The Spring Planning Meeting has been scheduled for Thursday and Friday, April 27-28, in Asheville, North Carolina. (See the box at right for details.) This was decided at the last Executive Committee meeting.
On the morning of April 27, there will be a joint meeting of all standing committees with the Executive Committee and other interested parties. This meeting will begin with reports from the Southern Appalachian Assessment Team, which will be of value to the standing committees. Also, Executive Committee members will provide guidelines for the committees, many of which have just been reconstituted with all-new membership, and will also answer questions they may have.
After the lunch break, the standing committees will go into separate work sessions to plan their activities for the coming year.
On Friday morning, three special speakers will be heard, as follows:
8:30 a.m. Karen Wade, superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
9:00 a.m. Gene Lessard of the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, who is executive secretary of the interagency task force for the national assessment program.
9:30 a.m. Dean Bibles, chairman of the U.S. MAB National Committee and special assistant on land tenure to Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt.
From 10:30 to noon, the standing committees will report their conclusions and recommendations to the Executive Committee and other interested ones, based on their discussions the previous day.
From 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. there will be an Executive Committee business meeting.
A registration fee of $25 will be charged to cover costs of the spring meeting. Checks should be made out to the SAMAB Foundation.
The spring planning meeting agenda was developed by a special committee that included Executive Committee Chairman Briane Adams, Co-Chairman Charles C. Van Sickle, Executive Committee Member Terry Seyden, and Executive Director Hubert Hinote.
The last of the standing committee chairpersons was named at the Executive Committee's meeting in Atlanta February 3. The complete list follows. Anyone interested in serving on a committee should contact the chairperson before the spring meeting.
Environmental Education and Training Gene Cox, Chief, Division of Interpretation and Visitors Services, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 107 Park Headquarters Road, Gatlinburg TN 37738. Phone (615) 436-1255. Fax (615) 436-1220.
Research and Monitoring Betsy Smith, TVA Forestry Building, 17 Ridgeway Rd., Norris TN 37828. Phone (615) 632-1658
Sustainable Development John Peine, National Biological Survey Cooperative Park Studies Unit, 128 Henson Hall, University of Tennessee, Knoxville TN 37996-1191. Fax (615) 974-5229
Resource Management Larry Luckett, District Ranger, Chattahoochee National Forest, Brasstown Ranger District, P.O. Box 9, Blairsville GA 30512. Phone (706) 745-6928
Cultural & Historic Resource Ruthanne Mitchell (acting chair), Southeast Region National Park Service, 75 Spring St. SW, Atlanta GA 30303. Phone (404) 730-2249. Fax (404) 7309487
Public Affairs Terry Seyden, U.S. Forest Service, P.O. Box 2750, Asheville NC 28802. Phone (704) 257-4202. Fax (704) 257-4263
A new procedure has been developed to smooth out the transition whenever a new chairman of the SAMAB Executive Committee is named. It works this way:
A co-chair of the Executive Committee will be appointed and this person will, in most circumstances, become chairman when the incumbent's two-year term expires.
To begin the process, Briane Adams of the U.S. Geological Survey, Atlanta, will continue to serve as chairman for another year. Charles C. Van Sickle of the Southeastern Forest Experiment Station at Asheville, North Carolina, will begin serving as co-chair and will become chairman next year.
Under a waiver of rules, Adams was asked by the nominating committee to remain chairman for this third year, with Van Sickle starting his term as co-chair immediately.
Both Adams and Van Sickle expressed appreciation for the new arrangement.
"I like this idea of continuity," Van Sickle said. "I am heavily involved in the Southern Appalachian Assessment this year and could not have handled these duties and the chairmanship very well at the same time."
The assessment work is scheduled to end in a year.
Suzette Kimball of the National Park Service served as chairman of the nominating committee, which recommended the new transition procedure. Serving with her were G. Robert Kerr, president of the SAMAB Foundation, Russ England of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Boyd R. Rose of the U.S. Economic Development Administration, and Randy Phillips of the U.S.D.A. Forest Service.
The new procedure was approved unanimously by the Executive Committee.
Tennessee has signed on as the newest member of SAMAB. J.W. Luna, the state's Commissioner of Environment and Conservation, signed the interagency and cooperative agreement in Nashville on July 28.
Tennessee thus becomes the third state member of SAMAB. Georgia and North Carolina already are members.
The Corps of Engineers is expected to sign the agreement this month and will be represented by its South Atlantic and Ohio River Divisions. The Appalachian Regional Commission is expected to respond momentarily to an invitation to join. The Soil Conservation Service and the Office of Surface Mining are expected to sign by the end of September.
The southeastern regional offices of the following Federal agencies already are SAMAB members: the Environmental Protection Agency, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Park Service, the Forest Service, TVA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Economic Development administration, and the National Biological Survey.
The next meeting of the SAMAB Executive Committee is scheduled Friday, April 28, starting at 1:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Comfort Suites Hotel, 890 Brevard Road, Asheville, North Carolina 28806.
To make reservations for the Spring Planning Meeting and the Executive Committee Meeting, call the hotel at (704) 665-4000. Be sure and use code 426 when making reservations.
The block of rooms for these meetings has been reserved under the name of the U.S.D.A. Forest Service. Rates are $48 a night, double occupancy, tax included. A free continental breakfast is included in the price.
For those driving, the hotel is just off exit 2 of I-26. It is 2 miles from the Asheville airport and there is a shuttle service.
Forrest Carpenter of the U.S.D.A. Forest Service and Cory W. Berish of the Environmental Protection Agency gave a status report on the Southern Appalachian Assessment at the Executive Committee meeting in Atlanta February 3. They serve as co-chairs of the Policy Committee for the assessment.
To give an idea of the intensity of the effort, Carpenter said approximately 100 Forest Service people are currently working on the project, serving on various teams. The project will wind up later this year, and results will be printed and distributed to regional decision makers.
Other agencies also have people active on the assessment teams. These include EPA, TVA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Biological Service. Opportunities remain for other agencies to help in the assessment.
Brigadier General Ralph Locurcio of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suggested that the report be made available to a broader audience and include industry in particular.
In response, Berish said a marketing plan for the information will be developed. He also noted that the report is not viewed as an end in itself but will be reviewed and updated from time to time as agencies continue their work.
The goal of the Southern Appalachian Assessment is to provide comprehensive ecological, social, and economic data that can serve as a foundation for improved natural resource management.
As various assessment teams have met with community leaders in the region, response has been very positive, Carpenter noted. As a result of these public meetings, the scope of the assessment has grown and now extends from the Talladega National Forest in Alabama to the George Washington National Forest and the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.
The teams are focusing on four specific resource areas: air, water, terrestrial, and social/cultural/economic.
The assessment is now publishing a newsletter, called SAA Update, reporting progress of the assessment. Anyone wanting to get on the mailing list or find out more about the assessment should contact: Cory Berish, EPA Region IV - PPEB, 345 Courtland Street NE, Atlanta GA 30365.
The Southern Appalachian Assessment effort, which seeks to identify and set priorities for managing the region's natural resources, has been recognized as an exemplary part of national assessment efforts.
Gene Lessard of the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, who is executive secretary of the interagency task force for the national assessment program, wrote the following to SAMAB:
"We wish to welcome you as an official participant in the National Assessment Program. The purpose of this program is to provide guidance to assessment teams in integrating the biological, physical, and human dimensions of assessments and to provide consistency among regional-level assessments."
Lessard said the Southern Appalachian Assessment and two others have been selected as prototypes for the nationwide effort. The others are the Columbia River Basin Assessment and the Mid-Atlantic Assessment.
An interagency team designated by the White House Office of Environmental Policy is providing the framework and protocols for conducting such large-scale assessments.
Lessard's letter to SAMAB also said: "As you progress through your assessment process, we hope both the scientists and managers developing your assessment will continue to develop and refine the principles and guidelines."
Lessard said a workshop is planned in October 1995 for participants in the three prototype programs. Its purpose is to evaluate and enhance performance in the three assessments. The workshop, to be held under the auspices of the National Research Council, has been fully funded.
More information is available in SAA Update, the assessment newsletter.
At the Executive Committee meeting in Atlanta February 3, Chairman Briane Adams reviewed highlights of the work done during his two years as Cooperative chairman.
He cited the integrated assessment workshop held last spring as a turning point in SAMAB's success. At that workshop, the Cooperative's agencies laid the groundwork for the Southern Appalachian Assessment, one of the most important projects ever undertaken by SAMAB.
Adams called the assessment "a bold initiative," and said it is now moving along pretty much on schedule with the U.S.D.A. Forest Service and EPA taking the lead.
Also last spring, the SAMAB Action Plan was developed, spelling out for the first time specific goals and objectives, with timetables for meeting them. That plan has since been reformatted and printed in booklet form for distribution to a wide audience, including the U.S. Congress and the Washington headquarters of the SAMAB Cooperative agencies.
Continuing, Adams noted that three more agencies have signed the Interagency and Cooperative Agreement; the National Biological Service, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. There now are 11 federal agencies and three states officially represented in the Cooperative.
Adams said conversations with other prospective members are continuing. These include the U.S. Office of Surface Mining, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service), and additional southeastern states.
Another Biosphere Reserve Unit may be added soon to the five already in the Cooperative, Adams said. It is the land near Chattanooga that is administered by the Tennessee River Gorge Trust, a non-profit organization.
Other milestones cited by the chairman:
Adams credited Executive Director Hubert Hinote with much of the progress made in the last year in attracting widespread attention to SAMAB. He thanked all the Cooperative members for making the past two years so successful.
SAMAB is taking a fresh look at its annual Fall Conference with a view to broadening participation and making registration easier. A report presented at the last Executive Committee meeting cited problems in these and several other areas of conference administration.
It was suggested that this year's Fall Conference be held in the Knoxville/Oak Ridge area during the week of November 13. Details are being worked out and should be in the next issue of SAMAB News.
Complaints were heard from private industry after last year's conference because they had not been informed and therefore missed the opportunity to attend. Executive Committee Chairman Briane Adams acknowledged the problem and said ways need to be developed to get the word out to more people.
Terry Seyden, chairman of the Public Affairs Committee, said efforts are under way to get SAMAB News to a wider audience through electronic networks. He suggested this will serve to alert more people to the Fall Conference and to other activities in SAMAB.
A report on last year's conference cited several problems, including failure of participants to prepare their abstracts in the required format. The report recommended that a temporary worker be hired to ensure uniform handling of abstracts and proper preparation of the conference proceedings.
In the past, volunteers from SAMAB agencies have taken care of all aspects of the conference. They have had to juggle conference work with their regular job demands, which at times can produce uneven results on both ends.
The conference report was high in praise for these volunteers.
EPA's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) is in the early stages of planning for a five-day international symposium and is looking for ecological professionals who are willing to help developing it.
SAMAB has endorsed this symposium and will cooperate in its planning and execution.
The symposium will focus on issues of scale in the development of ecological indicators and other areas of monitoring and assessment. The symposium coordinator is Laura Jackson. Her phone number is (919) 541-3088. The Fax number is (919) 541-3615.
Karl A. Hermann is setting up a comprehensive new communications program that will enable more people to tap in to SAMAB information through their personal computers. Karl is the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) coordinator for SAMAB, on assignment from the National Biological Service at the University of Tennessee.
The program is called the Southern Appalachian Home Page. While not yet complete, some basic information is already available to acquaint users with SAMAB. Eventually the Home Page will contain descriptive information about the Southern Appalachian region, details of SAMAB's organization and operations, a bibliography, some of the Geographic Information System data on Southern Appalachia that Karl is compiling, as well as other information.
Graphics are included in the Home Page to make the information easier to understand and more attractive to the eye.
The Home Page has been established on the University of Tennessee Library's World Wide Web (WWW), which is a part of a network of registered sites on the Internet.
The Home Page gives the individual user a direct link to topics of particular interest to him or her. It is a "layered" program, which allows clicking on a particular topic to get more detailed levels of information.
For example, for someone interested in the Southern Appalachian Assessment's Terrestrial Team, a series of highlighted topics is provided. Clicking on the topic SAA in the top level, a new Home Page appears. One of the topics in Home Page will be the terrestrial team. By clicking on that topic, the desired information may be found.
Karl said users will be able to retrieve the information displayed. Thus, for example, the SAMAB newsletter can be copied for circulation in an individual user's locale.
The Home Page can be accessed through the Internet with either Mosaic, Netscape, or Lynx software. A user who has full Internet access and Mosaic or Netscape will have no problem. They can open the Home Page through Internet by keying in the Southern Appalachian Home Page locator which is as follows:
http://www.lib.utk.edu/samab
Lynx software offers a solution to Internet users who don't have full graphics capabilities.
The UT Library Home Page will reference the Southern Appalachian Home Page. So will the National Biological Service's Home Page and the Southern Regional Natural Resource Leaders Home Page.
For more information, Karl says you can call him at his office in the TVA Forestry Building at Norris, Tennessee, telephone (616) 632-1452. His computer address is samab@utk.edu
Karl has a masters degree from Colorado State University, where he studied resource economics with an emphasis in geographic information systems, natural resource management, agriculture, and remote sensing. He did some doctorate course work at North Carolina State University in forestry, focusing on remote sensing and GIS. His career includes service as project scientist in GIS analysis at Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, and as a project leader for the state of North Carolina GIS.
Karl also found time to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo, West Africa for more than two years, working on a cooperative agricultural development project.
Brigadier General Ralph Locurcio of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers attended his first SAMAB Executive Committee meeting in Atlanta February 3.
Both the South Atlantic and Ohio Divisions of the Corps signed the SAMAB Cooperative Agreement last fall. General Locurcio currently serves in the South Atlantic Division with offices in Atlanta.
Executive Committee Chairman Briane Adams welcomed the general and expressed appreciation for the Corps' active interest in SAMAB.
SAMAB is preparing the draft text and layout for a brochure showcasing Biosphere Reserves all over the country. The national MAB organization is funding the project through the SAMAB Foundation.
Executive Director Hubert Hinote said U.S. MAB was impressed with various SAMAB products, particularly the general brochure explaining SAMAB. This led them to enlist SAMAB's help when it was determined that the national organization needed a similar brochure featuring the national network of Biosphere Reserves.
"It is quite an honor that MAB asked this Cooperative to prepare its brochure," Hinote said. A committee under the direction of Executive Committee Co-Chairman Charles C. Van Sickle is at work on the MAB brochure.
The new SAMAB logo may soon appear in another eye-catching fashion — a lapel pin. Public Affairs Committee Chairman Terry Seyden said his committee also will try to include a color version of the new logo on plaques that are awarded to friends of SAMAB who are cited for their support of Cooperative activities.
The Southern Rivers Council is very much interested in working with SAMAB. The council is an informal working group made up of resource specialists from federal agencies who are committed to improving aquatic resources on a watershed basis by means of restoration projects.
The council is made up of employees of agencies already represented in SAMAB under the Interagency and Cooperative Agreement. Its projects include a program known as "Restore Our Southern Rivers," in partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
On another front, your Executive Director recently made a presentation to the Townsend Advisory Committee which is seeking SAMAB support for its work in the vicinity of Townsend, Tennessee. This is a gateway community to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.
The town is trying to plan for the future along the same lines that Pittman Center did. As you will recall, one of SAMAB's most successful projects was development of the Pittman Center Plan, which is helping that community guide its growth in ways that protect its natural character and community values.
Here are other examples of growing interest in SAMAB:
Appalachian State University has asked for a SAMAB exhibit and a presentation on the Southern Appalachian Assessment as part of its observance of North Carolina's "Year of the Mountains."
John Peine, chairman of the Sustainable Development Committee, has contracted to edit a book on ecosystem management. SAMAB will be used as the case study and a number of SAMAB members will prepare chapters. Proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to the SAMAB Foundation.
The tourism survey last year, which was supported by funds from the Economic Development Administration, is receiving attention now in magazines and technical journals.
The Tennessee Department of Education has expressed much interest in SAMAB's Environmental Education and Training work.
SAMAB was used as an example of ecosystem management at a Nevada workshop where the audience was made up of Department of Energy land managers.
SAMAB also continues to attract attention internationally. Our work will be featured at a Man and the Biosphere meeting in Seville, Spain, this year. And the World Bank has been asked to fund an exchange program between SAMAB and the Czech Republic.
Return to SAMAB Newsletters Index Page