Stop Abbotts Bridge widening from harming Chattahoochee wetlands
SR 120 (Abbotts Bridge) Road Widening using Jetties
National Park Service· Chattahoochee River National Recreation AreaNPS Planning (PEPC) project page ↗
NPS PEPCWe track this on the agency’s own system of record, where most on-the-ground decisions live.
The groups on this fight
4 groups work Georgia
By footprint, from the same match the STAND matchmaker runs; none is linked to this decision in our record yet. Give straight to them; nothing routes through us.
- Center for Biological Diversity
Works Georgia: joined the November 2022 environmental lawsuit challenging the Army Corps decisions that cleared the way for the Twin Pines mine beside the refuge..
- Defenders of Wildlife
Works Georgia: founding member of the Okefenokee Protection Alliance and a plaintiff in the 2022 wetlands lawsuit against the Army Corps over the Twin Pines mine..
- National Wildlife Refuge Association
Works Georgia: sued the Army Corps in November 2022 over the Twin Pines project, helped found the Okefenokee Protection Alliance in 2020, and produced the 2021 documentary Sacred Waters: The Okefenokee in Peril..
- Southern Environmental Law Center
Works Georgia: filed the 2022 lawsuit against the Army Corps over wetlands decisions enabling the Twin Pines mine on behalf of four national groups, and its senior attorney chaired the Okefenokee Protection Alliance executive committee..
Every group above is on STAND for Public Lands, with its court record, its filings and who backs it.
NPS would allow SR 120 expansion that damages floodplains and wetlands inside Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.
What’s at risk
Floodplains and wetlands along the Chattahoochee River are at risk from road widening construction within the national recreation area. The expansion directly impacts sensitive riparian habitat that supports wildlife and recreational use of the river corridor.
If this goes through
The road widening will permanently alter floodplain and wetland areas inside Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, with mitigation measures substituting for habitat that would otherwise remain intact.
Our plain-English read of the official notice ↗. Check it against the agency’s own words below.
5 holes in the agency’s own analysis
What the public could have raised, from the agency’s own document
- I oppose this action as proposed, and I ask the agency to weigh the specific harms below.
- The notice states this is a 'Statement of Findings' prepared to justify work within floodplains and wetlands, but the public notice itself contains no analysis of alternatives to working in the floodplain, as required by Executive Order 11988. EO 11988 requires agencies to demonstrate there is no practicable alternative before placing structures in a floodplain. The notice only says the SOF 'outlines the justification' without disclosing what alternatives were considered or rejected. The agency should publicly disclose its alternatives analysis and explain why no practicable alternative outside the floodplain exists.
- The notice references compliance with both Executive Order 11988 on floodplain management and Executive Order 11990 on wetland protection, but provides no information about the extent, type, or quality of wetlands that will be affected. Without disclosing the acreage, wetland type, or ecological function of impacted wetlands, the public cannot meaningfully evaluate whether the compensatory mitigation proposed is adequate. The agency should disclose the specific wetland acreage and classification affected before the comment period closes.
- The comment period runs only 14 days, from August 31 to September 14, 2026, for a 71.5 MB PDF document covering floodplain and wetland impacts in a national recreation area. A 71.5 MB document is substantial and 14 days is insufficient for the public, independent scientists, or downstream water users to meaningfully review the full Statement of Findings and submit informed comments. The agency should extend the comment period to at least 30 days to allow adequate public review.
- The notice identifies compliance with NPS Procedural Manual 77-2 on Floodplain Management and 77-1 on Wetland Protection, but does not state whether a separate NEPA review (Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement) has been completed or is pending for this project. A Statement of Findings is a procedural compliance document, not a substitute for NEPA analysis. The agency should clarify what NEPA document covers this action and whether it is available for concurrent public review.
Show all 7 points from the document
- The entire substantive analysis is contained in a single 71.5 MB PDF file, with no summary or excerpts provided in the notice itself. Members of the public with limited internet bandwidth or older devices may be unable to download or open a file of this size within the 14-day window. This creates an effective barrier to participation that undermines the purpose of a public comment period. The agency should provide a plain-language summary and make the document available in a lower file-size format or at a physical location.
- Say something only you can say. The law requires the agency to consider and respond to substantive comments, and specifics are what make a comment substantive.
In the agency’s own words
Floodplain and Wetland Statement of Findings for Abbotts Bridge Widening
Did the agency answer?
5 issues are on this record. The agency has not published its decision document yet, so each one stays pending until the agency answers.
Issues on the record, awaiting the decision
- PendingThe comment period runs only 14 days, from August 31 to September 14, 2026, for a 71.5 MB PDF document covering floodplain and wetland impacts in a national recreation area.
The comment period runs only 14 days, from August 31 to September 14, 2026, for a 71.5 MB PDF document covering floodplain and wetland impacts in a national recreation area. A 71.5 MB document is substantial and 14 days is insufficient for the public, independent scientists, or downstream water users to meaningfully review the full Statement of Findings and submit informed comments. The agency should extend the comment period to at least 30 days to allow adequate public review.
A hole PLAN found in the agency’s own notice, quote verified against the text
- PendingThe notice states this is a 'Statement of Findings' prepared to justify work within floodplains and wetlands, but the public notice itself contains no analysis of alternatives to working in the floodp
The notice states this is a 'Statement of Findings' prepared to justify work within floodplains and wetlands, but the public notice itself contains no analysis of alternatives to working in the floodplain, as required by Executive Order 11988. EO 11988 requires agencies to demonstrate there is no practicable alternative before placing structures in a floodplain. The notice only says the SOF 'outlines the justification' without disclosing what alternatives were considered or rejected. The agency should publicly disclose its alternatives analysis and explain why no practicable alternative outside the floodplain exists.
A hole PLAN found in the agency’s own notice, quote verified against the text
- PendingThe notice references compliance with both Executive Order 11988 on floodplain management and Executive Order 11990 on wetland protection, but provides no information about the extent, type, or qualit
The notice references compliance with both Executive Order 11988 on floodplain management and Executive Order 11990 on wetland protection, but provides no information about the extent, type, or quality of wetlands that will be affected. Without disclosing the acreage, wetland type, or ecological function of impacted wetlands, the public cannot meaningfully evaluate whether the compensatory mitigation proposed is adequate. The agency should disclose the specific wetland acreage and classification affected before the comment period closes.
A hole PLAN found in the agency’s own notice, quote verified against the text
- PendingThe notice identifies compliance with NPS Procedural Manual 77-2 on Floodplain Management and 77-1 on Wetland Protection, but does not state whether a separate NEPA review (Environmental Assessment or
The notice identifies compliance with NPS Procedural Manual 77-2 on Floodplain Management and 77-1 on Wetland Protection, but does not state whether a separate NEPA review (Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement) has been completed or is pending for this project. A Statement of Findings is a procedural compliance document, not a substitute for NEPA analysis. The agency should clarify what NEPA document covers this action and whether it is available for concurrent public review.
A hole PLAN found in the agency’s own notice, quote verified against the text
- PendingThe entire substantive analysis is contained in a single 71.5 MB PDF file, with no summary or excerpts provided in the notice itself.
The entire substantive analysis is contained in a single 71.5 MB PDF file, with no summary or excerpts provided in the notice itself. Members of the public with limited internet bandwidth or older devices may be unable to download or open a file of this size within the 14-day window. This creates an effective barrier to participation that undermines the purpose of a public comment period. The agency should provide a plain-language summary and make the document available in a lower file-size format or at a physical location.
A hole PLAN found in the agency’s own notice, quote verified against the text
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