SAMAB News Briefs is a periodic e-mail communication sent to SAMAB members and partners on activities, ideas, and directions. To respond/react to any of these news briefs or to contribute to a future "issue," please contact Robb Turner, SAMAB Executive Director, SAMAB, 314 Conference Center Building, Knoxville, TN 37996-4138, or phone 865-974-4583. To request removal from or additions to the mailing list, send request and email address(s) to samab@utk.edu.

• Issue dated December 15, 2001
• Issue dated December 1, 2001
• Issue dated November 15, 2001
• Issue dated October 31, 2001
• Issue dated October 15, 2001
• Issue dated October 1, 2001
• Issue dated September 15, 2001
• Issue dated September 1, 2001
• Issue dated August 15, 2001
• Issue dated August 1, 2001
• Issue dated July 15, 2001
• Issue dated July 1, 2001
• Issue dated June 15, 2001
• Issue dated June 1, 2001
• Issue dated May 15, 2001
• Issue dated May 1, 2001
• Issue dated April 15, 2001
• Issue dated April 1, 2001
• Issue dated March 15, 2001
• Issue dated March 1, 2001
• Issue dated February 15, 2001
• Issue dated February 1, 2001
• Issue dated January 15, 2001
• 2000 Issues

SAMAB ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING COORDINATOR POSITION AVAILABLE—The SAMAB Foundation seeks a dynamic individual to coordinate community, university, and agency staff in monitoring changing conditions in the southern Appalachian region. Applicant must have demonstrated ability to plan and coordinate activities of diverse groups of people and experience at building and working in partnerships. Applicant should have some knowledge of the science behind environmental monitoring as well as information-management/communication skills for organizing and disseminating information collected. Bachelors degree or higher, and willingness to travel regularly within the region are expected. See more detailed position description and application procedures at http://samab.org or call 865-974-4583.

NATIONAL CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS LOCAL-TO-INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION NEEDS—SAMAB and the NBII Southern Appalachian Information Node (SAIN) played a key role in a breakout session on "Information Systems in Support of Effective Environmental Decision Making" at the National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment - Sustainable Communities: Science and Solutions, held in Washington DC on December 6-7. Presenters in the session included Bonnie Carroll, SAIN node lead from Information International Associates, speaking on the developing biodiversity information infrastructure from local to global perspectives; Anne Frondorf, Acting Deputy Geographic Information Officer, USGS, speaking on the National Spatial Data Infrastructure; Robin O'Malley, Heinz Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment speaking on the state of the nation's ecosystems; and Robb Turner, SAMAB Executive Director and Technical Director of SAIN speaking on the Southern Appalachian Regional Information System for integrated environmental data. Recommendations from this and other sessions from the Conference will be taken to the "Rio+10" Conference to be held in Johannesburg in 2002 and will help shape sustainability efforts in the US. The draft recommendations are on line at http://cnie.org/

APPALACHIAN REGIONAL COMMISSION SETS ATTENDANCE RECORD FOR KENTUCKY CONFERENCE—More than 800 people from the 13 ARC states gathered in Prestonburg, Kentucky, November 7 to examine community-based collaboration and interjurisdictional cooperation as linchpins to sustainable, "home-grown," economic development in rural Appalachia. Hosted by Appalachian native son and 2001 ARC States' Co-Chairman Governor Paul E. Patton, "the New Appalachia" conference was opened by ARC Federal Co-Chairman Jesse L. White, Jr., in Prestonburg's beautiful Mountain Arts Center. A full-house audience heard an inspiring keynote address presented by best-selling author Dr. Stephen R. Covey, who generously donated his services. Later in the afternoon at Jenny Wiley State Park, participants attended breakout sessions showcasing a small sampling of "Ideas that Work" -- best practices of community economic development projects pioneered across the Appalachian Region. The full listing of ARC's "Ideas that Work" projects, complete with local contact information and arranged by goal area and by state, is available online at http://www.arc.gov/infopubs/ideas/ideasix.htm.

NEPA/Environmental Coordination Items:

—US Army, Corps of Engineers:
Norfolk District has issued a public notice on a proposed 202-acre housing development by Shields Enterprises in Fishersville, Augusta County, Virginia. The project will fill approximately 2 acres of wetlands due to road construction and site preparation. The public notice can be viewed at http://www.nao.usace.army.mil/Regulatory/PN/PN.html

—USDA, Forest Service:
The Brasstown Ranger District, Chattahoochee National Forest, invites comments on removal of southern pine beetle-infected trees at the Brasstown work Center on SR 76 and along SR 288 west of Hiawassee. Information from Rick Semingson at 706-632-3031 or rsemingson@fs.fed.us

—USDA, Rural Utilities Service:
A FONSI has been issued on the proposed financing of a 8-mile transmission line to be constructed by Georgia Transmission Corporation in Hall County, Georgia. Copies are available from Bob Quigel, 202-720-0468 or bquigel@rus.usda.gov

—EPA/Tennessee Division of Community Assistance:
FNSIs have been issed on the proposed rehabilitation of sewer lines and the installation of new water lines in the Obed River drainage of Crossville, Tennessee. Copies can be obtained from Sam Gaddipati at sgaddipati@mail.state.tn.us

—Tennessee Valley Authority:
TVA is evaluating a site on Stone Mountain in Johnson County, Tennessee for a new wind turbine facility. An EA is expected to be available soon. For more information, contact Anita Rose at akrose@tva.gov or 865-632-1451.

—DOT, Surface Transportation Board:
Norfolk Southern Railway proposes to abandon a railroad line in Buchanan County, Virginia and McDowell County, West Virginia. For a copy of the EA on STB Docket No. AB-290, contact Section on Environmental Analysis at 202-565-1552.

****************************
Happy Holidays! The next SAMAB Email Newsbriefs will appear January 15.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• February 15, 2002 - SAMAB Cooperative Executive Committee meeting, Blue Ridge Parkway Headquarters, Asheville, NC
• March 15-17, 2002 - Appalachian Studies Association 25th Annual Conference, Unicoi State Park, GA. Patricia Beaver, beaverp@appstate.edu, http://www.appalachianstudies.org
• April 3-5, 2002, Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN. http://www.se-eppc.org/
• >April 10-13, 2002 - Association of Southeastern Biologists Annual Meeting, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina. http://asb.appstate.edu/
>

E-Mail News Briefs—December 1, 2001

SOUTHERN FOREST SCIENCE CONFERENCE—Charlie Van Sickle, SAMAB Foundation President, and Robb Turner, SAMAB Executive Director, presented "Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Program: A Model for Management-need Based Research" in the opening plenary session of the Southern Forest Science Conference in Atlanta, November 26-28. Over 250 researchers and managers engaged in a variety of plenary, concurrent, poster, and discussion sessions that reviewed past accomplishments and suggested priorities for future forestry research and management. Much of the discussion was made more poignant by the concurrent release of the Southern Forest Resource Assessment (see next item). Van Sickle and Turner's short paper can be viewed at http://samab.org

DRAFT SOUTHERN FOREST SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT RELEASED—This 30-month assessment examines the status and potential future of southern forests and their various benefits. The interagency work, led by the USDA Forest Service, addresses topics of forest sustainability in light of increasing urbanization and timber harvests, forest pests, climate change, and other factors that influence the region's forests. The 1200-pages of detailed report, 100-page summary, and 7-page executive summary describe potentially profound effects for the region as a whole and for particular subregions, including the Southern Appalachians. The geographic patterns and trends presented suggest significant ecological and socioeconomic changes for many areas of the South. At least the executive summary is a must-read at http://www.srs.fs.fed.us/sustain, and the Forest Service is seeking comment/feedback. Hard copy summaries of the report or the entire report on CD can be obtained by calling 828-257-4200. There would seem to be many needs and opportunities for interagency and public-private partnerships to address issues raised in this assessment.

5th ANNUAL ALL TAXA BIODIVERSITY INVENTORY ANNUAL MEETING—Discover Life in America and Great Smoky Mountains National Park hosted the meeting of 125 scientists, managers, and volunteers who are endeavoring to discover and document all life in the Park. Reports from the taxonomic working groups ranging from slime molds to mammals reviewed progress to date, ~1500 species new to the Smokies and 150 new to science! Much remains to be done, however. So far, only about 12,000 of the estimated 100,000 species in the Park have been found. Sessions on photography, fundraising, volunteer opportunities, education, data systems, and future research rounded out the agenda. A biodiversity auction raised $4000 toward future work. Keith Langdon, Smokies Branch Chief for Inventory and Monitoring, was recognized by Mike Tollefson of the Smokies and by John Yancy of the NPS Regional Office in Atlanta for his sustained leadership on the project. Robb Turner and Wolf Naegeli discussed with ATBI data managers and others how the NBII Southern Appalachian Information Node can assist in making the ATBI findings more accessible and useful to researchers, managers, and the public. http://www.discoverlife.org

OBJECTIONS TO NATIVE GRASSES IN CADES COVE—Surprisingly, managers in Great Smoky Mountains National Park have received complaints from tourists in Cades Cove who think the restored native grass meadows are unmanicured looking and hide the deer and other wildlife that they expect to see. The Park Service has prepared an explanatory roadside display, and is working to communicate with the public about the benefits to biodiversity of native versus exotic grasses. Jenny Beeler, a biological scientist working in the Park on native grass restoration, has written a short explanation of the restoration effort and its benefits for wildlife (see http://samab.org/Init/Plants/pubs.html). Comments on the native grass restoration efforts may be sent to bob_miller@nps.gov.

ALLIANCE FOR THE CUMBERLANDS INITIATED—The Cumberland Round Table, organized and hosted by Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning's Public Lands Committee, convened in an all-day session on November 14 in Oak Ridge. 35 individuals represented 21 organizations including NPS at Obed and Big South Fork, USFS's Forest Legacy Program, Daniel Boone National Forest, TVA, TWRA, TN Division of State Parks and Natural Heritage, KY Nature Preserve Commission, The Nature Conservancy from TN and KY, TN Parks and Greenways Foundation, KY Natural Lands Trust, the Foothills Land Conservancy, National Parks and Conservation Association, Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition, Cumberland Trail Conference, TN Environmental Council, TN Conservation League, TN Ornithological Society, Historic Rugby, and TCWP. The northern Cumberland Plateau is the focus of the "Alliance." Some hopeful prospects were discussed, such as The Nature Conservancy's recently funded project for the Cumberlands, TWRA's efforts to acquire 81,000 acres that would link Frozen Head to Royal Blue WMA, and prospects that the Forest Legacy Program would include a section of the northern Cumberland Plateau.

NEW EPA SMART-GROWTH WEBSITE—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced a new online resource designed to facilitate and support smart growth—development that serves the economy, community, and the environment. Recent studies have demonstrated that smart-growth development approaches have clear environmental benefits, including improved air and water quality, increased wetlands preservation, more brownfield sites cleaned and reused, less development pressure on farmland and wilderness areas, and clear economic and fiscal benefits for communities as well. http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth

SAMAB ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING COORDINATOR POSITION AVAILABLE—The SAMAB Foundation seeks a dynamic individual to coordinate community, university, and agency staff in monitoring changing conditions in the southern Appalachian region. Applicant must have demonstrated ability to plan and coordinate activities of diverse groups of people and experience at building and working in partnerships. Applicant should have some knowledge of the science behind environmental monitoring as well as information-management/communication skills for organizing and disseminating information collected. Bachelors degree or higher, and willingness to travel regularly within the region are expected. See more detailed position description and application procedures at http://samab.org or call 865-974-4583.

NEPA/Environmental Coordination Items:

—US Army Corps of Engineers:

• The Wilmington District has issued a public notice on the proposed improvements to US 19/19E between Mars Hill and Micaville in Madison and Yancey Counties, North Carolina. The project affects the Cane River watershed where federally-endangered mussels are present and may affect National Register-eligible historic properties. It can be viewed at http://www.saw.usace.army.mil/wetlands/regtour.htm
• The Nashville District has issued a public notice on proposed channel excavation for two channels to serve a subdivision on Douglas Reservoir, Jefferson County, Tennessee. It can be viewed at http://www.orn.usace.army.mil/cof/notices.htm

—USDA/Natural Resources Conservation Service:
A Record of Decision has been completed for the Upper Tygart Valley River Watershed project in Randolph and Pocahontas Counties, West Virginia. Copies may be obtained from William J. Hartman, 75 High Street, Room 301, Morgantown, WV 26508; telephone 304-284-7545.

—Department of Energy:
DOE proposes to demonstrate the commercial viability of the fixed bed British Gas Lurgi process and the operation of a high temperature molten carbonate fuel cell using synthesis gas at Trapp, Kentucky, adjacent to the Cumberland Mountains. A Draft EIS has been released on the Kentucky Pioneer Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Demonstration Project. Information from Roy Spears at rspear@netl.doe.gov or 304-285-5460.

—EPA/TDEC:
A FONSI amendment was completed for the facilities plan of the City of Loudon, Tennessee to extend sewer service to new locations in the Matlock Bend area west of town. Information from Sam Gaddipati at (615) 532-0445.

—USDI/Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement:
An EA was completed and permit issued for the application of S&H Mining for a surface coal mine near Briceville, Tennessee, in the New River watershed. Information from Douglas Siddell at 865-545-4103x173.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• March 15-17, 2002 - Appalachian Studies Association 25th Annual Conference, Unicoi State Park, GA. Patricia Beaver, beaverp@appstate.edu, http://www.appalachianstudies.org
• April 3-5, 2002, Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN. http://www.se-eppc.org/
• >April 10-13, 2002 - Association of Southeastern Biologists Annual Meeting, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina. http://asb.appstate.edu/
>

E-Mail News Briefs—November 15, 2001

SAMAB ANNUAL FALL CONFERENCE OVER—190 registered participants--federal and state agency staff, watershed and other community groups, university faculty and students, and interested citizens of the southern Appalachians--exchanged ideas about stewardship in the southern Appalachians in Gatlinburg November 6-8. The 80+ oral and poster presentations were kicked off by Mike Tollefson, Superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park who opened the meeting, and Denny Fenn, USGS Assistant Director for Biology, who provided the keynote address. Sessions included regional assessments, sustainable communities, cultural and historic resources, management-needs-based research, citizen science/monitoring, invasive exotic plants, watersheds, information resources, and environmental streamlining. Program and Abstracts are available at http://samab.org/Events/Conf/conf.html.

FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND COOPERATIVE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEET—In meetings before the Fall Conference on November 5, SAMAB leaders assessed progress and looked forward. The Foundation Board welcomed new members Danny Sells, Bob Williams, Michael Clark, and Kevin Johns, and reviewed development progress, the Appalachian stewardship/National Forest Foundation Grant, and strategic directions. Cooperative members surveyed agency activities, reviewed committee and project progress, and discussed steps toward new activities and the Spring Planning Meeting.

USGS APPALACHIAN INTEGRATED-SCIENCE WEBSITE—The new website http://www.appalachianregionscience.usgs.gov/appal/ contains a report and abstracts from the USGS Appalachian science planning meeting held October 22-26 in Gatlinburg.

NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCT DATA BASE AVAILABLE—This database currently lists 857 commercial and non-commercial non-timber forest product species and is intended to help in the identification, development and conservation of NTFP species in your region. You can search by scientific name, common names, product use, parts used, state range and distribution, and whether or not it is known to be commercially harvested. In addition to the Product Database the U.S. NTFP Website has a searchable bibliographic database and Internet links database. The U.S. NTFP Website is a free service hosted by the Institute for Culture and Ecology. http://ifcae.org/ntfp/

867 ECOREGIONS--A NEW MAP OF LIFE ON EARTH—Beautiful photos, regional descriptions, and maps are the result of an 8-year effort by the World Wildlife Fund, David M. Olson, Eric Dinerstein, and numerous other scientists. It's reported about in the current issue of BioScience http://www.wwfus.org/ecoregions/bioscience.pdf. See it all at http://www.wwfus.org/ecoregions/index.htm for the 867 ecoregions; http://www.wwfus.org/ecoregions/ecoregions_map.htm to go directly to the map; http://www.nationalgeographic.http://com/wildworld/terrestrial.html for a version for students. [Ed. note -- there still seem to be some bugs in the web-based implementation, but looks promising.]

FALL 2001 SOUTHERN RESEARCH STATION PUBS LIST—The new Southern Research Station (USDA Forest Service) catalog of recent publications covers a broad range of natural resource research. http://www.srs.fs.fed.us/pubs/2001-11_publications.htm.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM—EPA Region 4 Office of Environmental Justice will assist community-based/grassroots organizations and tribal governments working on local solutions to local environmental problems with grants of $15,000 for non Superfund projects and $20,000 for Superfund projects. (Region 4 grants include the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.) Applications are due February 21, 2002. See http://www.epa.gov/oeca/main/ej or email: love.gloria@epa.gov

NEPA/ENVIRONMENTAL COORDINATION ITEMS:

—US Army Corps of Engineers:
A Draft EIS has been released on the Marlinton Local Flood Protection Project, Pocahontas, West Virginia. A copy can be viewed at www.lrh.usace.army.mil/pd/MarlintonLPP/ or obtained from stephen.m.worley@usace.army.mil

—Public Notices (http://www.orn.usace.army.mil/cof/Pnlist.htm):

• Public Notice 01-68, Improvements of 3.7 miles of Tennessee 111 in Hamilton County, Tennessee
• Public Notice 01-85. Subdivision property owners propose excavations of two channels in the Muddy Creek embayment of Douglas Reservoir, Jefferson County, Tennessee.
• Public Notice 01-86. Expansion of a barge unloading facility for Mead Containerboard, Guntersville Reservoir, Jackson County, Alabama
• Public Notice 01-89, Water main for First Utility District across Sinking Creek, Fort Loudoun Reservoir, Knox County, Tennessee

• The New River Valley Ranger District is considering treating approximately 54,000 acres of public and private land for gypsy moth infestation in Wythe, Pulaski, and Bland Counties, Virginia. For more information, contact Ed Leonard or Cynthia Schiffer, District Ranger, at 540-552-4641.
• The Georgia Transmission Corporation, a cooperative owned by Electric Membership Corporations in Georgia, proposes to construct a new 6-mile transmission line across Chattahoochee National Forest, Tallulah Ranger District, lands in Raybun County, Georgia. An EA is being prepared. For more information, contact Blaine Boydstun at 706-754-6221.

—USDA-Rural Utilities Service:
An EA is being prepared for financing assistance to Georgia Transmission Corporation for the construction of 55 miles of transmission line in Heard, Carroll, and Douglas Counties, Georgia. For more information contact bquigel@rus.usda.gov or 202-720-0468

—Department of Energy:

• The Final Site-Wide EIS for the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant has been published. The preferred alternative is to construct and operate a new Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Storage Facility and a new Special Materials Complex. Copies may be obtained from Gary Hartman at y12EIS@oro.doe.gov or by calling 865-576-0273.
• The final Long-Term Stewardship Study, which discusses DOE sites where contaminated facilities, water, and soil are likely to remain after cleanup actitivies are finished is available for review at www.em.doe.gov/lts or by calling 1-800-7EM-DATA.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• November 26-28, 2001 - Southern Forest Science Conference, Atlanta. http://southernforestscience.net
• November 28-December 1, 2001 - All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory Annual Conference, Gatlinburg, TN. Jeanie Hilten (jeanie@discoverlife.org)
• March 15-17, 2002 - Appalachian Studies Association 25th Annual Conference, Unicoi State Park, GA. Patricia Beaver, beaverp@appstate.edu, http://www.appalachianstudies.org
• April 3-5, 2002, Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN. http://www.se-eppc.org/
• April 10-13, 2002 - Association of Southeastern Biologists Annual Meeting, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina. http://asb.appstate.edu/
>

E-Mail News Briefs—October 31, 2001

USGS PLANS APPALACHIAN INTEGRATED-SCIENCE INITIATIVE—About 100 USGS scientists met October 22-26 in Gatlinburg to share their research and identify opportunities for interdisciplinary, integrated research addressing issues confronting the Appalachian region. The draft research plan resulting from the meeting will soon be posted on an AppalachianScience Web site for broad review and input. A "partners'" meeting will be scheduled in the spring in which other agencies and organizations will be invited to participate in further planning and eventual implementation of the initiative.

AGENCIES DISCUSS COMMON INTERESTS IN MONITORING ENDANGERED, THREATENED, AND SENSITIVE SPECIES—The Forest Service hosted a teleconference on October 30 of agency managers and scientists to discuss existing monitoring programs, monitoring needs, and opportunities for cooperation in region-wide monitoring of species and habitat requirements. The group will continue discussions around four themes—species distribution/status, habitat mapping, research priorities, and long-term monitoring.

ATTEND THE SAMAB FALL CONFERENCE (November 6-8, 2001)—Program and Abstracts, an overview agenda, and registration form are available at http://samab.org/Events/Conf/conf.html. The conference focuses on opportunities for stewardship in the southern Appalachians. Denny Fenn, USGS Assistant Director for Biology will give the keynote address. Sessions include regional assessments, sustainable communities, cultural and historic resources, management-needs-based research, citizen science/monitoring, invasive exotic plants, watersheds, information resources, and environmental streamlining.

"CLEAR THE AIR" ACID RAIN REPORT RELEASED—This recent NGO acid rain report is summarized at http://cta.policy.net and the full report can be found at http://cta.policy.net/relatives/18480.pdf

PART-TIME POSITION, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR GREENWAYS, TRAILS, AND PARKS TASK FORCE—Nine Counties, One Vision, Knoxville, Tennessee. Contact Bucky Smith, Girl Scouts of Tanasi Council, 1600 Breda Drive, Knoxville, TN, 37918 for position description and application procedures.

NEPA/Environmental Coordination Items:
—Forest Service Projects:

• George Washington & Jefferson National Forests are proposing gypsy moth suppression in 8 areas of the Glenwood-Pedlar, Warm Springs, James River and Lee Ranger Districts, totaling 4,889 acres. Information from Nancy Ross at 540-265-5172.
• Tallulah Ranger District, Chattanoochee National Forest is proposing the "Little Creek amphibian habitat replacement" project. Other proposed projects involve brook trout restoration, cane restoration, and various other streambank stabilization, forest management, and recreation management projects. Information from Dave Jensen, District Ranger, 706-782-3320
• Toccoa Ranger District, Chattahoochee National Forest is proposing a special use permit for the Army Camp sewage treatment project, including new spray field. Information from Cassius Cash, District Ranger, 706-632-3031
• Appalachian Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest, is conducting additional analysis and scoping on the proposed Northside Timber Sale, Yancey County, North Carolina. The previous decision to conduct forest management on approximately 100 acres was withdrawn due to litigation. This was recently settled.

• 01-82, Channel alterations associated with proposed I-75 Interchange at State Route 317 (Bonnie Oaks Drive), Hamilton County, Tennessee
• 01-83, Community boat dock and harbor excavation with navigational channel excavation for Gold Point Circle South Dock Association, Chickamauga Reservoir, Hamilton County, Tennessee
• Permits issued from July through September 2001 by the Nashville District in eastern Tennessee authorized Tennessee 354 construction at Boones Creek, Washington County; US 27 construction in Rhea County; and development fills for Willamette Industries in Sullivan County and Osborne Building Corporation in Hamilton County. Decision documents are available from Ronald Gatlin, Regulatory Branch, 3701 Bell Road, Nashville, Tennessee 37214.

• FERC is proposing to allow Cascade Power Project, located in Transylvania County, North Carolina, to surrender its license. For further
• information contact james.haimes@ferc.fed.us or 202-219-2780.
• FERC has issued an EA for the licensing of the Big Island and Holcomb Rock Hydroelectric Projects, located on the James River in Bedford
• and Amherst Counties, Virginia. The FEA may be viewed on the web at www.ferc.gov, using the RIMS link and selecting docket number 2901-008.

• A FONSI for the Horseshoe Run Natural Stream Restoration Demonstration Project, Tucker County, West Virginia is available from
• William J. Hartman, NRCS, 304-284-7545.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• November 5 (9am) - SAMAB Foundation Board Meeting, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 5 (1pm) - SAMAB Cooperative Executive Committee meeting, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 6-8 - SAMAB Annual Fall Conference - From Issues to Action: Opportunities for Stewardship in the Southern Appalachians, Gatlinburg, TN http://samab.org/Events/Conf/conf.html
• November 26-28 - Southern Forest Science Conference, Atlanta. http://southernforestscience.net
• November 28-December 1 - All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory Annual Conference, Gatlinburg, TN. Jeanie Hilten, jeanie@discoverlife.org
• March 15-17, 2002 - Appalachian Studies Association 25th Annual Conference, Unicoi State Park, GA. Patricia Beaver, beaverp@appstate.edu, http://www.appalachianstudies.org
• April 3-5, 2002, Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN. http://www.se-eppc.org/
• >April 10-13, 2002 - Association of Southeastern Biologists Annual Meeting, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina. http://asb.appstate.edu/
>

E-Mail News Briefs—October 15, 2001

SAMAB FOUNDATION RECEIVES GRANT FROM NATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION—This $100,000 cost-share grant for Monitoring and Assessment of the Appalachian Trail Environment will be used to develop a scientifically based, regional approach for stewardship of natural and cultural resources in the Appalachian region, focusing on lands and gateway communities near the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and the national forests and park areas through which the Appalachian Trail passes. See next item.

APPALACHIAN REGION MONITORING PROJECT PLANS PROGRESS—Twenty SAMAB, Appalachian Trail Conference, National Park Service, and Forest Service representatives met October 11-12 in Harpers Ferry WV to continue planning for the AT-region monitoring project. Volunteer/community interests, agency resource management needs, education/outreach opportunities, and funding will shape what will be monitored, where, and by whom. Indicators and areas to be monitored likely would include conditions in the trail corridor as well as on nearby lands that help define the Appalachian experience. Participants endorsed a Southern Appalachian prototype (pilot project) that could involve one or more segments of the AT including a number of trail clubs, agency land-owners, and nearby gateway communities. Additional planning meetings will engage more partners and identify specific activities to get underway in the next year.

REGISTER NOW FOR THE SAMAB FALL CONFERENCE (November 6-8, 2001)—An agenda and registration form are available at http://samab.org/Events/Conf/conf.html. The conference focuses on opportunities for stewardship in the southern Appalachians.

Cultural resources activities and perspectives are highlighted in a Wednesday Nov 7 concurrent session. Historic and cultural resource specialists will address the ethnohistory of the Eastern Band of Cherokee and American Indian perspectives on forest product gathering and availability. Other presentations focus on cooperative efforts to preserve and manage the region's historic resources at three different North Carolina sites.

Activities aimed at helping Southern Appalachian communities achieve sustainability are featured in a Thursday Nov 8 symposium. These activities range from building community leadership and understanding of resource management activities to managing community growth to private and community resource management programs.

Research into critical regional issues--air quality, forest pests, and effects of land use and forest fragmentation on salamanders, endemic fishes, and macroinvertebrates--and the resource management implications of this research are the focus of another Thursday morning session. The goal is to further communication between scientists and resource managers to improve regional resource management.

Other panels and symposia on citizen science/monitoring, invasive exotic plants, watersheds, information resources, and environmental streamlining have been featured in earlier newsbriefs. For more information see the SAMAB website at http://samab.org/Events/Conf/conf.html.

NATIVE GRASS RESTORATION WEBSITE—A website on native grass and wildflower restoration has been established by Kari Cohen, one of SAMAB's 2001 summer interns at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The site documents efforts to restore native grasses and wildflowers to various locations on the Oak Ridge Reservation, including seed mixes, photos, information on species and benefits, and useful links. See http://www.esd.ornl.gov/facilities/nerp/nativegrass.html

NEPA/Environmental Coordination Items—

• The New River Valley Ranger District (Jefferson National Forest) proposes to conduct a gypsy moth "slow the spread" treatment on up to 77,000 acres in FY 2002. They also propose a 76-acre oak mast enhancement project. Contact Ed Leonard at 540-552-4641.
• The Lee Ranger District (George Washington National Forest) is proposing ailanthus treatments at various places in the district. Contact L. Runyon at 540-984-4101.
• The Clinch Ranger District (Jefferson National Forest) proposes to restore native hardwoods on over 700 acres of off-site white pine stands. Contact Peter Fischer at 540-328-2931 for more information.
• Glenwood and Pedlar Ranger Districts (George Washington and Jefferson National Forests) propose restoring rivers in the St. Mary's Wilderness, Augusta County, Virginia. Information from Dave Benavitch at 540-291-2188.
• Daniel Boone National Forest is holding forest planning workshops at 7 locations between November 26 and December 6. For more information, contact Rick Wilcox at 859-745-3156.
• North Burton Transmission Line. Georgia Transmission Corporation has applied for a permit to cross 6 miles of Chattahoochee national forest land. Information is at www.fs.fed.us/conf/press/gtc-intro.htm
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for the Duke Energy Patriot Project, which involves 187 miles of natural gas pipeline and other upgrades in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia associated with new power plant construction in Wythe and Henry Counties, Virginia. A copy of the notice of intent appeared at 66 Federal Register page 41424 (October 9, 2001).
• The National Park Service, Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Federal Highway Administration will host a public meeting on Thursday, November 15, 2001, 6 pm at the Gatlinburg Community Center to discuss proposed improvements to Greenbrier Road. For more information, contact Phil Francis at (865) 436-1207.
• Federal Highway Administration has issued the following FONSIs: Virginia 72 improvements in Scott County (contact Doris Bush of VDOT at 540-669-9979) and Tennessee 162-Pellissippi Parkway Construction in Blount County (contact Charles Bush of TDOT at 615-741-3653).
• FHWA has issued a Notice of Intent to prepare a Supplemental EIS for the Appalachian Corridor H project in Tucker County, West Virginia. Information is available from Harry Compton at 304-347-5268
• FHWA is entertaining public comments on the US 460 connector through Breaks Interstate Park in Dickenson and Buchanan Counties, Virginia. Information is available from Dan Marston at VDOT (540) 669-6151.
• CSX Transportation proposes to abandon a 13.6-mile railroad line in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. An Environmental Assessment is available from the Surface Transportation Board at 202-565-1552.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued a Draft EIS on management of lesser snow geese. Copies of the DEIS can be viewed at http://migratorybirds.fws.gov/issues/snowgse/tblcont.html
• Nuclear Regulatory Commission proposes to allow TVA to produce tritium at the Watts Bar and Sequoyah Nuclear Plants. This is part of an effort to obtain a secure source of tritium for nuclear weapons. Information is available from the NRC at 800-368-5642.

• Norris Reservoir Land Management Plan. TVA approved a plan for the allocation and proposed future uses for 27,927acres of TVA-managed land on Norris Reservoir, Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Grainger, Claiborne, and Union Counties, Tennessee (Ridge and Valley ecoregion).
• Stumac Land Exchange. TVA provided concurrence in a U.S. Forest Service land exchange involving 14.2 acres of former TVA land on Chatuge Reservoir in Clay County, North Carolina (Blue Ridge ecoregion). The exchange tracts included 212 acres in Cherokee and Clay Counties, which would be added to Nantahala National Forest lands. In accordance with TVA's maintain and gain policy for loss of 2000 feet of undeveloped reservoir shoreline, 2,027 feet and 8 acres of shoreline property in Towns County, Georgia is to be transferred to TVA as mitigation for the loss of shoreline property.
• Mountain States Health Alliance easement. TVA decided to grant an easement over TVA land in Johnson City, Washington County, Tennessee (Ridge and Valley Ecoregion).
• Widows Creek Selective Catalytic Reduction System. TVA decided to install and operate systems to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from Widows Creek Fossil Plant in Jackson County, Alabama (Southwestern Appalachians Ecoregion).

• Hanceville-Bremen, Cullman County, Alabama (Southwestern Appalachians Ecoregion). TVA decided to construct a new transmission line to upgrade service to Bremen, Alabama.
• Rock Spring-Center Point, Whitfield and Walker Counties, Georgia (Ridge and Valley Ecoregion). TVA decided to construct a new transmission line to upgrade service in northern Georgia.

Section 26a actions:

• Tennessee 346-Alexander Creek. TVA decided to issue Section 26a approval for stream obstructions associated with the construction of State Route 346 in the Church Hill Area, Hawkins County, Tennessee (Ridge and Valley Ecoregion).
• Tennessee 354-Boones Creek. TVA decided to issue Section 26a approval for stream obstructions associated with construction of the I-181-Boones Creek Road interchange in Washington County, Tennessee (Ridge and Valley Ecoregion).

For more information on the above TVA reviews, contact hmdraper@tva.gov

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• November 5 (morning) - SAMAB Foundation Board Meeting, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 5 (afternoon) - SAMAB Cooperative Executive Committee meeting, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 6-8 - SAMAB Annual Fall Conference - From Issues to Action: Opportunities for Stewardship in the Southern Appalachians, Gatlinburg, TN http://samab.org/Events/Conf/conf.html
• November 26-28 - Southern Forest Science Conference, Atlanta. http://southernforestscience.net
• November 28-December 1 - All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory Annual Conference, Gatlinburg, TN. Jeanie Hilten, jeanie@discoverlife.org
• March 15-17, 2002 - Appalachian Studies Association 25th Annual Conference, Unicoi State Park, GA. Patricia Beaver, beaverp@appstate.edu, http://www.appalachianstudies.org
• April 3-5, 2002, Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN. http://www.se-eppc.org/

E-Mail News Briefs—October 1, 2001

SAMAB FOUNDATION LAUNCHES MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN—Join SAMAB in supporting resource sustainability, creating economic and cultural solutions to growing regional demands, and promoting a harmonious relationship with our Southern Appalachian Region. The membership drive will provide unrestriced operating funds for SAMAB and facilitate start-up and funding of programmatic activities. Individuals can find a membership form at http://samab.org or request a brochure from (samab@utk.edu) or 865-974-4583. SAMAB Foundation members receive a discount to the Fall Conference, and can also join when registering for the conference at http://samab.org/Events/Conf/conf.html. The Foundation will also solicit corporate members, "angel donors," and other forms of support—email (samab@utk.edu) or call 865-974-4583 to discover more about these opportunities. See http://samab.org for more on SAMAB including our strategic plan, activities, and data and information on the region.

FOUNDATION BOARD LOOKS AGGRESSIVELY FORWARD—At its September 24 meeting in Asheville the SAMAB Foundation reviewed a five-year development plan and fund-raising campaign to support it. The Board of Directors elected three new members, established committees, and took additional steps to develop the organizational capacity to be a more active and effective complement to the SAMAB Cooperative of Federal and state agencies. The Board is seeking additional candidates for Directors as well as candidates for an expanded Board of Advisors. Contact Charlie Van Sickle (chair, Board of Directors) (cvans@prodigy.net), Tom Hatley (chair, nominating committee) (jthatley@home.com), Kevin Johns (chair, Board of Advisors) (kevin.johns@parsons.com), or (samab@utk.edu).

REGISTER NOW FOR THE SAMAB FALL CONFERENCE (November 6-8, 2001)—An agenda and registration form are available at http://samab.org/Events/Conf/conf.html. The conference focuses on opportunities for stewardship in the southern Appalachians. "Opportunities" highlighted at this year's conference include "citizen science" and agency programs to assist with watershed management and restoration.

"Citizen science" represents a fantastic opportunity to meld the worlds of scientific research and public involvement, resulting in a deeper understanding of our natural resources on the part of both groups. A session at the SAMAB Fall Conference (Nov 6-8) explores various aspects of incorporating enthusiastic lay-people as observers, monitors, and recorders of information that may otherwise go uncollected. There are a myriad of ways in which citizen science can and does express itself, ranging from high-school biology classes that test their community’s streams for water quality to enabling an amateur entymologist to key-out beetles found in the spruce-fir forests of the Smokies. Citizen science programs provide researchers, natural resource managers, and policy makers a deeper pool of data from which to base their work. For the public, these programs provide an opportunity to experience hands-on science and become involved in their communities in ways that broaden their understanding of human and natural systems. With this understanding, they can more effectively participate in debates over economic-development and natural-resource policy.

If you are part of a watershed group and are wondering where you can find help, attend the Wednesday Nov. 7 session of the SAMAB Fall Conference. This session is designed for watershed group members who want information about programs that might advance their watershed protection activities. Resource managers will also appreciate the overview of stewardship opportunities related to watershed protection. At this session, representatives of several agencies and a non-governmental organization will talk and answer questions about their programs, focusing on opportunities for assistance, partnering, and funding. Representatives of a few watershed organizations will also provide overviews of activities ongoing in their watersheds.

INVASIVE EXOTIC PLANTS MONITORING—SAMAB hosted a workshop on monitoring invasive exotic plants in the southern Appalachian region September 27 at the North Carolina Arboretum. Twenty-one invasive plant specialists and resource managers from several land management agencies and environmental organizations discussed their ongoing efforts and identified criteria they would apply to a regional monitoring effort. Needs/opportunities identified include attracting the attention of the average citizen to the issue, engaging citizens in the monitoring process, establishing reasons for monitoring and what protocols are needed to address these reasons, developing monitoring protocols and training materials including one or more high-profile "poster plants," and coodinating agency and citizen/private-sector efforts. SAMAB is evaluating opportunities for establishing prototype monitoring efforts in/around gateway communities and along transects/corridors such as the Appalachian Trail, greenways, and other connectors. Follow-on discussions are scheduled at the SAMAB Fall Conference -- register now.

SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN HIGHLANDS CONSERVANCY SEEKS LANDS PROGRAM DIRECTOR—SAHC, a regional land trust working with individuals and communities to identify and conserve important lands in the Southern Appalachian mountains, is seeking an experienced professional to serve as a full-time Lands Program Director. The Lands Program Director will use voluntary land protection techniques to conserve key sites in the mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, and raise public awareness of options, methods and incentives for such techniques. For full postion description and to apply (before November 1), contact Carl Silverstein, SAHC Executive Director, sahccarl@ioa.com, (828) 253-0095.

SOQUE RIVER WATERSHED SEEKS PROGRAM EXECUTIVE—The Soque River Watershed Association (SRWA) is a community-based, non-profit organization formed approximately three years ago in Habersham County in northern Georgia. Its Mission Statement is "To Work Together With Individuals And Organizations In Habersham County To Maintain And Improve The Soque River, Its Tributaries, And Its Watershed." Because of the organization's growth and the increasing complexity of issues related to maintaining water quality, SRWA's Executive Board has created a Program Executive position which will work under contract with the Board. See http://www.ejobs.org/posts/soque.html for a complete position announcement.

NEPA/environmental coordination items:

• Federal Highway Administration/Virginia Department of Transportation has published the Final EIS for the Virginia portion of the Coalfields Expressway, a 100-mile highway proposed between Pound, Virginia and Beckley, West Virginia. A separate EIS was previously completed for the West Virginia section. Copies available from VDOT at bristolinfo@vdot.state.va.us or John Simpkins of Federal Highway Administration 8804-775-3342.
• Nashville District, Corps of Engineers Public Notices in the SAMAB region (http://www.orn.usace.army.mil/cof/Pnlist.htm):
• 01-49, Municipal Water Intake for City of Elizabethton in Watauga River, Carter County, Tennessee; contact Maryellen Ehmann (615) 369-7517
• 01-62, Water intake for Hallsdale-Powell Utility District in Bull Run Embayment of Melton Hill Reservoir, Anderson County, Tennessee; contact Marty Tyree (615) 369-7514
• 01-64, Widening of US 411 from the Polk County Line to 12th Street in Etowah, McMinn County, Tennessee; contact J. Ruben Hernandez (615) 369-7519
• 01-67, New SR 392 Bypass of Crossville, Cumberland County, Tennessee, contact Marty Tyree (615) 369-7514
• 01-78, Community dock and boat ramp, Melrose Landing Subdivision, Chickamauga Reservoir, Rhea County, Tennessee. Also associated with this action is a deed modification allowing the sale of 13 acres of additional waterfront lots. Contact Rick Lance of TVA (423) 697-4179 or Carl Olsen of the Corps (615) 369-7513
• The Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests, Georgia, is proposing to revise and clarify the policy pertaining to the use of all-terrain vehicles on National Forest system roads. Scoping comments are requested by October 17 to atvissue@yahoo.com. Contact is Tom Fearrington (770) 297-3000.
• Rural Utilities Service has issued a Record of Decision on the Jackson County Lake Project in Kentucky. A copy of the ROD can be viewed online at www.usda.gov/rus/water/ees/eis.htm. Contact is Mark S. Plank, 202-720-1649. The project would create a 640-acre lake on Laurel Fork of the Rockcastle River.

NATIVE GARDENS FALL OPEN NURSERY—September 28-October 6. FR&SA 9-4, M-TH 10-5. Native Gardens, 5737 Fisher Lane, Greenback, TN 37742, (865) 856-0220, mclebsch@earthlink.net, http://www.native-gardens.com

UPCOMING EVENTS

• November 5 (morning) - SAMAB Foundation Board Meeting, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 5 (afternoon) - SAMAB Cooperative Executive Committee meeting, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 6-8 - SAMAB Annual Fall Conference - From Issues to Action: Opportunities for Stewardship in the Southern Appalachians, Gatlinburg, TN http://samab.org/Events/Conf/conf.html
• November 26-28 - Southern Forest Science Conference, Atlanta. http://southernforestscience.net
• November 28-December 1 - All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory Annual Conference, Gatlinburg, TN. Jeanie Hilten, jeanie@discoverlife.org
• March 15-17, 2002 - Appalachian Studies Association 25th Annual Conference, Unicoi State Park, GA. Patricia Beaver, beaverp@appstate.edu, http://www.appalachianstudies.org

E-Mail News Briefs—September 15, 2001

EDITORIAL—I would like to thank the number of international colleagues who have communicated their thoughts and condolences about the disaster last week. Some have asked how we are doing. I think CNN and other media have provided a good picture of the range of reactions, at least in this country. Personally my reactions have ranged from awe, to sorrow, to sadness (tears), to anger, to inspiration to do something. I am disturbed by some of the rhetoric about "rooting out evil" and the use of military force to do so. Some sabre rattling and demonstration of "defensive" destructive force regrettably may now be a necessity. However, I hope that that will be balanced by a massive, equally visible, global effort to build, teach, and learn. I hope we will all be inspired to more effectively work in our global network of communities for understanding, communication, tolerance, and stewardship. If we fail to do that, this disaster/wake-up call truly will be an international tragedy...Robb Turner (http://www.earthflag.net/) (http://www.payitforwardfoundation.com/home.html)

FALL CONFERENCE SYMPOSIA PLANNED—The SAMAB Fall Conference agenda includes several issue-specific symposia that will be important steps in coordinating resource management and environmental evaluation in the southern Appalachians. One symposium addresses "exotic invasive plant management issues and actions." The symposium is designed to build understanding of issues across the Federal, state, and local management levels and identify who needs to be involved in the cross-boundary collaborations essential to addressing exotic invasive plant problems. Speakers include representatives of the Federal Interagency Council on the Management of Noxious and Invasive Weeds, the National Invasive Species Council, the Forest Service, the National Park Service, and private organizations. Important new developments will be discussed.

"Environmental streamlining" is the focus of a panel discussion that examines trends in environmental impact assessment in the southern Appalachians. Agency environmental review staff, community groups interested in review procedures, and resource managers whose activities are affected by review actions are encouraged to join this panel discussion. "Hot" issues in NEPA to be addressed include tools and techniques of environmental streamlining, agency efforts to improve their environmental review processes, lands planning, and the Federal Highway Administration's "environmental streamlining" initiative, which aims to bring collaboration among resource and permitting agencies and thereby improve the effectiveness of NEPA.

Watch the SAMAB Web site next week for full conference agenda and registration information.

WORKSHOP ON TOOLS FOR COMMUNITY DESIGN AND DECISION MAKING—The U.S. Department of Energy, the Denver Regional Council of Governments, the University of Colorado at Denver, and others are sponsoring a meeting on Tools for Community Design and Decision-Making, October 11-13 at the Executive Tower Hotel in downtown Denver. The meeting is for community planners, facilitators, tools developers, foundations, members of civic organizations, and others who have been involved in developing sustainable, healthy communities. Visit http://www.i4sd.org/TCDDM or http://www.tcddm.org for agenda, background, and registration.

ENVIRONMENTAL SEARCH ENGINE—Care2.com has launched an Environmental Search Engine for Neighborhood Eco-Reports. The 'Care2 Get Local' system provides Zip Code based neighborhood reports on over 70 topics, from pollution to hiking trails and organic farms. Visit http://www.Care2.com

NEW FOREST FOUNDATION—Healing Harvest Forest Foundation is established to develop, implement, and support community-based sustainable forestry initiatives through the widespread use of animal-powered extraction of logs and "worst first" selection of individual trees in timber harvesting. Their mission is "to address human needs for forest products while creating a nurturing coexistence between the forest and the human community."

ACID MINE FUNDING—As part of the Appalachian Clean Streams Initiative, funds are available to award cooperative agreements to not-for-profit(501c3) organizations, especially small watershed groups, that undertake local acid mine drainage (AMD) reclamation projects. The maximum award amount for each cooperative agreement will normally be $100,000 in order to assist as many groups as possible to undertake actual construction projects to clean streams impacted by acid mine drainage. Projects in Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia are eligible for funding. For complete grant guidelines and a list of state contacts, visit http://www.osmre.gov/acsifunding.htm.

EPA ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION GRANTS—This program "supports environmental education projects that enhance the public's awareness, knowledge, and skills to make informed decisions that affect environmental quality." Any local education agency (public schools, boards of education, city/county departments), state education or environmental agency, college or university are eligible to apply by NOV 15, 2001. Contact EPA at (202) 260-8619 or online at http://www.epa.gov/enviroed. Region 4 (Southeast Office) contact for the Environmental Education Grants is Ben Blair (404) 562-8321.

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION GRANTS—Southern Region SARE calls for proposals for Sustainable Community Innovation Grants, a pilot grants program jointly administered by Southern Region SARE and the Southern Rural Development Center. These projects will strengthen both agriculture and Southern communities through explicit linkages between sustainable agriculture and community development, and improve understanding of the mutual benefits of such linkages. Applicants may be farmers, ranchers, researchers, community organizations, environmentalists, ag and community development professionals, entrepreneurs, governmental and non-governmental organizations. Projects may be funded up to two years for a project maximum of $10,000 for proposals from individuals or organizations. Due date is November 2, 2001 with awards announced February 4, 2002. The call can be obtained from the Southern SARE web site http://www.griffin.peachnet.edu/sare or the Southern Rural Development Center web site at http://www.ext.msstate.edu/srdc. Obtain a mailed copy of the call by phoning (770) 412-4787 or email (ppatton@gaes.griffin.peachnet.edu).

UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK TRUST FUND PROPOSALS—The USTfields Initiative: Proposal Guidelines for USTfields Pilots (EPA 510-B-01-001). EPA will provide $4 million in financial assistance to clean up contamination from leaking underground storage tanks around the nation. The Agency expects to select up to 40 pilot projects to help states and cities clean up these properties and foster redevelopment by returning them to productive economic and public use. EPA is inviting states, territories and federally-recognized Indian Tribes as well as eligible intertribal consortia to compete for these pilots. Each selected pilot will receive up to $100,000 in Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund monies. The deadline for submitting proposals for the USTfields Pilots is October 22. View or download the request for proposals at http://www.epa.gov/swerust1/ustfield/guidline.pdf. For hard copies, contact (800) 490-9198 or (513) 489-8190 or fax to (513) 489-8695.

NATIVE GARDENS FALL OPEN NURSERY—September 28- October 6 (except Sunday) FR& SA 9-4, M-TH 10-5. Native Gardens, 5737 Fisher Lane, Greenback, TN 37742, (865) 856-0220,http://www.native-gardens.com

NEPA/environmental coordination items—

• The Southern Region of the Forest Service is proposing to clarify and expand the scope of its current procedures for conducting project level biological evaluations. These evaluations are done as part of environmental reviews to assess the potential for impacting proposed endangered, threatened, and sensitive species. As part of this effort, a Notice of Intent to amend the Forest Service's vegetation management EISs for the Appalachian Mountains, Coastal Plain/Piedmont, and Ozark/Ouachita Mountains was published on September 7, 2001 (66 FR 46769). The proposed changes would no longer require the gathering of population inventory information when gathering the information is not technically feasible or necessary. More information can be obtained from Robert Wilhelm at 404-347-7076 or rwilhelm@fs.fed.us
• The Warm Springs Ranger District of the George Washington National Forest has decided to construct a fuel break on national forest lands. The purpose is to reduce the risk from wildfire to Peaks View Subdivision, which is located upslope from national forest lands. For more information, contact Patrick Roy Sheridan at 450-839-2521.

• September 24—SAMAB Foundation Board Meeting, Asheville, NC
• November 5—SAMAB Cooperative Executive Committee meeting, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 6-8—SAMAB Annual Fall Conference - From Issues to Action: Opportunities for Stewardship in the Southern Appalachians, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 26-28—Southern Forest Science Conference, Atlanta. http://southernforestscience.net
• March 15-17, 2002—Appalachian Studies Association 25th Annual Conference, Unicoi State Park, GA. Proposals due September 28 by snail mail only. Contact Patricia Beaver at beaverp@appstate.edu, or visit the web site: http://www.appalachianstudies.org

E-Mail News Briefs—September 1, 2001

NATIONAL BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE BRIEFS DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR—The NBII Coalition briefed Lynn Scarlett, Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget; Tom Weimer, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science; and Jim Tate, Science Advisor to the Secretary on August 29 and 30 regarding NBII status and plans for Fiscal Years 2002 and 2003. Their responses, including questions, were positive and encouraging. Presenters included Robb Turner, SAMAB; Jack Hill, Houston Advanced Research Center; Bonnie Carroll, Information International Associates; Paul Schmidt, USFWS; Bob Worrest, Columbia University; and Kate Kase, USGS.

SAMAB FALL CONFERENCE DEADLINE—The deadline for summary paragraphs/abstracts for presentations, posters, films, sessions, workshops, or other proposed participation has passed. If you have not yet sent in your abstract, please do so before the end of this week, or let us know if you intend to. Theme and hotel information are at http://samab.org/Events/Conf/conf.html. The planning committee is reviewing abstracts and will construct a preliminary conference agenda September 11.

SARIS WATERSHED MAP AND ORGANIZATIONS ON LINE—SAMAB's Watershed Initiative has developed an interactive Web page http://samab.org/saris/watershedorgs/ where you can click on any basin in or near the SAMAB region and get information on the watershed organizations within the basin. Basins are deliniated by 8 digit hydrologic unit codes. There also is a link from each basin to EPA's "Surf your Watershed." This product was developed to increase dialog between and among SAMAB, local watershed organizations, and agencies that can provide assistance in watershed development, restoration, and protection. Please provide feedback on this Web site, including content you would like to see, other organizations that should be listed, or other ideas using the feedback link on the page or email to glryan@usgs.gov.

ALL SAA RASTER DATA NOW AVAILABLE ON WEB—All SAA raster data sets can now be downloaded from http://samab.org/data/SAA_data.html. When datasets from the Southern Appalachian Assessment were first made available on the Internet for downloading, files larger than 70 MB were not included. Increased internet speeds, decreased cost of online storage, and improvements in software translation and compression routines combine to allow the raster datasets to take up less than half the space they would have occupied previously, and take less than half as long to download.

SOUTHERN FOREST INVENTORY AND ANALYSIS USER GROUP MEETING—Overviews of the national and southern FIA program directions will be presented and feedback solicited at a FIA user group meeting at the Hilton Hotel in Knoxville on Thursday, September 20 from 8:30am-4:00pm. Contact jperdue@fs.fed.us for agenda and hotel information.

NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION FUNDING-INFO MEETING—The NFWF Southeast Regional Office will convene a meeting in Chattanooga on Wednesday, September 26, from 1:00-3:00pm to explain funding opportunities through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. They will also use this opportunity to learn more about perspectives on conservation in Tennessee. The meeting will be held in the TVA University Facilities on the 5th floor of the Chestnut Tower, 605 Chestnut Street. The Chestnut Tower is on the corner of 6th and Chestnut Streets, and easy to access from Highway 27 and I-24 via I- 75. (Mapquest has excellent directions). There are two parking garages nearby. Visit http://www.nfwf.org for more info on NFWF. If you plan to attend, please respond by email to Joe DeVivo (devivo@nfwf.org) by Monday, September 24.

BUY RECYCLED-CONTENT PRODUCTS—Buying recycled-content products and other environmentally preferable products expands markets for recycled products and reduces pollution and energy consumption associated with virgin materials production. The Office of the Federal Environmental Executive has issued a Model Affirmative Procurement Plan on environmentally preferable purchasing to meet the requirements of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Section 6002, and Executive Order 13101. Under RCRA, federal agencies, as well as state and local agencies and government contractors that use appropriated federal funds, are required to buy EPA-designated recovered/recycled product. Construction related products designated for federal procurement include: building insulation products, carpet, carpet cushion, cement and concrete containing coal fly ash, cement and concrete containing ground granulation blast furnace slag, consolidated and reprocessed latex paint, floor tiles, flowable fill, laminated paperboard, patio blocks, railroad grade crossing surfaces, shower and restroom dividers and partitions, structural fiberboard, park benches and picnic tables, playground equipment, playground surfaces, running tracks, plastic lumber landscaping timbers and posts, lawn and garden edging, food waste compost, and hydraulic mulch. The Affirmative Procurement Plan, including Federal Acquisition Regulation language is available at: http://www.ofee.gov - click under "What's New" on the sidebar.Information on EPA Buy Recycled and Environmentally Preferable Purchasing programs are available at: http://www.epa.gov/cpg; http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/epp/. Contact task_force@ofee.gov for additional information.

NEPA/environmental coordination Items—

• Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky plans to issue a revised Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for its Land and Resource Management Plan in September. The revised NOI will establish a new timeline and otherwise update the 1996 notice. For more information, contact Rick Wilcox at 859-745-3156.
• The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA, has prepared an EA on the continuation and expansion of an oral rabies vaccination program for racoon, gray fox, and coyote administration in several states, including Alabama, Virginia, and West Virginia. A copy of the document is available from elizabeth.harris@aphis.usda.gov

• September 24—SAMAB Foundation Board Meeting, Asheville, NC
• November 5—SAMAB Cooperative Executive Committee meeting, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 6-8—SAMAB Annual Fall Conference - From Issues to Action: Opportunities for Stewardship in the Southern Appalachians, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 26-28—Southern Forest Science Conference, Atlanta. http://southernforestscience.net
• March 15-17, 2002—Appalachian Studies Association 25th Annual Conference, Unicoi State Park, GA. Proposals due September 28 by snail mail only. Contact Patricia Beaver at beaverp@appstate.edu, or visit the web site: http://www.appalachianstudies.org

E-Mail News Briefs—August 15, 2001

COOPERATIVE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETS AT GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN—The SAMAB Cooperative Executive Committee and representatives of the SAMAB Foundation met August 14 to visit one of their Biosphere Reserve Units, discuss agency activities, and review and plan projects. Hugh Morton, owner of Grandfather Mountain and an accomplished photographer, presented a slide show on the treasures of Grandfather and some of the threats they are facing. Don Duerr of the Forest Service Health Protection Unit in Asheville made a special presentation on damage caused by the southern pine beetle.

NBII OMB BRIEFING—Robb Turner, SAMAB Executive Director and Technical Director of the Southern Appalachian Information Node of the National Biological Information Infrastructure, participated August 15 in a briefing of Office of Management and Budget staff on NBII status and plans for Fiscal Year 2003. The OMB staff reaction was enthusiastic, and they offered encouragement and advice to USGS for positioning NBII for what they anticipate will be a tough '03 budget-review process this Fall. Other presenters included Dr. John Hill, Houston Advanced Research Center; Kate Kase, USGS; Bonnie Carroll, Information International Associates; Paul Schmidt, USFWS; and Dr. Robert Worrest, Columbia University.

APPALACHIAN TRAIL/REGIONAL MONITORING PLAN PROGRESSES—Tom Gilbert, Tom Hatley (both of the SAMAB Foundation), Robb Turner, Pamela Underhill (NPS Appalachian Trail Park Office), Dave Startzell (Appalachian Trail Conference Director), and Christina Auch (Appalachian Trail Conference Director of Development) met in Harpers Ferry August 16 to review progress and plan next steps for the AT monitoring partnership. They reviewed status and funding options for a trail-wide effort and for a Southern Appalachian start-up/pilot effort.

SAMAB FALL CONFERENCE CALL FOR PARTICIPATION—Many of you received a postcard announcement of the Fall Conference to be held November 6-8 in Gatlinburg. Those not on our snail-mail list can access the theme and hotel information by clicking on "Events" and then on "SAMAB Conference." Summary paragraphs/abstracts for presentations, posters, films, sessions, workshops, or other proposed participation are due August 31.

EDA PROJECTS FUNDED IN CHEROKEE, NC—EDA has funded a Federal Emergency Management Agency map revision study for Cherokee, NC. EDA also will be funding a continuation of the sewer line funded by other sources which runs from the camp grounds in the northern portion of the reservation and part of the National Park into town. Provisions of the EDA funding require thorough coordination with NPS and regulatory agencies.

HYDROLOGIC FORECASTING IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS—The USDA Forest Service's Southern Research Station has initiated a project with UGA Geography professor Tom Mote on hydrologic forecasting in Southern Appalachians as part of the National Fire Plan. This hydrologic forecasting is part of the work of the High Resolution Modeling Consortium that was funded as part of the National Fire Plan. Although the Consortium has a broader scope, one use of this South-wide, high resolution, weather prediction model is to forecast water quantity within watershed basins of the Southern Appalachians. There is a prototype website (www.uga.edu/atsc/shrmc/jdyer.html) for the SHRMC, and a description of the specific project on hydrologic forecasting. If you are interested in hydrological or meteorological projections in the South, you may want to attend a meeting in Athens, GA on 5-6 Sept to discuss the several regional modeling consortia; the agenda will focus on National Fire Plan issues but should be of interest generally to the doers and users of modeling. Encourage your hydrological modellers to attend. Contact: Gary Achtemeier [USDA-FS, SRS, Athens, GA: gachtemeier@fs.fed.us or (706)559-4239] and Al Riebau {USDA-FS, Wash., DC: (703)605-5280].

NEPA/environmental coordination Items—

• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has announced its intent to prepare a supplemental EIS for the Chickamauga Dam-Navigation Lock Project in Hamilton County. For additional information, contact Wayne Easterling at 615-736-7847.
• The Shawnee National Forest in Illinois has announced its intent to prepare an EIS on eradication of kudzu infestations on the forest. Information is available from the Vienna Ranger District, tneal@fs.fed.us.
• The National Park Service has issued a FONSI for the rehabilitation of tunnels through Morton Mountain and Chimney Tops Mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Copies may be obtained from the Superintendent, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 107 Park Headquarters Road, Gatlinburg, TN 37738.
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a draft Programmatic EIS for its Nationwide Permit Program. A copy may be viewed at www.iwr.usace.army.mil/iwr/Regulatory/regulintro.htm.
• TVA has published its Guntersville Reservoir Land Management Plan Final EIS. A copy may be viewed at www.tva.gov/environment/reports/guntersville/index.htm.
• The National Forests in Alabama proposes to implement a closure order for the Mitchell's satyr butterfly to prevent its collection because the species is being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Details are available from Celeste Gordon at 334-241-8124.

• November 5%#151;SAMAB Cooperative Executive Committee meeting, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 6-8—SAMAB Annual Fall Conference—From Issues to Action: Opportunities for Stewardship in the Southern Appalachians, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 26-28—Southern Forest Science Conference, Atlanta, GA (see southernforestscience.net)
• March 15-17, 2002—Appalachian Studies Association 25th Annual Conference, Unicoi State Park, GA. Proposals due September 28 by snail mail only. Contact Patricia Beaver at beaver@appstate.edu or see the web site: www.appalachianstudies.org

E-Mail News Briefs—August 1, 2001

SAMAB FALL CONFERENCE CALL FOR PARTICIPATION—Many of you received a postcard announcement of the Fall Conference to be held November 6-8 in Gatlinburg. Those not on our snail-mail list can access theme and hotel information by clicking on "Events" and "SAMAB Conference." Summary paragraphs/abstracts for presentations, posters, films, sessions, workshops, or other proposed participation are due August 31.

APPALACHIAN TRAIL FEDERAL LAND MANAGERS MEET—Tom Gilbert participated in the meeting July 12-13 at the National Conservation Training Center in Shephardstown, WV. Tom made the introductory presentation to the session "Resource Management: External Threats, the Insidious Stuff," urging strengthening of the Appalachian Trail Cooperative Management System to deal with the wide variety of threats that originate outside the protected Trail corridor. He discussed partnering with the Conservation Fund's Gateway Community Program as an example. Discussion centered around how the AT Park Office, the Appalachian Trail Conference, and other Cooperative Management System members should develop the capacity to monitor, plan, and manage the AT as part of the larger Appalachian Regional Environment.

ATBI QUARTERLY ON-LINE—See summer issue of the ATBI QUARTERLY online (www.discoverlife.org). After getting on, click on "research" and then "publications." Lots of cool stuff new to the Smokies and to science!

COMMUNICATING SUSTAINABILITY WITH THE PUBLIC—This is an interesting paper describing a process for translating the indicators of regional ecological condition used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency into common language for communication with public and decision-making audiences. View it online (www.consecol.org/Journal/vol5/iss1/art19/index.html).

NGA REPORT SAYS SPRAWL HAS A SOLUTION—See the news-release on the report and link to the report (www.nga.org/nga/newsRoom/1,1169,C_PRESS_RELEASE^D_2342,00.html).

FEDERAL LAND MANAGERS PUBLISH CONSOLIDATED LIST OF AIR QUALITY RELATED VALUES—Common guidance, agreed to by three Federal Agencies for land management, should reduce the uncertainty of applying for air permits. Information in this document is useful for anyone inside and outside government who is interested in evaluating the effects of air pollution on public lands. See the web site for the report (www2.nature.nps.gov/ard/flagfree/index.htm) or call (970) 295-5981.

WILDLIFE SOCIETY BULLETIN SPECIAL ISSUE—In going through my mail, I unwrapped the latest edition of the Wildlife Society Bulletin and started scanning the table of contents. Zounds! There's a special section of this issue (Summer 2001, Volume 29, No. 2) that is devoted to "Conservation of Woody, Early Successional Habitats and Wildlife in the Eastern United States." I recommend it highly to wildlifer and non-wildlifer alike. In particular, Margaret Trani et al. have a nice paper on the "Patterns and trends of early successional forests in the eastern United States." There's another one by William Hunter, Dave Buehler et al. on "Conservation of disturbance dependent birds in eastern North America." And another one about the "Importance of early successional habitats to mammals in eastern forests" by John Litvaitis. Then Frank Thompson and Dick DeGraaf finish up with a paper on "Conservation approaches for woody, early successional communities in the eastern United States." Lots of good information that may help in determining future research needs, to provide background for discussion portions of papers, or for general enlightenment. Check it out!

AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY ON THE WEB: A NEW TOOL FOR COMMUNITY DEBATES ON LAND USE—See the essay and images on making a town's cultural landscape accessible to citizens, planners, and public officials (classes.yale.edu/amst401a/guilford/index.html).

FOREST INFORMATION UPDATE (FIU)—is a free weekly email newsletter sent to people interested in the inventorying and monitoring of natural resources. FIU is produced by Forest Information Services (home.att.net/~gklund/) and is supported by organizations, agencies and individuals working in the natural resources field. Back issues of FIU may also be found online (www.foresters.org/fiu/index.htm). Currently FIU is sent to about 5,000 email addresses world-wide. To subscribe, contact gklund@att.net.

NPS INVASIVE SPECIES LIST UPDATED—An updated version of invasive species in natural areas now includes over 1,000 species, compiled from a variety of sources (EPPC, state, NPS, etc.) by Jil Swearingen.View it online (www.nps.gov/plants/alien/list/a.htm).

NEPA/environmental coordination Items—

• A new I-73 location corridor was approved by the Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board for inclusion in the EIS project currently underway. The portion of I-73 under study goes from Roanoke to Martinsville roughly along the route of existing US 220 in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. See the map (www.vdot.state.va.us/info/News/Salem/approved%20location%20corridor%206-21-01.jpg).
• The National Park Service has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact for the rehabilitation of tunnels through Morton Mountain and Chimney Tops Mountain on Newfound Gap Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. A key component of the FONSI is a Memorandum of Agreement between the Tennessee Historical Commission, NPS, and Federal Highway Administration that defines the measures for mitigating impacts to the historic features of the tunnels. A copy is available from the Superintendent, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 107 Park Headquarters Road, Gatlinburg, Tennessee 37738.
• The National Park Service has issued a Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS for the National Coal Heritage Area in 11 counties of West Virginia--Boone, Cabell, Fayette, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Raleigh, Summers, Wayne, and Wyoming. For more information, contact peter_samuel@nps.gov; 215-597-1848.
• Federal Highway Administration has issued a Draft EIS for the Memphis to Atlanta Corridor study between I-65 in North Central Alabama Eastward to the Georgia State Line. Alternatives vary in their location in the Huntsville area and the route to be taken across Sand Mountain. For copies contact William O. Garnett, Alabama Department of Transportation (334) 242-6311.

• August 14, 2001—SAMAB Executive Committee Meeting
• November 6-8—SAMAB Annual Fall Conference, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 26-28—Southern Forest Science Conference, Atlanta, GA (see southernforestscience.net)
• March 15-17, 2002—Appalachian Studies Association 25th Annual Conference, Unicoi State Park, GA. Proposals due September 28 by snail mail only. Contact Patricia Beaver at beaver@appstate.edu or see the web site: www.appalachianstudies.org

E-Mail News Briefs—July 15, 2001

SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN NBII NODE HOSTS ALL-NODES WORKSHOP IN CHATTANOOGA—The Southern Appalachian Information Node of the National Biological Information Infrastructure hosted the second all-nodes workshop of the NBII in Chattanooga on July 10-12. Chip Groat, Director of the US Geological Survey, presented a keynote address on "breaking away from traditional ways of communicating information to traditional audiences." Geographic and thematic node leaders presented FY01 progress, and working groups addressed technical, science, and organizational issues. Participants were treated to a private evening in the Tennessee Aquarium and a riverboat dinner-cruise into the Tennessee River Gorge (a SAMAB Biosphere Reserve unit) with commentary by Jim Brown, Executive Director of the Tennessee River Gorge Trust. Key participants in the Southern Appalachian Information Node include SAMAB, University of Tennessee in Knoxville and Chattanooga, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Information International Associates, with a growing list of additional regional participants/contributors. The NBII is a multi-agency, multi-organizational, public-private partnership whose goal is to make information on biological resources more readily available and useable by planners, students, educators, and scientists. See their web site (www.nbii.gov/).

FORESTRY IMAGES.ORG—Over 3,300 images of more than 800 insects, diseases, plants, wildlife, and management practices taken by over 150 photographers are available. Multiple levels of jpeg format images are downloadable and may be copied and used for any non-profit, educational purpose with appropriate credit and copyright notice. Although most images are North American in nature, the system also contains images of organisms that are "Non-U.S. Natives," or are considered to be "U.S. Invasives." The images are in this system to be used. It utilizes a fully searchable, relational database-driven system to track and provide scientific, descriptive and photographic credit information. Several search and browse options are available to help locate images, including: scientific and common names, and "key word" searches of descriptive information about the image. ForestryImages.org is an ongoing project supported by The USDA Forest Service, Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team and Washington Office, Forest Health Protection Staff, look for many images and new features to be added in ensuing months.

NEPA/environmental coordination items—

• The draft Norris Reservoir Land Management Plan is available for review (www.tva.gov/environment/reports/norris/index.htm). The proposed plan allocates 27,927 acres of TVA land in Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Grainger and Union Counties in Tennessee into five zones. The zones would be used to guide future TVA decisions about land uses. Of the total acreage 23,780 acres are proposed to be allocated into natural resource management and protection categories, 1,744 into recreational development and 1,472 for residential access.
• The Town of Big Stone Gap, Virginia proposes to construct a new dam on the South Fork of the Powell River in Wise County, Virginia. Funds are requested from the Rural Utilities Service, USDA. A public notice is available for review (www.nao.usace.army.mil).
• The U.S. Department of Energy has issued a Notice of Intent to prepare a Programmatic EIS on alternatives for disposition of scrap metals that may have residual surface radioactivity. For background information, see the notice at Federal Register 66:36562 (July 12, 2001).
• American Electric Power has filed a hydroelectric power license application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to operate the Byllesby-Buck Project on the New River in Caroll County, Virginia. The FERC contact is hillary.berlin@ferc.fed.us.
• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has designated critical habitat for the spruce-fir moss spider under the Endangered Species Act. Areas designated are within the boundaries of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Pisgah National Forest, Cherokee National Forest, and private lands of Grandfather Mountain. The FWS contact is John Fridell (828) 258-3939.
• Tennessee has issued its State Transportation Improvement Program listing highways proposed for construction between 2002 and 2004. View it online (www.tdot.state.tn.us/).
• The Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA, has issued a FONSI for watershed improvement projects in the Little Reed Island Creek Watershed, Carroll, Pulaski, and Wythe Counties, Virginia. For more information, contact M. Denise Doetzer at 804-287-1691.

From April through June 2001, TVA completed the following environmental reviews affecting the southern Appalachians:

Programmatic Reviews:

• Economic Development Activities EA and FONSI. TVA completed an assessment of selected classes of Economic Development activities and concluded that they do not normally have, either individually or cumulatively, significant impacts on the environment. These include financial assistance for purchase of equipment, renovation and internal expansion of existing facilities, replacement of existing facilities, construction of speculative buildings in existing industrial parks, and routine and minor upgrades of existing infrastructure.
• Photovoltaic Facilities EA and FONSI. TVA assessed the impacts of construction and operation of solar photovoltaic facilities within its power service territory. TVA has to date constructed eight photovoltaic facilities, and determined based on this experience that these facilities do not normally have, either individually or cumulatively, a significant impact on the environment.

• Cherokee Reservoir Land Management Plan EA and FONSI, Grainger, Hamblen, Hawkins, and Jefferson Counties, Tennessee. TVA completed a land plan providing allocations for 8,187 acres of public land. About 80 percent of the project lands were allocated to natural resources and sensitive resources management and 9 percent were allocated to recreational uses. The remainder is available for residential access and TVA project operations (Ridge and Valley ecoregion).
• Chatuge Hydro Plant Modernization EA and FONSI, Clay County, North Carolina. TVA decided to make improvements to increase the power output of the Chatuge Hydro Plant (Blue Ridge ecoregion).
• False Foxglove EA and FONSI, Melton Hill Reservoir, Loudon County, Tennessee. TVA decided to approve a limited demonstration to determine whether and how private water use facilities could be permitted within the habitat of Aureolaria patula, which is listed by the state of Tennessee as threatened, and was a former federal candidate species (Ridge and Valley ecoregion).
• Copper Creek Bridge EA and FONSI, Scott County, Virginia. TVA issued Section 26a approval for a bridge on State Route 665 over Copper Creek, which is habitat for several endangered fish and mussel species (Ridge and Valley ecoregion).
• Pellissippi Parkway Extension EA Adoption and FONSI, Blount County, Tennessee. TVA issued Section 26a approval for a bridge and five culverts on Little River tributaries associated with extension of Pellissippi Parkway (I-140/State Route 162) (Ridge and Valley ecoregion).
• Lemmons Branch Boat Ramp EA Adoption and FONSI, Fontana Reservoir, Graham and Swain Counties, North Carolina. TVA decided to issue Section 26a and land use approvals and provide financial assistance to the Forest Service to improve the Tsali Recreation Area in the Nantahala National Forest (Blue Ridge ecoregion).

• West Ringgold-Center Point Transmission Line EA and FONSI, Catoosa and Whitfield Counties, Georgia. TVA decided to construct a new 17-mile transmission line and substations to provide an adequate and reliable supply of electricity to an area served by North Georgia Electric Membership Corporation (Ridge and Valley ecoregion).

• U.S. Industries Loan EA and FONSI, Jackson County, Alabama. TVA decided to approve a Minority Business Development Loan to help U.S. Industries expand its metal fabrication shop in Stevenson, Alabama (Southwestern Appalachian ecoregion).
• Loudon/Ponce Metals Loan EA Adoption and FONSI, Loudon County, Tennessee. TVA decided to adopt an EA prepared by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and assist Ponce Metals in expansion plans through a loan for new equipment (Ridge and Valley ecoregion).
• Baileyton Industrial Building EA and FONSI, Cullman County, Alabama. TVA decided to provide an economic development loan to the Town of Baileyton to construct an industrial speculative building in an existing industrial park (Southwestern Appalachians ecoregion).
• Rock Spring Business Park Expansion EA and FONSI, Walker County, Georgia. TVA decided to administer an Appalachian Regional Commission grant to Walker County to complete site preparation for an expanded Rock Spring Business park (Ridge and Valley ecoregion).
• Union County (TN) Waterline EA and FONSI. TVA decided to administer an Appalachian Regional Commission grant to allow Hallsdale-Powell Utility District to install waterlines to the Sharps Chapel Elementary School and nearby households (Ridge and Valley ecoregion).

• August 14, 2001—SAMAB Executive Committee Meeting
• November 6-8—SAMAB Annual Fall Conference, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 26-28—Southern Forest Science Conference(southernforestscience.net), Atlanta, GA

E-Mail News Briefs—July 1, 2001

METADIVERSITY II—Robb Turner, SAMAB Executive Director and NBII Southern Appalachian Information Node Technical Director, attended the June 25-26 conference in Charleston, SC on assessing the information requirements of the biodiversity community. Participants including biodiversity researchers, information and computer scientists, librarians, publishers, and others explored the needs and capabilities of producers, users, and conveyors of biodiversity and ecosystem information. Presentations and workshop recommendations including streaming audio will be available (www.nfais.org)on the web.

AIR QUALITY INCENTIVES RFP—The Southern Appalachian Mountains Initiative (SAMI) seeks assistance in examining incentives to encourage earlier or larger air emission reductions than are likely to occur under existing regulations. The end product of this contract will include a set of proposed incentives for the SAMI Governing Body to consider for the SAMI final report. This project will focus on incentives for companies and organizations in contrast to consumer incentives.

The source sectors to be included in incentive program analysis include: industrial, electric generation, area, off-road, and on-road sources of air emissions. Private sector, public sector and institutional organizations should also be included. Demand management programs directed toward organizations in contrast to individuals should also be considered. The emissions of particular interest are SOx, NOx, fine particles and ammonia. See the SAMI web site for the complete announcement.

BIODIVERSITY AND SPRAWL—The Biodiversity Project just published a message kit focused on communications strategies to connect biodiversity and sprawl. "Getting on Message: Making the Biodiversity-Sprawl Connection" can be found on their website (www.biodiverse.org/mediakit.htm) or email (project@biodiverse.org) to order a copy (at $15 each).

CONFERENCE ON IMPROVING PUBLIC DECISION MAKING THROUGH PARTICIPATION: LEADERSHIP, GOVERNANCE, AND COMMUNITY, Aug 29 and Sept 13—North Carolinians are using "stakeholder processes"--dialogue and consensus building--to understand and address important public issues. These processes can foster citizen participation, generate new perspectives, overcome impasse, reduce hostility, generate hope, and build coalitions. But they are not without their challenges. How well have they worked? This conference is an opportunity to share experiences and improve approaches to collaborative decision-making in the public sector. For registration and more information on the conference, see the website (www.iog.unc.edu/participation).

NEPA NOTICES that may be of interest:

• Sometimes research on park-collected specimens results in commercial applications. The National Park Service has announced its intent to prepare an Environmental Assessment on the impacts of "benefits-sharing" agreements for research projects that use research speciments collected from park system units. Information is available on the web (www.nature.nps.gov/benefitsharing) or by contacting Sue Mills, Benefits Sharing Team, P. O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190; telephone 307-344-2203.
• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes to reintroduce four fishes--the duskytail darter, smoky madtom, yellowfin madtom, and the spotfin chub--into the Tellico River in Monroe County, Tennessee. The fishes would be introduced between the backwaters of Tellico Reservoir and the Tellico Ranger Station. The Service proposes to designate these populations as Nonessential Experimental Populations under the Endangered Species Act. This special status provides more flexibility and regulatory relief to agencies proposing to conduct activities that may affect the experimental populations. For more information, contact Richard Biggins (richard_biggins@fws.gov), Asheville Field Office, at 828-258-3939, extension 228.
• Chattooga Ranger District, Chattahoochee National Forest, has issued a Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact for the Yonah Mountain Access Project in White County, Georgia. A new access road, parking area, and trails will be constructed to manage public use of Yonah Mountain, which is used for climbing and rappelling.

• August 14, 2001—SAMAB Executive Committee Meeting
• November 6-8—SAMAB Annual Fall Conference, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 26-28—Southern Forest Science Conference (southernforestscience.net), Atlanta, GA

E-Mail News Briefs—June 15, 2001

ATTEND SATELLITE DOWNLINK--GATEWAY COMMUNITIES: KEYS TO SUCCESS—SAMAB is sponsoring a session of this nation-wide television workshop on Thursday, June 21 in room 413B of the UT Conference Center Building, 12:30-3:00 pm ET, with local discussion following. This interactive televised workshop has been developed by The Conservation Fund in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. See the web site (distancelearning.fws.gov/gatewaycommunities062101.htm) for more information and additional downlink sites around the country.

BEAUTY, BOUNTY, AND BALANCE--THE TENNESSEE RIVER—TVA and the Association of Tennessee Valley Governments co-sponsored a conference June 14 and 15 in which speakers focused mostly on the "balance" aspect. Topics included challenges to TVA to keep a focus on water as well as electricity and to the people of the Valley to organize to protect the unique capabilities that TVA represents for the region. Speakers and discussion also centered around integrated system management, water-supply policy in the Valley and the Southeast, legal context of water policy, valuation of resources and benefits, the meanings of sustainability and carrying capacity, principles and examples of partnerships for water-resource management, and the need to better communicate and use the vast store of collective knowledge of watershed management that commonly is not put into practice in on-the-ground decision making. Participants departed with new contacts, perspectives, and "to-do" challenge.

STATUS OF PRIVATE FOREST LAND IN THE SOUTHEAST—Lark Hayes, staff attorney with the Southern Environment Law Center and member of the SAMAB Foundation Board, testified June 12 before the Forestry Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee. Read her remarks(agriculture.house.gov/hearings/testimony.htm) concerning the status of private forest land in the Southeast and recommendations on how the reauthorized Farm Bill could address some of the private forest issues in this region.

WHEN YOU COUNT THINGS, YOU CARE FOR THEM; WHEN YOU INCREASE CONNECTIVITY, NEW INTELLIGENCE EMERGES—This article (washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1132-2001May8.html) has inspired many. It nicely describes the vision for the Appalachian Trail/Regional Monitoring Project, citizen science, and SARIS. It describes an evolving new dimension in intelligence, in which potentially all people are connected with internet and wireless technologies, forming local, regional, and global observation and sensor networks. It touches on the development of a "digital earth": an interconnected, open, interoperable, and dynamic network of digital information about the Earth which will become an evolving knowledge base for our planet.

BILL MOYERS REPORTS: EARTH ON EDGE—This PBS broadcast at 8pm on Tuesday, June 19 (check local listings) will showcase data depicting the scale of human impact on the planet's life-support systems and explore one of the most important questions of the new century: What is happening to Earth's capacity to support nature and civilization? The film brings to life many of the findings in World Resources Institute's report "World Resources 2000-2001: People and Ecosystems: The Fraying Web of Life." The broadcast will be augmented by an extensive educational website (www.pbs.org/earthonedge/) providing in-depth information about ecosystems as well as updates on their status and information about how concerned citizens can take action. In addition, WRI is launching EarthTrends (earthtrends.wri.org), an informational portal to give free, global access to the vast amount of case histories, maps, and other scientific information from "World Resources 2000-2001."

ROLLING BLACKOUT JUNE 21—You may know of many ways to express your views on energy policy and conservation of resources, but this may be interesting. A widely circulated email states "In protest of ... energy policies and lack of emphasis on efficiency, conservation and alternative fuels, there will be a voluntary rolling blackout on the first day of Summer, June 21 at 7 pm - 10 pm in any time zone (this will roll it across the planet). It's a simple protest and a symbolic act. Turn out your lights from 7 pm-10 pm (your local time) on June 21. Unplug whatever you can unplug in your house... Let your government representatives know we want global education, participation and funding in conservation, efficiency and alternative energy efforts--and an end to over exploitation and misuse of the Earth's resources." FYI.

THE SAMI 2001 INTERIM REPORT on regional air quality is now available in PDF format on the SAMI website. SAMI also has plenty of hard-copy reports available. E-mail SAMI or call 828-251-6000.

CURRENT AND EMERGING ENVIRONMENTAL AND CONSERVATION ISSUES IN TENNESSEE—See the newly revised web site (www.state.tn.us/environment/epo/hotlist.htm) of "hotlist" issues. E-mail comments and suggestions to the Hot List editor, Melanie Catania(mcatania@mail.state.tn.us) or call (615) 253-4069.

NEPA NOTICES that may be of interest:

• USDA/Forest Service/National Forests in North Carolina seeks public comment on a proposed land exchange with the Calvary Chapel. The federal parcel to be exchanged is 3.21 acres in the Biltmore Village area of Asheville. In return, 178 acres on Cold Mountain adjacent to Shining Rock Wilderness would be added to the Pisgah National Forest. Comments may be sent to Mary Noel, National Forests in North Carolina, Box 2750, Asheville, NC 28802; telephone 828-257-4200.
• USDA/Forest Service/Cheoah Ranger District proposes to release laboratory-reared coccinellid beetles in hemlock wooly adelgid-infested eastern hemlock to evaluate the effectiveness of the biological control agent in protecting hemlock health. For more information, contact Glenn McConnell, District Ranger, 1133 Massey Branch Road, Robbinsville, NC 28711; 828-479-6431.
• USDA/Rural Utilities Service has issued a Final EIS on the 162-acre Jackson County Lake project, to be constructed on War Fork in the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky. Comments may be sent to Mark Plank, Engineering and Environmental Staff, Rural Utilities Service, 1400 Independence Avenue, Mail Stop 1571, Washington, DC 20250; telephone 202-720-1649.
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and TVA have issued Joint Public Notice 01-43 for proposed construction of a 45-acre crappie nursery area in the Shields Creek Embayment of Cherokee Reservoir, Grainger County, Tennessee. For more information, see the notice or contact Ben Peters of TVA at 865-632-3793.
• USDI/Fish and Wildlife Service has published the Final Assessment Plan for the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration of the August 27, 1998 Clinch River Chemical Spill, Tazewell County, Virginia. The truck released 1,350 gallons of a rubber accelerant into the Clinch River, causing an extensive fish and aquatic life kill in one of the world's most diverse freshwater mussel assemblages. For more information, contact John Schmerfeld, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 6669 Short Lane, Gloucester, VA 23061; telephone 804-693-6694.
• USDI/National Park Service proposes to build a new 5-mile trail north of Fontana Reservoir in Swain County, NC. The trail would meet park standards for equestrian trails and would replace an existing segment of the Lakeshore Trail. Comments should be e-mailed to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Chief of Maintenance (grsmcomments@nps.gov).
• USDI/National Park Service has issued a Draft Environmental Assessment for the development of the Mount Helen Prototype Trail, access Road, and Trailhead in Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. The trail would fulfill a long-standing need for trail access in the southern portion of the park and define new trail construction methods and standards for the Cumberland plateau area. E-mail your comments (BISO_superintendent@nps.gov).
• USDOT/Federal Highway Administration has issued a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for the I-77/I-81 Improvement Project in Wythe County, Virginia. For further information, contact John Simkins, Federal Highway Administration, P. O. Box 10249, Richmond, VA 32340; telephone 804-775-3342.
• USDOT/Federal Highway Administration has issued a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for the extension of Interstate 759 across the Coosa River in Gadsden, Alabama. For more information, contact Joe D. Wilkerson, Division Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, 500 Eastern Boulevard, Suite 200, Montgomery, Alabama 36117; telephone 334-223-7370.
• The Virginia State Corporation Commission approved American Electric Power's plan to build a 765,000-volt transmission line through Tazewell, Bland, and Wythe Counties. But AEP still must gain federal approval to cross 11 miles of national forest and the Appalachian Trail. Reference: article in Bristol Herald Courier June 1, 2001.

• November 6-8—SAMAB Annual Fall Conference, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 26-28—Southern Forest Science Conference (southernforestscience.net), Atlanta, GA

E-Mail News Briefs—June 1, 2001

COORDINATING ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT—John Ogden of the Economic Development Administration regional office in Atlanta met May 22 at the SAMAB office in Knoxville with Harold Draper, chair of the Environmental Coordinating Committee, and others interested in exploring ways SAMAB Cooperative agencies could assist EDA in assessing impacts, and especially, cumulative impacts of the hundreds of projects that EDA funds in the region each year. The group also discussed inter-agency opportunities for working with gateway communities in monitoring environmental change and promoting sustainable development in the Appalachian environment.

GOVERNORS' AIR SUMMIT—The governors of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia signed a set of "Southern Air Principles" that reinforces their commitment to finding effective, multi-pollutant, regional approaches to protecting and improving air quality in the Southern Appalachians. At the June 1 meeting in Gatlinburg about 200 people heard the governors, Congressman Joe Barton, TVA Director Skila Harris, ORNL Director Bill Madia, and numerous others discuss regional energy, transportation, and air-quality challenges.

SAMAB/JIEE INTERNS COMMENCE 10-WEEK SUMMER STUDIES—Ten student interns began work June 4 studying environmental decision making in the East Tennessee/Southern Appalachian region. They heard orientation presentations by Robb Turner, SAMAB Director; John Sheffield, JIEE Director; Milton Russell, JIEE Senior Fellow and former SAMAB Foundation President; John Evans, Knox County Solid Waste Administrator; and Randy Brown, Foothills Conservancy Executive Director. Interns are assigned with host/mentors at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Oak Ridge National Environmental Research Park, City of Knoxville Stormwater Division, Ijams Nature Center, Alcoa Corporation, Bechtel-Jacobs Corporation, National Park Service Southern Appalachian Field Office, TVA, Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency, and Tennessee River Gorge Trust. Rotating weekly seminars will provide an overview of decision making in this diverse public-private array of organizations.

TECHNOLOGY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP—Robb Turner and Don Elam of SAMAB attended a June 5 JIEE seminar on technology and entrepreneurship featuring Dr. David Bodde of the University of Missouri speaking on change and entrepreneurial opportunity. The seminar engaged participants from engineering, law, business, research, and new-business incubators in discussion of opportunities and challenges in promoting entrepreneurial behavior.

WATCH AS THE POLLUTED WORLD TURNS—NASA's Terra satellite (www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_email.asp?/news/580600.asp) provides the most complete view ever assembled of the flow of global air pollution.

LEARN COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION—Check the web site (www.mosaic-net-intl.ca), or e-mail: workshop@mosaic-net-intl.ca

• July 16-21: Participatory Development: Concepts, Tools and Application in PLA/PRA Methods, Ottawa, Canada. The PD workshop focuses on core participatory concepts, tools and their application. This is an intensive six-day practical and experiential workshop set in the community to maximize learning, group interaction and networking. Topics include: The Origins of Participatory Development, Learning and Application of PRA/PLA tools (ranking, venn diagram, mapping, ranking, semi-structured interviewing, trend analysis, gender analysis and others methods such as appreciative inquiry), the Application of Participation to Project Design, Monitoring and Evaluation, Developing Effective Facilitation Skills, Building Action Plans and Team-Building.
• July 23-26 and September 3-8: Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation, Ottawa, Canada. Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (PM & E) involves a different approach to project monitoring and evaluation by involving local people, project stakeholders, and development agencies deciding together about how to measure results and what actions should follow once this information has been collected and analyzed.

• June 12 at 7:00 PM - Solutions to Air Pollution: An Open Community Forum to Address the Air Quality of the Smoky Mountain Region, Gatlinburg Convention Center. Speakers: Jim Renfro, National Park Service, Stephen Smith, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Janice Nolen, American Lung Association
• November 6-8—SAMAB Annual Fall Conference, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 26-28—Southern Forest Science Conference (southernforestscience.net), Atlanta, GA

E-Mail News Briefs—May 15, 2001

SAMAB HELD ITS ANNUAL SPRING PLANNING MEETING on May 2-3 in Asheville. Participants reviewed regional issues that agencies and partners can tackle better by working together, some of which included relationships between forest health and invasive species, improving science-based management, and improving the availability of biological and other information to planners and decision makers. Current and future participants in SAMAB projects including sustainable communities, watersheds, invasive species, SA Regional Information System, and Appalachian environmental monitoring discussed the activities they would pursue in the next year or two. A large contingent of cultural-resource specialists also developed several project ideas. A USFS-sponsored, multi-agency meeting preceeding the Spring Planning Meeting explored agency involvement in and need for inventory and monitoring of sensitive and indicator species, as well as a potential role for SAMAB in coordinating agency activities in this area.

APPALACHIAN TRAIL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN—Tommy Gilbert and Robb Turner attended a National Park Service scoping meeting May 14-15 in Shepherdstown, WV for a resource management plan to be prepared for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. This plan represents a fantastic challenge for management by the public-private Cooperative-Management Program. Ownership of the 2167-mile trail is split among multiple regions and units of the Forest Service, Park Service, state agencies, and private trusts, each with their own, sometimes conflicting, policies on planning, management, and decision-making. The partner organizations' information systems are stand-alone and communications among them have much room for improvement. Development of this plan and successful use, protection, and restoration of the trail's natural, historic, and cultural resources are dependent on innovative means of communication, inter-organizational understanding, and cooperation. The foundation is being laid for a model resource management plan, inventory and monitoring program, and information system for the Appalachian Trail and the Appalachian region through which it passes.

LITTLE TENNESSEE WATERSHED ASSOCIATION MEETS WITH ADVISORY BOARD—Robb Turner and others on the LTWA advisory board provided feedback on LTWA actvities of the past year. Paul Carlson (Little Tennessee Land Trust) presented progress toward local and regional visions for the 4600-acre Needmore Tract; Robert Wiley (representing Army Corps of Engineers), Jim Vose (Forest Service Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory), and Doug Johnson (Macon County Soil and Water Conservation District) outlined progress and plans for riparian restoration and research along Little T waterways; George Sweet (retired Nantahala/Duke Power) discussed the newly formed Macon County Watershed Council; and James Johnston (LTWA Executive Director) summarized other news and accomplishments. This is a watershed association working well with local folks on the ground (and in the water)—worth emulating!

ONE-DAY SESSION ON RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN THE SMOKIES—An introducion to the park's divisions, key programs, and people; begins 8:00 am, June 12 at the Twin Creeks Pavilion. Presentations include: the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, the experimental elk release, fire management, bear and hog control, archeology, cultural resource projects, brook trout habitat restoration, aquatic entomology, threatened endangered and sensitive species, forest ecology, air quality, exotic vegetation, the park's GIS system, and integrating science and education at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont. While the primary audience is incoming seasonal employees, the park encourages others to come learn more about what they do. Contact Larry Hartmann (larry_hartmann@nps.gov, 865-436-1245) for more information.

DISTANCE LEARNING - INTRODUCTION TO GATEWAY COMMUNITIES—June 21, 2001, 12:30 - 3:00 pm ET. This interactive televised workshop has been developed by The Conservation Fund in partnership with FWS and is offered through the Conservation Leadership Network. Register online (distancelearning.fws.gov/gatewaycommunities062101.htm), or contact Anne Desmarais (adesmarais@conservationfund.org) for more information.

FORECASTING PRINCIPLES AND NEW BOOK—Visit the Forecasting Principles web site (forecastingprinciples.com) for decision tools and a new book that may be useful to you.

WORTH READING—FICTIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT AND SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN CULTURE—Check out Barbara Kingsolver's "Prodigal Summer" (2000, Harpercollins); a story (actually 3 stories) of a wildlife biologist/forest ranger living high in the wilderness, a city-girl entomologist widowed and learning to farm, and a feuding organic farmer and chestnut tree breeder -- beautiful writing and rare mix of science, rural culture, and human feelings.

HEALING ROOTS AND HERBS OF THE APPALACHIAN WOODLANDS—Ila Hatter, Naturalist, Teacher, Storyteller, and Wildcrafter, will present a unique slide "hike" identifying native plants used as medicine and food by people of Appalachia. Besides Homeopathic remedies, 25% of prescription medicines still come from native plants gathered by today's "wildcrafters" and botanical farms. This presentation features Cherokee folklore and other stories on how to use the medicine in plants that most people would call "weeds," rules for responsible foraging, and information about wild simulated cultivation as a means of preserving native species and as a possible economic boost for the region. May 22, 7-8:30 pm, Community Services Building, Sylva NC. Tuckasegee Community Alliance and Yellow Creek Botanical Institue. 828-479-4733 for more information.

NEPA NOTICES that may be of interest—

• The Pisgah Ranger District, National Forests in North Carolina, has issued a draft Environmental Assessment for Forest Highway 50 improvements in Transylvania County, NC. FH50 is the Davidson River Road and Indian Creek Road. The Forest Service proposes to widen, straighten, and pave a portion of the 8-mile long gravel road and upgrade several bridges and culverts. Comments can be sent to and more information can be obtained from Art Rowe, District Ranger, Pisgah Ranger District, 1001 Pisgah Highway, Pisgah Forest, NC 28768; telephone 828-877-3350.
• The Wayah Ranger District, National Forests in North Carolina, is considering a commercial helicopter-logging timber sale and wildlife habitat improvement project in the Devil's Cove area south of Franklin. The logging would not involve any road construction. More information can be obtained from the Wayah Ranger District, 90 Sloan Road, Franklin, NC 28734; 828-524-6441.
• The National Forests in North Carolina propose to remove fescue from 178 wildlife openings (about 200 acres) and replace it with orchard grass or native warm season grasses on the Cheoah, Wayah, and Tusquitee Ranger Districts of the Nantahala National Forest. More information can be obtained from the Wayah Ranger District at the address above.
• The Warm Springs Ranger District of the George Washington National Forest is proposing a urban wildland fire interface project in the form of a fuel break. The fuel break would reduce the risk from wildfire to the Peaks View Subdivision in Bath County near Williamsville, Virginia. More information or comments: Pat Sheridan, District Ranger, route 2, Box 30, Hot Springs, VA 24445; telephone 540-839-2521.
• The Norfolk District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has announced a new notification requirement for use of Nationwide Permits in designated critical habitat of the Clinch, Powell, and North Fork Holston Rivers, and Copper Creek in southwestern Virginia. The purpose of the new requirement is to provide additional environmental protection for these streams. For more information, contact Annette Poore, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Clinch Valley Field Office, Post Office Box 338, Abingdon, Virginia 24210; telephone 540-623-5259.

• November 6-8—SAMAB Annual Fall Conference, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 26-28—Southern Forest Science Conference (southernforestscience.net), Atlanta, GA

E-Mail News Briefs—May 1, 2001

EARTH DAY AT ZOO ATLANTA—Jon Loney (SAMAB Cooperative Chair) and Robb Turner (SAMAB Executive Director) attended the interagency Earth Day event and "VIP Breakfast" at Zoo Atlanta on April 27. The breakfast, hosted by the Southeast Natural Resource Leaders Group (SENRLG), provided opportunity to discuss areas of common interest with a number of SENRLG leaders and agency staff. Briane Adams (USGS), Cory Berish and Cindy Nolan (EPA), and John Yancy (NPS) are among those who provide liaison between SAMAB and SENRLG.

ENVIRONMENTAL STATUS AND TRENDS IN THE SOUTHEAST 2000—A 76-page, well-illustrated, broad-brush assessment by SENRLG agencies of economic and natural resources in the Southeast. Request your copy by e-mail from Bob Cooper (cooper.robert@epa.gov), or call him at 404-562-8281.

MAIN STREET MATTERS—Attend a meeting on downtown revitalization May 23 in Greeneville TN, hosted by the Appalachian RC&D Council. Contact Roy Settle by e-mail (anetrcd@preferred.com)or call him at 423-854-9621 for agenda and registration form.

EDITOR SOUGHT FOR JOURNAL OF APPALACHIAN STUDIES—The Appalachian Studies Association seeks applications/nominations for person to oversee substantive development of, and the review process for, articles, essays, and reviews to be published in the journal. Contact Gordon McKinney, Appalachian Center, CPO 2166, Berea College, Berea, KY 40404 for full position description and application requirements.

NEPA NOTICES that may be of interest:

• The Mobile District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has announced that it will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on the operation and maintenance of Lake Sidney Lanier north of Atlanta. A previous EIS was prepared for operation of the lake project in 1974, but since then the environmental setting has experienced major modifications in response to the growth of the Atlanta metropolitan area. The EIS will address shoreline management (boat dock permitting), recreational issues, fish and wildlife, timber management, and water quality issues. Water allocation issues related to the growth of Atlanta are being addressed in a separate EIS for the Appalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river basin. More information on the Lake Lanier EIS project is available from Glen Coffee (glendon.l.coffee@sam.usace.army.mil).
• TVA has released a draft Guntersville Reservoir Land Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for comment. Guntersville Reservoir is located in Jackson and Marshall Counties, Alabama and Marion County, Tennessee, in the southern extension of the Sequatchie Valley and Cumberland Plateau Escarpment ecoregions. Two alternative plans, which differ in the amount of land allocated to recreation and commercial uses are presented for comment. Both plans would allocate about 90 percent of reservoir lands to sensitive resource protection and natural resource management. Under Alternative Plan B1, 13 parcels of TVA land would be allocated to zones allowing recreation and commercial uses, while under Alternative Plan B2, these parcels would be designated to zones for natural resources management. Copies of the plan are available by calling Harold Draper at 865-632-6889 or Nancy Greer at 256-571-4289. Comments are due June 18, 2001 and should be sent to Nancy Greer, TVA Guntersville Watershed Team, 2325 Henry Street, Guntersville, Alabama 35976.
• During January through March 2001, TVA completed the following EA and FONSIs affecting the Southern Appalachians:
• Section 26a approvals for Tennessee 30 between Athens and Decatur, McMinn County, Tennessee
• Fullerton Bend Natural Resource Management Plan, Norris Reservoir, Campbell and Union Counties, Tennessee
• Loan to Scott County, Tennessee for Helenwood Industrial Park
• Loan to Morgan County, Tennessee Industrial Development Board for ZeTek Power Corporation
• Grant to Clinch-Powell Utility District for Gas Line at Clinton/I-75 Industrial Park, Anderson County, Tennessee
• Green Power/Photovoltaics Project at Finley Stadium, Hamilton County, Tennessee
• Section 26a approvals for Jones Farm South Retail Development, Madison County, Alabama
• Modernization of Hiwassee Hydro Plant, Cherokee County, North Carolina
• License and Section 26a approval for Whitestone Country Inn, Watts Bar Reservoir, Roane County, Tennessee
• Assistance to Lee County Industrial Development Authority for Western Lee County, Virginia Industrial Park
• Bear Creek Reservoirs Land Plan, Franklin, Marion, and Winston Counties, Alabama
• West Ringgold-Center Point Transmission Line, Catoosa and Whitfield Counties, Georgia
• Grant for water system improvements at Watauga Industrial Park, Carter County, Tennessee

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• May 2-3—SAMAB Spring Planning Meeting, The North Carolina Arboretum, Asheville, NC
• November 6-8—SAMAB Annual Fall Conference, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 26-28—Southern Forest Science Conference (southernforestscience.net), Atlanta, GA

E-Mail News Briefs—April 15, 2001

SPRING MEETING PRELIMINARY AGENDA ON-LINE—See http://samab.org for preliminary meeting agenda and related information. Make plans to attend the May 2-3 meeting at the North Carolina Arboretum now! See instructions for hotel reservations below.

SAMAB MARCH NEWSLETTER ON-LINE—The SAMAB March Newsletter is in snail mail. If you have not yet received it, or are not on the snail-mail list, you can view it on the SAMAB home page. Press the Read the Newsletter button!

CULTURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE REVIEWS PRIORITIES—The revitalized SAMAB Cultural Resources Committee met April 11 at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. The group reviewed its history and mandate, and discussed opportunities for collaboration with the Appalachian region/Trail monitoring project, landscaping with native plants adjacent to natural areas, assessing relationships between Native Americans and land-management agencies, investigating relationships between ancient climates and human settlement patterns in the region, and updating the SAMAB Web page and traveling display to highlight cultural and historic perspectives. The Committee will continue the discussions and invite broad-based input and comment at the Spring Planning Meeting.

SAMAB LEADERS MEET WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION—Jon Loney (SAMAB Cooperative Chair), Tommy Gilbert (Appalachian region/Trail Monitoring Project lead), and Robb Turner (Executive Director) met on April 14 in Atlanta with EDA regional staff Philip Paradice, John Ogden, and Tonia Reed. The group discussed EDA participation in the SAMAB Cooperative, EDA goals for environmentally sound economic development, and opportunities for EDA funding of regional and local projects in the SAMAB region.

CLEAN AIR CAR FAIRS—Cars that get 50 to 70 miles per gallon and produce very little pollution will be on display at Clean Air Car Fairs to be held from noon to 7pm on April 25 at the Blue Ridge Mall in Hendersonville, NC and on April 26 at the Asheville Civic Center. The Fairs will inform the public on the links among air quality issues, automobile use, ecological effects, and human health. Vehicles on display at the Fairs will include electric cars and trucks, gas/electric hybrids, compressed natural gas vehicles, ethanol fueled cars, low emission vehicles, and other specialty vehicles. Sponsors include Carolina Power & Light, Volvo Construction Equipment, BP-Amoco, Friends of the Smokies, Clean Air Campaign, Waste Reduction Partners, Environmental & Conservation Organization, First United Methodist Church of Hendersonville, Mountain Air Quality Coalition, WNC Regional Air Quality Agency, NC Division of Air Quality, NC Division of Pollution Prevention & Environmental Assistance, and the City of Asheville. For more information contact Crystal Pace in Asheville at 828-251-6208 or Katie Breckheimer in Hendersonville at 828-749-9104 or visit the website at http://www.landofsky.org\carfairs.

US MAN AND THE BIOSPHERE PROGRAM SEEKS NEW DIRECTOR AND PROGRAM SPECIALIST—Announcements for a new Program Leader (Executive Director) and Program Specialist with the USMAB Office (recently moved to the US Forest Service in Washington DC) can be found at http://www.usajobs.opm.gov. These are full-time Federal positions within the US Forest Service. For more information contact Jack Waide (jwaide@fs.fed.us) by e-mail or at 202-205-1558.

PARTICIPATE IN ON-LINE CONFERENCE "THE RISKS OF EXOTIC FOREST PESTS AND THEIR IMPACT ON TRADE"—Visit http://exoticpests.apsnet.org for presentations and discussion on hazards, economic impacts, ecological effects, prevention, control, and proposed guidelines, standards, and regulations.

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE—The Wiley Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Change promotional Website (www.wiley.co.uk/egec) can now be viewed. The site provides full information on contents and contributors and presents a number of free articles.

RESERVE HOTEL FOR SAMAB SPRING MEETING—Reserve your room at the Biltmore Square Comfort Suites at Exit 2 of I-26 in Asheville for the night(s) of May (1 and) 2. Call 1-800-622-4005 and identify yourself with the SAMAB group. The room block has expired, but they may honor a rate of $55, pending availability.

NEPA NOTICES that may be of interest—

• TVA has released a draft Cherokee Reservoir Land Management Plan for comment. Cherokee Reservoir is located in Hamblen, Grainger, Jefferson, and Hawkins Counties, Tennessee, in the Ridge and Valley ecoregion. The plan allocates 8,187 acres into categories which are proposed to guide future TVA decisions about land uses. Approximately 6,600 acres are proposed to be allocated into natural resource management and protection categories, 760 acres are proposed to be available for recreational development, and 275 acres available for residential access. Copies of the plan are available by calling 1-800-TVA-Land. Comments are due May 16, 2001 and should be sent to Stanford E. Davis, Tennessee Valley Authority, 2611 West Andrew Johnson Highway, Morristown, Tennessee 37814-3295; 865-632-3791.
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a public notice describing the fill of 4,462 linear feet of streams associated with construction of the 500-acre Canton Motorsports and Expo Park in Haywood County, North Carolina. The proposed motorsports complex will replace the Asheville Motor Speedway. A copy of the notice is available at http://www.saw.usace.army.mil/wetlands/regtour.htm . Comments should be sent to David Baker, Wilmington District, Corps of Engineers, Post Office Box 1890, Wilmington, NC 28402-1890; telephone 828-271-4856.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• May 2-3—SAMAB Spring Planning Meeting, The North Carolina Arboretum, Asheville, NC
• November 6-8—SAMAB Annual Fall Conference, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 26-28—Southern Forest Science Conference (southernforestscience.net), Atlanta, GA

E-Mail News Briefs—April 1, 2001

CULTURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE TO MEET—Rodney Snedeker (rsnedeker@fs.fed.us), chair of the revitalized SAMAB Cultural Resources Committee, invites participation in the next meeting, Wednesday, April 11, 10am - 2pm at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. Agenda and directions will be posted on the SAMAB Web site, or contact Rodney.

ANTHRACNOSE-RESISTANT DOGWOODS—"Appalachian Spring" is an anthracnose-resistant cultivar developed at the University of Tennessee and is receiving great press. Dogwood anthracnose is a non-native fungus that appeared in the eastern US in the 1970's that has reduced dogwood populations in the Southern Appalachians Sampling sites in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park show a loss of 57-93% in less than 30 years. Visit the web site (dogwood.ag.utk.edu/)for more on developing disease-resistant dogwoods.

YELLOW CREEK BOTANICAL INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES WEB SITE—Visit the new site (yellowcreek.org) for lots of info on native plants and sustainable agriculture in the Southern Appalachians.

TODAY! RESERVE HOTEL FOR SAMAB SPRING MEETING—Rooms are blocked at the Biltmore Square Comfort Suites at Exit 2 of I-26 in Asheville for the night of May 2. Call 1-800-622-4005 by April 2 and identify yourself with the SAMAB group for rate of $55. (They typically will extend this date, pending availability...)

NEPA NOTICES that may be of interest—

• The Tallulah Ranger District, Chattahoochee National Forest, has proposed several NEPA projects:
• Native Cane Restoration--restoration of native cane on alluvial soils in the flood plain of major streams and the Chattooga River
• Brook Trout reintroduction in area streams
• American Chestnut reintroduction--planting seed or seedlings from chestnut blight resistant populations of this tree species.
To get on the mailing list or to make comments, contact Steve Cole or Allen Smith at (706) 782-3320; 809 Highway 441 South, Clayton, GA 30525.
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is proposing to mitigate acid mine drainage problems on 12 sites in the Powell River Basin in Lee County, Virginia. A copy of the public notice is online (www.nao.usace.army.mil/Regulatory/PN/LRNScopingNotice.htm).
• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to establish a nonessential experimental population of whooping cranes in the eastern U.S. A draft Environmental Assessment has been prepared for review. A public hearing will be held in Nashville on April 3, 2001 at Union Station Hotel, 1001 Broadway. For further information, see http://midwest.fws.gov/whoopingcrane or contact Janet M. Smith, Field Supervisor, Green Bay Field Office, 1015 Challenger Court, Green Bay, Wisconsin 54311; telephone 920-465-7440.
• Tennessee Department of Transportation/Federal Highway Administration has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact for six-lane improvements of State Route 66 between I-40 and Sevierville. Additional information is available from Charles Bush, Tennessee Department of Transportation, 505 Deaderick Street, Nashville, TN 37243; telephone 615-741-3653.

• April 4-7—Association of Southeastern Biologists (www.loyno.edu/~asb) annual meeting in New Orleans, LA
• May 2-3—SAMAB Spring Planning Meeting, The North Carolina Arboretum, Asheville, NC
• November 6-8—SAMAB Annual Fall Conference, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 26-28—Southern Forest Science Conference (southernforestscience.net), Atlanta, GA

E-Mail News Briefs—March 15, 2001

SAMAB AS A MODEL—Charles Van Sickle represented SAMAB at a DOD-sponsored workshop, "Partners Along The Fall Line," on March 6 and 7 at Aiken, SC. The goal of the workshop was to highlight technology developed at Fort Benning, GA by DOD's Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program.Van Sickle was invited to talk about SAMAB and the Southern Appalachian Assessment. The presentation stimulated numerous questions and positive comments and could serve as the basis of an initiative to develop a cooperative similar to SAMAB for the military bases and other federal land management units along the fall line and sand hills.

APPALACHIAN TRAIL REGIONAL MONITORING PROJECT UPDATE—Tom Gilbert and Carroll Schell, Resource Management Specialist at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, met March 14 in Shenandoah National Park and March 15 at Appalachian Trail Conference (ATC) Headquarters in Harpers Ferry with NPS and ATC officials regarding expanded regional cooperation to address critical regional issues including air and water quality and invasive species, and participation of gateway communities in a regional monitoring and assessment effort. The initial work plan includes identification of existing information systems, data holdings, collaborative efforts to identify gaps and priority needs and collaborative efforts to address the needs.

SUSTAINABILITY BOOK SALES GOING STRONG—The book "Ecosystem Management for Sustainability" edited by John Peine, long-time SAMAB participant, remains a good seller for Lewis Publishers and SAMAB. (The SAMAB Foundation receives royalties.) The book, published in 1999, contains 23 chapters documenting much of the SAMAB experience in developing and implementing the concept and components of ecosystem management in the Southern Appalachian setting. Order the book from http://www.crcpress.com (10% discount), other online vendors, or your bookstore.

TVA OFFERS "ENERGY RIGHT" HOME EVALUATION—If you live in the TVA region, answer a short questionaire on energy use in your home and TVA will return a report detailing your major home energy users and suggestions for saving energy (and money) through equipment updates and weatherization. Call 1-800-663-1835 or visit http://energyright.com. If you are outside the TVA region, check with your local power company for such a service.

RESERVE HOTEL FOR SAMAB SPRING MEETING—Rooms are blocked at the Biltmore Square Comfort Suites at Exit 2 of I-26 in Asheville for the night of May 2. Call 1-800-622-4005 before April 2 and identify yourself with the SAMAB group for rate of $55.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• March 21-23, 2001—SE Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2001: A Weed Odyssey, Athens, GA. Information now on-line (www.se-eppc.org/2001).
• March 21-23, 2001—North American Lake Management Society (www.don-anderson.com/senalms2001/), Sustainable Watersheds--Balancing Multiple Needs, Knoxville, TN
• April 4-7—Association of Southeastern Biologists annual meeting in New Orleans, LA (www.loyno.edu/~asb)
• May 2-3—SAMAB Spring Planning Meeting, The North Carolina Arboretum, Asheville, NC
• November 6-8—SAMAB Annual Fall Conference, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 26-28—Southern Forest Science Conference (southernforestscience.net), Atlanta, GA

E-Mail News Briefs—March 1, 2001

SUSTAINABLE-SOUTH GROUP MEETS—Representatives from a number of environmental and community-development groups met in Atlanta on February 21 to discuss shared interests and possible joint activities. The two types of organizations have many common goals, but often work on parallel tracks with little communication or benefit from each other's efforts. Alan Pigg of the Forest Service State and Private Forestry division for the Southern Region described their Rural Community Assistance Program. The group agreed to push for increased Rural Community Assistance Program funding to USFS, and also to pursue foundation funding for leadership development to join rural community-environmental interests. Tommy Gilbert and Robb Turner represented SAMAB at the meeting, which was convened by Tom Hatley (jhatley@home.com), a member of the SAMAB Foundation Board of Directors.

APPALACHIAN TRAIL REGIONAL MONITORING PROJECT PLANNING—Following a meeting in Harpers Ferry on February 26, a leadership team of Appalachian Trail Cooperative Management System partners is being established to guide and support the resource monitoring program designed to benefit agency partners and citizen and gateway-community stakeholders. Key members include the Appalachian Trail Conference, National Park Service, National Forest Service, and sub-regional citizen coordinators. Several of the planning group also met with representatives of the H. O. Peet Foundation on February 24 to discuss plans for citizen science and education related to the monitoring project. Further planning meetings are scheduled for March 6 and 14 in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Shenandoah National Park, focusing particularly on common interests of these anchor parks along with the linear Blue Ridge Parkway and Appalachian National Scenic Trail park units. Tommy Gilbert and the SAMAB Coordinating Office are facilitating planning for this regional monitoring partnership.

RESERVE HOTEL FOR SAMAB SPRING MEETING—Rooms are blocked at the Biltmore Square Comfort Suites at Exit 2 of I-26 in Asheville for the night of May 2. Call 1-800-622-4005 before April 2 and identify yourself with the SAMAB group for rate of $55.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• March 21-23, 2001—SE Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2001: A Weed Odyssey, Athens, GA. Information now on-line (www.se-eppc.org/2001).
• March 21-23, 2001—North American Lake Management Society, Sustainable Watersheds--Balancing Multiple Needs, Knoxville, TN (www.don-anderson.com/senalms2001/)
• April 4-7—Association of Southeastern Biologists annual meeting in New Orleans, LA (www.loyno.edu/~asb)
• May 2-3—SAMAB Spring Planning Meeting, The North Carolina Arboretum, Asheville, NC
• November 6-8—SAMAB Annual Fall Conference, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 26-28—Southern Forest Science Conference, Atlanta. Abstract deadline March 15 (southernforestscience.net).

E-Mail News Briefs—February 15, 2001

COOPERATIVE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETS—The SAMAB Cooperative Executive Committee met at the Tennessee River Gorge Biosphere Reserve unit (trgt.org) near Chattanooga on February 7. Jim Brown, Executive Director of the Tennessee River Gorge Trust, spoke about history and activities of the Trust, and related a number of successes of their public-private partnership in harmonizing human use and biotic diversity. Key outcomes of committee deliberations include plans for the Spring Planning Meeting (May 2-3 at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville) and the annual Fall Conference (November 6-8 in Gatlinburg, TN), steps to finalize this year's iteration of the Strategic Plan, project updates, and means of meeting communication and outreach needs. Minutes will be available from the Coordinating Office.

RESERVE HOTEL FOR SPRING MEETING—Rooms are blocked at the Biltmore Square Comfort Suites at Exit 2 of I-26 in Asheville for the night of May 2. Call 1-800-622-4005 before April 2 and identify yourself with the SAMAB group for rate of $55.

PLANNING PROGRESSES FOR SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN NODE OF NBII—A partnership including SAMAB, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of Tennessee (at Chattanooga and Knoxville), The Tennessee River Gorge Trust, The Tennessee Aquarium, the Southeastern Aquatic Research Institute, the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency, Information International Associates, and others is developing a regional node of the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) sponsored by USGS. Participants met in Chattanooga on February 1 and 13 to plan and build institutional support for a pilot project that can demonstrate use of biological information in local and regional land-use decision making. The information node will build on the SAMAB Southern Appalachian Regional Information System (SARIS). The NBII provides biological and related data and information along with decision support tools to improve decision making.

SOUTHERN FOREST SCIENCE CONFERENCE IN ATLANTA NOVEMBER 26-28—A collaborative effort of almost 20 federal, state, and private partners, this conference will highlight the history and future role of science in sustainable forestry. Topics include: maintenance of forest ecosystem health and vitality; conservation and maintenance of soil and water resources, conservation of biological diversity, and others. Charlie Van Sickle (SAMAB Foundation President) and Robb Turner (SAMAB Executive Director) plan presentations on past and current SAMAB activities. Other contributions are encouraged, with a deadline for abstracts of March 15. For additional information, call Herman Gucinski at 828-257-4302, or visit the Web site (www.southernforestscience.net).

NSDI COMMUNITY DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS FINAL REPORT—The final report on six community demonstration projects for the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) details the goals and outcomes of the projects and illustrates how the use of geospatial data and visualization tools help stakeholders make decisions regarding community planning. Representative of diverse geographic locations and community issues, the projects illustrate the benefits of collaboration between federal, state, and local governments. The projects were conducted in Baltimore, Maryland (crime analysis); Dane County, Wisconsin (comprehensive planning); Gallatin County, Montana (growth management); Tillamook County, Oregon (flood mitigation); the Tijuana River Watershed, California (environmental restoration); and the Upper Susquehanna-Lackawanna Watershed, Pennsylvania (flood and environment). View the report online (www.fgdc.gov/nsdi/docs/cdp).

MARCH 1 APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR SAMAB/JIEE SUMMER INTERNSHIPS 2001—SAMAB and the Joint Institute for Energy and Environment (JIEE) are sponsoring a ten-week summer internship program to run from June 4 through August 10, 2001. The program is open to advanced undergraduate and graduate students in public policy and administration, environmental science, planning, natural resource management, business, decision research, and related fields. Selected students will be placed with environmental decision makers around the Southern Appalachian region. Host organizations/mentors will include federal, state, and municipal governments; small and large businesses; and non-governmental organizations. Interns will develop individualized projects with their host organization around one or more environmental-decision issues, observing and studying the decision-making process and its context. The interns will gather periodically for seminars on environmental research and decision making, rotating so that each mentor/host organization leads one presentation reflecting their perspective on decision making. For more information and application procedures, click on the "Opportunities" button to the left.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• March 21-23, 2001—SE Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2001: A Weed Odyssey, Athens, GA. Information now on-line (www.se-eppc.org/2001).
• April 4-7—Association of Southeastern Biologists annual meeting in New Orleans, LA (www.loyno.edu/~asb)
• May 2-3—SAMAB Spring Planning Meeting, The North Carolina Arboretum, Asheville, NC
• November 6-8—SAMAB Annual Fall Conference, Gatlinburg, TN
• November 26-28—Southern Forest Science Conference (southernforestscience.net), Atlanta. Abstract deadline March 15.

E-Mail News Briefs—February 1, 2001

SPRING AND FALL MEETING DATES SET—Mark your calendars for the SAMAB Spring Planning Meeting on May 2-3 at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville. Tentative dates for SAMAB's Annual Fall Conference are November 6-8 in Gatlinburg, TN. Themes, agendas, and more meeting info to come.

SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN NODE OF NBII TO BE ESTABLISHED—The National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) sponsored by USGS will develop a regional node in the Southern Appalachians, building on the SAMAB Southern Appalachian Regional Information System (SARIS) concept. Robb Turner, SAMAB Executive Director, will spend half time as Technical Director for the node. Representatives from six regional nodes and two topical nodes to be established this FY met January 17-18 in Houston to review activities proposed by each and coordinate common needs. The NBII provides biological and related data and information along with decision support tools to improve decision making.

SUSTAINABLE-COMMUNITY-INITIATIVE PLANNING MEETING—John Peine led a meeting of SAMAB and community-planning partners in Asheville on January 23. The group discussed roles and functions of quality-of-life and sustainability indicators, and proposed four means that indicators could be constructed and used, for the entire SAMAB region by county, and more specifically for communities and agency managers. SARIS is the proposed means of displaying and communicating the indicators and interpretations of them. These ideas grew out of sessions at the 2000 Fall Conference and will be further developed before and during the spring planning meeting.

MARCH 1 APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR SAMAB/JIEE SUMMER INTERNSHIPS 2001—SAMAB and the Joint Institute for Energy and Environment (JIEE) are sponsoring a ten-week summer internship program to run from June 4 through August 10, 2001. The program is open to advanced undergraduate and graduate students in public policy and administration, environmental science, planning, natural resource management, business, decision research, and related fields. Selected students will be placed with environmental decision makers around the Southern Appalachian region. Host organizations/mentors will include federal, state, and municipal governments; small and large businesses; and non-governmental organizations. Interns will develop individualized projects with their host organization around one or more environmental-decision issues, observing and studying the decision-making process and its context. The interns will gather periodically for seminars on environmental research and decision making, rotating so that each mentor/host organization leads one presentation reflecting their perspective on decision making. Additional information is available under the "Opportunities" button.

UPCOMING EVENTS—

• February 7, 2001—SAMAB Cooperative Executive Committee Meeting, Tennessee River Gorge, Chattanooga, TN
• March 21-23, 2001—SE Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2001: A Weed Odyssey, Athens, GA (www.se-eppc.org/WeedOdyssey/weedodyssey.html)
• April 4-7, 2001—Association of Southeastern Biologists annual meeting (www.loyno.edu/~asb) in New Orleans, LA.
• May 2-3, 2001—SAMAB Spring Planning Meeting, The North Carolina Arboretum, Asheville, NC
• November 6-8, 2001—SAMAB Annual Fall Conference, Gatlinburg, TN

E-Mail News Briefs—January 15, 2001

• March 21-23, 2001—SE Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2001: A Weed Odyssey, Athens, GA (www.se-eppc.org/WeedOdyssey/weedodyssey.html).
• April 4-7, 2001—Association of Southeastern Biologists annual meeting in New Orleans, LA (www.loyno.edu/~asb).