What is the Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Reserve?

The "zone of cooperation" of the Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Reserve covers the Appalachian parts of six states: Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Virginia. It is loosely defined as the Southern Appalachian ecosystem. The Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Reserve was designated by UNESCO in 1988 as a multi-unit regional biosphere reserve. UNESCO designated it based solely on its unique characteristics (geological, biological, and cultural) and plays no role in it's management. UNESCO has given special recognition (certificates) to six management units within the Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Reserve:

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park
  (managed by the National Park Service)

• Coweeta Hydrological Laboratory
  (managed by the U.S.Forest Service)

• Oak Ridge's National Environmental Research Park
  (managed by a private contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy)

• Mount Mitchell State Park
  (managed by the State of North Carolina's Department of Health, Environment and Natural Resources)

• Grandfather Mountain
  (privately owned with protected easements provided to the Nature Conservancy)

• Tennessee River Gorge
  (near Chattanooga, TN and managed by a non-profit organization)