2003 – 2006 Program of Work

• Raise awareness of the detrimental effects of invasive species and develop strategies among agencies, communities, industry, and volunteers to address this threat to the Southern Appalachians.
• Facilitate cooperation among agencies in the region to coordinate invasive species management plans
• Host workshops with the nursery and landscaping industry on native and exotic plant substitutes for invasive plants, and to develop policies and guidelines for promoting use of non-invasive plants in landscaping
• Develop informational materials to help identify invasive plants, and to promote use of non-invasive plants in landscaping
• Work with a community in the Southern Appalachians to demonstrate how community-based invasive plant management can be accomplished
• Enhance information shared on invasives via the SAMAB website
• Train volunteers to conduct detection surveys for invasive plant species

Environmental Monitoring

• Build in Southern Appalachian communities an understanding of natural resource conditions and a stewardship ethic through citizen-based environmental inventory and monitoring.
• Continue SAMAB-sponsored monitoring of invasive exotic plants and water quality in gateway communities
• Expand monitoring to include communities in other parts of the Southern Appalachians and additional indicators of environmental health
• Address community-specific inventory and monitoring needs
• Collect data in a manner consistent with Cooperative agency protocols to ensure its usefulness for federal land management purposes
• Communicate “lessons learned” to other partnerships along the Appalachians to promote monitoring along the full length of the Appalachian Trail
• Facilitate constructive dialogue among citizens, gateway communities, and federal land management agencies

Ecosystem Restoration

• Protect watersheds and native forests and grasslands by providing information and building understanding of the use of tools (like prescribed fire) in ecosystem restoration efforts.
• Facilitate information exchange on current restoration projects in the Southern Appalachians
• Host a panel on the use of prescribed fire in the Southern Appalachians at the SAMAB Fall Conference
• Work across agency boundaries on the Upper Tennessee River Watershed Restoration project
• Host a field trip at the SAMAB Fall Conference to demonstrate successful use of prescribed burns to restore native grasslands
• Explore the potential for a workshop or conference on “Fire Ecology in the Appalachians”
• Host a workshop on techniques to restore native pine-hardwood ecosystems, many of which have been lost due to southern pine beetle epidemic

Information Management

• Coordinate and facilitate delivery of data and information on the Southern Appalachian region through the Southern Appalachian Information Node (SAIN) of the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII).
•  Work with SAIN to test and improve its Web-based infrastructure for functionality and usability
• Develop prototype applications of information sharing through SAIN, e.g., document GPRA accomplishments and assist with NEPA processes, public participation and involvement, resource assessments, and management issues
• Identify agency and organization leads for providing data, information, and tools
• Secure organizational commitments to documented, on-line information linked to or through SAIN
• Convene a meeting with appropriate technical personnel from regional agencies and organizations to facilitate information sharing.
• Identify and prioritize shared, unmet information needs, including data quality objectives for each need

Sustainable Communities

• Facilitate access to information, tools, and resources that communities need to develop sustainably.
• Compile a “toolbox” of Community Sustainability Planning Assistance including information, procedures, and funding sources
• Host a Community Leaders Workshop to raise awareness of availability of technical assistance programs and competitive funding opportunities
• Provide technical and managerial assistance, training, funding, and access to tools to a few pilot communities in the Southern Appalachians
• Host a workshop on Gateway Communities, focusing on their common issues and opportunities
• Provide assistance in piloting and distributing the SEF and GeoBook, and in making GeoBook data web-accessible

Cultural Resources

• Raise awareness of the importance of cultural resources in the Southern Appalachians. Promote and foster conservation, preservation, interpretation and research of cultural resources. Facilitate information exchange and dialogue between landowners/managers and communities/affected populations.
• Host a workshop with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, landowners/managers and agencies addressing issues, consultation and cooperative endeavors
• Host a workshop to share issues and develop regional priorities for cultural resource management
• Promote sharing of expertise among all agencies and individuals by sponsoring thematic symposia
• Identify and participate in historic preservation initiatives across the region. Help secure funds for their support and make technical expertise available

Air Quality

• Building on recent results of Southern Appalachian Mountain Initiative, promote broader understanding of the causes of air pollution in the region and pursue opportunities for inter-agency cooperation to address these issues.
• Host a panel at future SAMAB Fall Conference on air quality issues in the Southern Appalachians and ways to promote understanding with the general public