rivers are part of the Upper Coosa River Basin of northwest Georgia, which is considered the most biologically diverse river basin in North America. Along the way, paddlers will have a chance to see some of the 30 different species of fish, snails, crayfish and mussels that are found only in the waters of the Upper Coosa River.
The paddlers will call Ellijay, Calhoun, Armuchee and Rome home when they camp at the towns’ high schools. More information can be found on the Web site www.garivers.org/paddle_georgia/pghome.html.