On February 15, signatories of the SAMAB Interagency and Cooperative Agreement were briefed in Atlanta. They were informed of SAMAB's accomplishments over the past year, but the principal focus of the briefing was the Southern Appalachian Assessment (SAA) which is nearing completion. The signatories, such as regional directors/administrators, are the persons responsible for the creation and operation of SAMAB.
Originally scheduled for release by the first of the year, the SAA's reports were delayed by the unexpected furlough of government workers and by inclement weather that recently plagued the region. According to SAA co-chairman Charles Van Sickle, the reports should be available shortly after March 1.
The four teams completing their reports are Aquatic, Atmospheric, Terrestrial, and Social/Cultural/Economic. A less-technical summary report especially designed for the general public is also planned.
A preface intended for each of the reports was used to describe how the assessment was conducted and what it achieved.
"It is an ecological assessment," the paper noted, "a description of conditions that goes beyond state, federal, or private boundaries. In using Southern Appalachian Assessment data, land managers can base their decisions on the natural boundaries of ecosystems rather than on the artificial boundaries of counties, states, or national forests."
The preface also points out that the assessment "was accomplished through the cooperation of federal and state natural resource agencies" and was "coordinated by the Southern Appalachian Man and Biosphere (SAMAB) Cooperative." The five reports will be available in printed form and via the Internet. "By providing direct access to assessment materials via Internet," the preface states, "we hope that users can obtain information more quickly and at lower-cost."
At the briefing, assessment team representatives gave brief overviews of their findings.
Bill Jackson, Atmospheric Team Leader, said the team focused on five key pollutants, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides, particulates, ozone, and volatile organic compounds. Particulates from sulfates are the greatest hindrance to visibility in scenic areas such as the Great Smoky Mountains, he said.
Jack Holcomb, co-leader of the aquatic resource team, emphasized the value of having several agencies involved in the exercise. "We learned of data sets we didn't know existed," he said. Holcomb also said the assessment turned up data gaps and indicated that future activities can seek to fill those gaps.
Glenn Gaines of the Terrestrial Team said public participation in team meetings was especially beneficial. The team identified such things as forest cover types, non-forest cover, and rare species. Data was summarized in several ways - by states, by region, and by biological units.
Reporting for the Social/Cultural/Economic Team, John Peine pointed out that "the human dimension is essential to the whole process" of the assessment. Among team findings: Since 1970, wages are up an average of $10,000 per household, there has been a 30 percent population increase in the region, the poverty level has been nearly halved, and, whereas 15.4 percent of homes in the region lacked indoor plumbing, only 1.7 percent do now.
Peine also noted there was increasing concern for the environment but a marked lack of knowledge about causes and solutions.
Karl Hermann of the National Biological Service reported that each team had a Geographic Information System representative to assimilate the tremendous amount of data and present it in a visual way. The data will be available via the SAMAB Homepage in the near future.
Stephanie Neal reported on activities of the Public Affairs sub-team. Public focus meetings were held to get public input, and all team meetings were open to the public. A newsletter was widely distributed reporting on the structure and progress of the assessment. All this, she said, gives the Southern Appalachian Assessment outstanding credibility.
Robert Baker, a leader in the establishment of SAMAB who had been out of the region for a while serving the National Park Service in its Denver office, seemed to express the sentiments of the group when he said "I am amazed at the progress SAMAB has made. The assessment is exactly the type of thing that SAMAB was established to do and I give it my enthusiastic endorsement. We must now get its results out to the public and continue to identify and fill in the gaps."
Randy Phillips, Forest Supervisor for the National Forests in North Carolina, was unanimously elected to chair the SAMAB Executive Committee at the committee's regular meeting February 15 in Atlanta. Karen Wade, Superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, was chosen as vice-chair. There were no other nominees.
Charles Van Sickle had been scheduled to become Executive Committee chairman this year, but his decision to retire from the U.S. Forest Service made him ineligible. Van Sickle will be leaving his post soon as Assistant Director of the Southern Research Station in Asheville, NC.
Phillips succeds Briane Adams, who served as Executive Committee chairman for the past three years. Adams expressed appreciation for the cooperation accorded him by all the Executive Committee members and others in the SAMAB organization. Adams is Administrative Assistant for water resources in the U.S. Geological Survey, Atlanta.
Phillips and Wade were selected by a nominating committee headed by Van Sickle.
Phillips joined the SAMAB Executive Committee in 1993. He attended Oxford College of Emory University, Florida State University, and the University of Montana. He holds degrees in Political Science and in Forest Resource Management.
He entered the Forest Service in 1978. He is a member of the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, Blue Ridge Bicycle Club, and the Society of American Foresters.
Many SAMAB accomplishments have resulted under the command of Briane Adams, such as the Southern Appalachian Assessment. Briane, you greatly contributed and helped promote the central theme of SAMAB, cooperation. We all want to express our thanks to you for a successful three years. Your dedication, enthusiasm, and hard work significantly contributed to SAMAB's success.
SAMAB's Annual Planning meeting will be held on April 24-25 beginning on the 24th at the North Carolina Aboretum in Asheville, NC. Make your hotel reservations promptly. Two Hotels/Motels are close by (just off of exit 2 of I 26) -- Comfort Suites Hotel 704/665-4000 and the Hampton Inn 704/667-2022. Registration for the meeting is $25. Checks should be made to the SAMAB Foundation.
At the Executive Committee meeting February 15, Executive Director Hubert Hinote called on SAMAB's signatory agencies to reaffirm their commitment to SAMAB. They need to reaffirm their commitment to the basic Interagency and Cooperative Agreement as well as their financial and in-kind support of the program.
Bob Baker, Director of the National Park Service's Southeast Field Region, was asked to prepare a letter to SAMAB agencies to determine the extent of their financial support of SAMAB in fiscal year 1996.
This action is needed, Hinote said. Several new agencies have joined the cooperative since the original six signed the SAMAB Interagency and Cooperative Agreement. SAMAB now consists of twelve federal agencies and three states since the Natural Resources Conservation Service has agreed to join.
Briane Adams, outgoing chairman of the Executive Committee, also appealed for financial support from the member agencies.
Most people who use the Southern Appalachian Assessment reports will be primarily interested only in certain sections that fit their particular circumstance. Extracting these sections will be much simpler on the Internet. Also, the Internet material, unlike the printed versions, can be quickly updated or revised.
In-depth versions of assessment data will be made available on CD-ROM and in the SAMAB Homepage on the World-Wide Web. CD-ROM sets are primarily in ARC/INFO* formats.
Internet versions of the assessment will be accessible through both the SAMAB Homepage (http://www.lib.utk.edu/samab) and the Forest Service Homepage (http://www.fs.fed.us/)
Although the assessment data is presently not accessible through the SAMAB Homepage, Karl Hermann and Phill Gibson have added many items such as past SAMAB newsletters and a "What is SAMAB" document. The SAA data should be available on the Homepage by March 1996.
The SAMAB Executive Committee at its last meeting discussed the need for getting results of the Southern Appalachian Assessment widely disseminated. This will be necessary if the assessment is to have any meaningful impact on the general public.
Charles Van Sickle, co-chair of the assessment, said the exercise provided a much-needed benchmark to guide future activities of SAMAB. It identifies research needs that merit careful follow-up.
Robert Baker of the Park Service strongly urged SAMAB to get assessement information out to the general public, and not just to technical people. Dennis Barnett of the Corps of Engineers suggested that each agency prepare materials and get it to their various constituency groups.
Cory Berish of the Environmental Protection Agency said EPA plans to put in writing what it plans to do with the assessment data.
SAMAB's new chairman, Randy Phillips, asked SAMAB's standing committees to refine suggestions made at the Executive Committee meeting and present them at the Spring Planning Meeting.
The SAMAB Public Affairs Committee will assist member agencies in publicizing the assessment.
To illustrate one way assessment results can be delivered to a wider audience, John Peine cited a class of graduate students that he and Karl Hermann are teaching at the University of Tennessee. Using data from the assessment, they encouraged the students to broaden their approach and embrace a regional perspective.
Others at the Executive Committee meeting suggested getting assessment information into the hands of environmental education teachers. The opportunities are unlimited, but SAMAB must choose its targets carefully and zero in on a few "do-able" projects, Executive Director Hubert Hinote said.
Everyone was urged to bring their best ideas for assessment follow-up to the SAMAB Spring Planning Meeting.
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service has signed the interagency and cooperative agreement to become SAMAB's newest member. Outgoing Chairman Briane Adams made the announcement at the Executive Committee meeting in Atlanta.
Dwight Holman, Regional Conservationist of the SE Regional Office in Atlanta, Georgia, is the signatory for the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Charles Van Sickle has been a tremedous asset to us all. He has been a huge contributor to the SAMAB Cooperative and a great friend. Charlie played a key role in the creation of SAMAB. He is also a member of the U.S. MAB Biosphere Reserve Directorate, representing the USFS. His wisdom, hard work, and enthusiasm has helped put SAMAB on the map. Charlie, good luck with your new endeavors! You will be deeply missed both professionally and personally!
Three SAMAB committees presented proposals to the Executive Committee in Atlanta February 15.
Larry Luckett of the Forest Service, chairman of the Resource Management Committee, asked that SAMAB recognize landowners who are cooperating with the Little Tennessee Watershed Association by correcting environmental problems on their land. This recognition would be in the form of outdoor signs calling attention to their cleanup work. The Executive Committee approved $500 for the project.
Public Affairs Committee Chairman Terry Seyden of the Forest Service in North Carolina proposed that SAMAB join in sponsoring an annual university conference for presentation of papers addressing quality-of-life issues in the region.
Several universities would host the meetings on a rotating basis. There would be no financial obligation to SAMAB. The proposal was approved.
Joe Abrell, representing Gene Cox of the Environmental Education Committee, asked for funds to reprint copies of a brochure entitled, "Landscaping with Native Plants", and to publish a manual on controlling exotic plant species. The Executive Committee endorsed spending $300-$500 from the committee's existing budget for the project, with the recommendation that the SAMAB logo be included on the publications and that its scope be broadened to include the SAMAB region.
The Biosphere Reserve Directorate of the National Man and Biosphere (MAB) program, which I have the privilege of chairing, met in Riverside, California, in January.
The directorate hopes to launch a campaign called "20 in 2000" in which it proposes to establish 20 new Biosphere Reserve programs, patterned after SAMAB, by the year 2000. This is gratifying to all of us associated with SAMAB because it reflects the tremendous success we have enjoyed since this cooperative was established.
I see it as a strong reaffirmation of SAMAB's role as the model for the rest of the nation. And, the credit goes to all of you who have worked so hard to make SAMAB successful.
On another topic, Phill Gibson, Environmental Planner and my assistant, submitted a proposal to the U.S. MAB. He was awarded a grant which will be used for developing a workshop to identify environmentally related human health issues in Southern Appalachia. Regional health leaders of state health departments, local health education centers, researchers in the field of rural health, and social scientists will be sought to participate in the workshop. Kieran J. Fogarty of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences co-authored the proposal and will be assisting with workshop development. This workshop is especially timely in view of the fact that the National Institutes of Health recently joined the US MAB program.
Another workshop has been proposed that would bring together the NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) coordinators of the SAMAB agencies. NEPA coordinators have the task of seeing that an agency's activities are environmentally sound. Phill Gibson and I, working with agency NEPA Coordinators, will develop plans for the workshop.
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