SAMAB News
Congressional staff and Executive Branch agencies have been briefed on the Southern Appalachian Assessment that was completed last August.
Feedback indicates they were greatly impressed by the unprecedented scope and thoroughness of the assessment.
Among those briefed on the assessment were regional congressional staff members, the White House Office of Science and Technology, and the Department of Agriculture.
Forrest Carpenter, who participated in some of the briefings, said they went "extremely well."
Executive Committee Chair Randy Phillips said many of those briefed seemed to be in the early stages of the learning curve, but as they look over the printed reports that were left with them they will doubtless learn a great deal more.
Additional briefings are planned for the Council on Environmental Quality and others.
"There is room for a lot more educating of people," said Hubert Hinote, SAMAB Executive Director.
Plans are under way for community briefings at the same locations where town hall meetings were held during the course of the assessment.
It is hoped that these meetings can be completed during October and November.
SAMAB's annual Fall Conference is scheduled September 5-8 at the Holiday Inn in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Pre-registration and poster setup are scheduled November 5, and the conference itself gets started the next day.
The conference program has not been finalized, but some important features are clear.
Results of the Southern Appalachian Assessment, sponsored by SAMAB and completed early this year, will be reported. The conference will recognize the 20th anniversary of the designation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory as Biosphere Reserve Units.
The Hinote Award will be presented to the individual and to the group whose activities in the past year best reflect the ideals of SAMAB. Other awards also will be presented, including awards for achievements in sustainable development.
Other program highlights include a summary of the 104th Congress by Bob Herbst, TVA's Washington representative.
Checks should be made payable to the SAMAB Foundation and sent to Phill Gibson, SAMAB, 1314 Cherokee Orchard Road, Gatlinburg, TN 37738.
The theme of the Fall Conference is "Working Together."
The next meeting of the Executive Committee is scheduled November 5 at 1:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn in Gatlinburg. Please get suggestions for agenda items to Hubert Hinote as soon as possible.
About a dozen representatives of land trust organizations met with the SAMAB Executive Committee September 17 in Franklin, North Carolina.
The objective was to develop a better understanding of what these private organizations are doing to protect important land assets in the Southern Appalachians and whether SAMAB can be more involved with them. The conclusion was yes -- SAMAB can and will work more closely with them.
"Many of their goals coincide with SAMAB goals," Executive Director Hubert Hinote said, "so we should be working with them."
Tom Hatley of the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition and Chuck Roe of the Conservation Trust of North Carolina led off the morning-long discussion about land trusts. They noted that there are hundreds of land conservancies all across the nation. Since public lands account for just 20 percent of all land holdings, the key to conservation lies with the private sector. Public and private land holders are natural allies, Hatley noted.
Hans Neuhauser, director of the Georgia Land Trust Service Center based in Athens, Georgia, explained that land trusts are private, nonprofit, citizen-based organizations. "All are directly involved in protecting open space," he said.
And they supply a service government can’t, because government cannot simply buy up all the open land that needs conserving.
How do land trusts operate? Some buy land outright. But there is a growing trend, Neuhauser said, for obtaining easements that limit development of open space.
Easement agreements are made with private land-holders and are legally binding on both parties. Typically, Neuhauser said, the agreements (1) identify the parties involved and describe the affected property; (2) give the purposes of the agreement; (3) spell out the rights relinquished by the land-owner as well as those retained; and (4) spell out the rights and obligations of the land trust, such as for monitoring the terms of the agreement.
An attractive feature of most agreements is that they qualify the land-owner for tax breaks.
Roe noted that some land trusts raise money for land acquisitions from the private sector, but they also often work with government agencies.
In any case, there are benefits for both the private and public sector. For example, the Tennessee Foothills Conservancy acquires land to provide a buffer between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and adjacent property.
Lynn Cox of the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy noted that community life is enhanced when private land-owners work with the trusts because the result is that land values are preserved.
Neuhauser indicated that an alliance between SAMAB and the land trusts would be of mutual benefit. If SAMAB identified land that needs conservation, the land trusts could target those lands for acquisition. He said the trusts could also play a major role in fund-raising.
In the ensuing discussion, several possibilities for formalizing a SAMAB relationship with the land trusts were suggested. Bob Kerr, President of the SAMAB Foundation, asked that the trusts nominate someone to sit on the Foundation Board and on the SAMAB Executive Committee.
Forrest Carpenter of the U.S. Forest Service spoke for many when he said there is a "wonderful opportunity" for closer cooperation between SAMAB and the land trusts.
Executive Committee member Nancy Stoll of the U.S. Forest Service noted that SAMAB is supposed to be a public-private partnership but that so far private participation has been very limited. Hence, the land trusts offer a good opportunity for increasing private participation in SAMAB.
Executive Committee Chairman Randy Phillips suggested a formal structure for cooperation between the two groups. Charles Van Sickle agreed, saying a coordination strategy is needed.
Phillips said three follow-up actions will be taken:
Hinote said SAMAB appreciates the land trusts eagerness to work with SAMAB. "These folks will bring a lot of energy to the table," he said. "What they are doing is very much in line with SAMAB's goals and objectives."
Chairman Terry Seyden reported for the Public Affairs Committee. Much effort is going into follow-up work on the Southern Appalachian Assessment.
Requests for copies of the assessment report are still coming in. A slide program explaining the assessment is almost finished and will be available soon for presentation to constituency groups.
Community workshops are planned to spread the acquaint people with assessment results and to encourage local follow-up activities. Assessment team leaders will participate.
(Much already has been done to spread the word. See related story "News of Assessment Spreads; Many are Impressed")
Tom Nessmith of the Environmental Protection Agency Region IV suggested that workshop participants be given specific suggestions for follow-up community action.
Other committee reports follow:
Sustainable Development
Phill Gibson reported for this committee, chaired by John Peine. Funds are being sought from the State of Tennessee to publish a catalogue for communities to use in developing sustainable development strategies.
A colorful planning guide for Franklin County, Tennessee, was displayed. It is entitled, "Managing Natural Resources -- A Planning Guide for Franklin County." Its publication was funded by the Tennessee Conservation League.
The Executive Committee showed great interest in the publication, which is packed with information. Randy Phillips said other communities could well use similar material to encourage sustainable development practices. Charles Van Sickle said he would like to show the planning guide at a meeting of the Western North Carolina Development Committee.
In response to suggestions that SAMAB promote publication of similar materials in other communities, Hubert Hinote was assigned to determine what the chart cost, identify needs and opportunities, and report back at the next Executive Committee meeting.
Research & Monitoring
Karl Hermann reported that a meeting is planned to follow-up on the Southern Appalachian Assessment.
Environmental Education & Training
Terry Seyden reported for the committee in the absence of Gene Cox, chairman. He said two exhibits dealing with the Southern Appalachian Assessment are available to SAMAB agencies. Contact Terry for details.
Cultural Resources
Hubert Hinote reported for this committee. He said an inventory of the region’s cultural and historic resources is being compiled and printed. It was recognized that much of the data is available in the Assessment data base.
Committees Getting Help From the Top
Executive Committee Chair Randy Phillips has assigned members of the Executive Committee to work with each of the standing committees.
The objective is to improve communication so that the Executive Committee has a better feel for what is going on, and the standing committees have a clearer idea of what the Executive Committee's priorities are.
The assignments are:
The Executive Committee at its next meeting will decide whether to add to its roster of standing committees a new one designated tentatively as the Environmental Coordinating Committee.
The proposal was made at the September 18-19 Executive Committee session in Franklin, North Carolina.
Harold Draper, a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Specialist for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) first suggested that SAMAB form a NEPA Coordinators Committee.
Federal agencies are required to follow NEPA procedures in all projects and activities. This means assessing the environmental impacts of an action, then preparing an Environmental Impact Statement, if necessary, for public discussion.
While states are not covered by NEPA, most have similar programs in place.
After discussion, the name of the new committee was changed to broaden its scope.
SAMAB Executive Director Hubert Hinote commented that Section 101 of NEPA has language remarkably similar to SAMAB's objective statement. Karen Wade noted that formation of the new committee could help SAMAB's state members through greater information-sharing.
At its September 17-18 meeting in Franklin, NC, the Executive Committee endorsed adding a site in the Hiwassee River watershed to the U.S. Geological Survey’s network of streams monitored for water quality.
Briane Adams of USGS requested the action. He said other sites were being nominated.
Executive Director Hubert Hinote will write an endorsement letter to USGS.
Marc Danby of TVA reported on a September meeting of the Hiwassee Ecosystem Management Project in Murphy, NC. He said attention was focused on water quality problems in parts of the river. A plan for dealing with these was drafted. Although SAMAB is not currently involved, most of the agencies in the SAMAB Cooperative are participating.
Jon Loney of TVA agreed to determine the further role for SAMAB in helping resolve issues on the Hiwassee.
Coincidentally, an attractive full-color brochure on the Hiwassee watershed was distributed at the SAMAB meeting. The brochure, published by TVA, calls the Hiwassee River "an asset clearly worth protecting."
The Hiwassee drains 2,700 square miles in western North Carolina, north Georgia, and east Tennessee. It is one of the 12 major watersheds that drain into the Tennessee River.
Copies of the brochure are available from TVA.
The current Action Plan for SAMAB expires this year and a new one is needed. Once again, your Executive Director needs input from all those associated with SAMAB to make the new plan meaningful.
The plan must project our goals and objectives for the next three years. Keep in mind that, as always, adequate funding to meet these goals and objectives is essential.
Besides looking ahead, we need to look back. What have we accomplished in the past three years? A great deal, I'm sure you will agree. The Southern Appalachian Assessment was a historic achievement. And there have been others.
We need to be looking for gaps in the Southern Appalachian Assessment and figuring out how we can fill those gaps.
I appreciate very much the expressions of support from our chairman, Randy Phillips. He will be working with me to come up with a complete financial statement and budget for next year.
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