SAMAB News
The Seventh Annual Fall Conference is being hailed as one of the best ever, particularly in the quality of presentations. The conference served to re-emphasize the reason for SAMAB's existence and its tremendous value to the region.
"We live in a society where we can't be concerned with just what happens in our 'backyard'," said Randle Phillips as he opened the conference. "Our actions affect other people's 'backyard.' As our population increases, we must work together to sustain a good quality of life."
He cited SAMAB's success in identifying emerging issues and its success with the recently completed Southern Appalachian Assessment (SAA).
Phillips said nine new biosphere reserves were established worldwide in 1996 and they followed the model set here in Southern Appalachia. "So this model is being extended over the planet," he said.
Executive Committee Vice-chair Karen Wade, Superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, spoke of the need for continued cooperation and partnerships. "We realize," she said, "that no one agency or no one person can maintain the vitality of our ecosystem . . . Very strong partnerships are needed." And SAMAB, made up as it is of three state agencies and twelve federal agencies, "is a very strong partnership," Wade added. She encouraged a continued cooperative effort to address ecological issues facing the region.
Following are some of the highlights of the conference.
Justin Wilson, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, challenged the region to provide economic opportunity to newcomers by allowing economic development while protecting natural resources.
"We need industry," he said,"but we need to be careful how we recruit industry because pollution is still a problem."
Wilson called the beauty of the region"our greatest asset," which supports a thriving tourism industry.
In a question and answer discussion, Wilson said the main focus of the state in the future will be to redirect its efforts to ensure better environmental protection. He also said the state will"absolutely" move forward to improve the air quality in the Smoky Mountains.
Carlton Owen, Director of Wildlife and Resource Issues for Champion International Corporation, said his company owns more than 5 million acres, but 70 percent of its timber comes from private owners. For that reason, he said, his firm gives technical assistance to private owners and works with loggers to help land owners make sound decisions for long-term sustainability of their timber assets. He said Champion is trying to institute mandatory training of loggers.
The Information Age requires that economic decisions depend more and more on environmental considerations and on the natural resources available. So the USGS mission now features, among other things, enhancement of the quality
She said the recent merger of the National Biological Service with USGS was done for administrative efficiency. The Biological Service still pursues scientific excellence, she said. She noted that the Biological Service has 10,000 employees in all 50 states as well as U. S. territories.
Mike Huston of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory spoke on"Poor Valley and Poor Mountains: Ecology and Economics in the SAMAB Region." He noted a geographical pattern of poverty in the United States, but said improvement occurred between 1970 and 1990. Huston said that for some reason, the incidence of rare plant species is highest in places where the land is dry and unproductive. The same is true globally, he said.
He noted that the Southern Appalachian Assessment indicates that making a profit from the land is not a high priority with private land owners of the region, but ecology is.
Robert L. Herbst, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Environment and Technology Foundation in Arlington, Virginia, enthusiastically dissected the 104th Congress. A former Assistant Secretary of the Interior, he said sustained life on the planet is now threatened and the key to survivability is research.
The public, he said, must be educated to correct its own bad habits. And that is why the Man and Biosphere program is so valuable.
In his assessment of the past two years on Capitol Hill, Herbst said,"I have never before seen such partisanship, such anti-government and anti-environment" activity.
He said government employees had been"insulted" and"treated like dirt - to the point of damaging the country. All sides hope that the next session will be less strident," Herbst said.
During the first year of the 104th Congress, the speaker said, no environmental bills were passed. In the last year, he said, some action occurred, first in passing the Farm Act that will phase out commodity price supports. He cited environmental benefits of this legislation, such as the conversion of highly erodible lands to improve soil and water.
Also passed, he said, were the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Food Quality Protection Act which reformed pesticide management.
Looking ahead to the 105th Congress, Herbst said he sees little cooperation and little progress on environmental issues. "The chasm between the Congress and the White House will grow," he said.
He urged the audience to"fight for the things you believe in or else they will cease to exist."
Phillip Gibson of the SAMAB office spoke on the potential impacts of natural resource management on human health. Gibson said many of the infectious diseases now emerging can be attributed to environmental change. For example, the emergence of hantavirus, attributed to rodents, and its spread may be stimulated in part by land management practices.
"Natural resource management, climate change, urbanization, political and socio-economic change -- along with other environmental variables -- have demonstrated their roles in the transport and increase of emerging infectious diseases," Gibson said. He urged researchers to continue to cooperate in their efforts and to integrate their findings within the discipline of natural resource management.
Gibson will coordinate a workshop on Feb. 3-4 (rescheduled from December 3-4). The workshop will encourage cooperation between natural resource managers and health experts, and will include representatives from the National Institutes of Health, Harvard's Center for Health and the Global Environment, Center for Disease Control, East Tennessee Regional Health Department, and others. There will also be a discussion of the SAA and how it may be used for linking environmental change to potential health hazards.
An interesting presentation was made by Murray Cail of the Southern Region, National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council in Rome, Georgia. He said ordinary people including nature lovers and family groups enjoy off-road excursions on bicycles or motorized vehicles. He said off-road trails need to be kept in good shape environmentally and that training is needed to encourage responsible enjoyment of the sport.
Janice Cox of TVA, an environmental scientist on TVA's River Action Team, described the Hiwassee River ecosystem project. It's a big project and involves many of the SAMAB agencies. The watershed embraces 2,700 square miles in North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee and includes 4,000 to 5,000 miles of streams, eight TVA reservoirs, and three national forests. Earlier, the SAMAB Executive Committee had reaffirmed its endorsement of the Hiwasee River project.
Cox said at least four of the eight projects planned on the Hiwassee will benefit from findings of the Southern Appalachian Assessment, but will go beyond the assessment to provide information needed for remediation of specific problems.
Richard H. Odom Jr. of Westvaco spoke of Westvaco's ecosystem-based forestry program. In it's timber harvesting operations, he said, the firm is careful to protect water quality, special areas that include rare animals or plants, natural areas, and scenic views. Nature trails are maintained and when trees are harvested, care is taken to leave a border of trees and vegetation to protect the scenery.
Randle Phillips announced on November 5 that he is departing as chairman of the SAMAB Executive Committee. The reason: He is being transferred to Washington, D.C., where he will become coordinator of program and budget for the National Forest Service.
Phillips will be replaced by Karen Wade, superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, who has been serving as vice-chair.
"We hate to see Randy leave us," said Executive Director Hubert Hinote. "He provided outstanding leadership for SAMAB."
"At the same time we are happy for Randy because he has been given a challenging new assignment at a higher level in the Forest Service. It's a fine promotion for him."
"Karen will do an excellent job," said Hinote. "Busy as she is with running the nation's premier national park, she has devoted an enormous amount of time and energy to SAMAB. We are confident she will continue to serve this region with distinction."
(Good luck Randy, you will be sorely missed!)
SAMAB celebrated the 20th anniversary of the founding of the first two Biosphere Reserves in this area at its Annual Fall Conference November 5.
It was in October 1976 that the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park were designated as Biosphere Reserve Units by the Man and Biosphere program.
Tommy Gilbert, now retired from the U.S. Park Service, was the main speaker for the celebration. He traced SAMAB's roots to the writings of conservationists in the 1930s.
In 1968, he said, an international conference came up with the Man and Biosphere concept, but it was slow developing. In 1973 he was seconded by the National Park Service to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris France to assist in developing the MAB program. Following that, he worked with the State Department and other agencies in Washington to get planning started that led to establishment of the Coweeta and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Biosphere Reserves in 1976.
Before that, Gilbert said, he saw an article in the International Herald-Tribune in which then-President Nixon said he wanted to get with the Russians to discuss environmental issues. So Gilbert asked then Secretary of State, Christian Herter, to get Biosphere Reserves on Nixon's agenda. This was done.
Against that historical background, Gilbert saluted SAMAB and encouraged the cooperative to extend its experience to other parts of the globe by establishing an international training institute where "people from all over the world can draw on SAMAB's wealth of experience."
Gilbert said there must be vigorous follow-up to the Southern Appalachian Assessment and that SAMAB must have more financial support to fulfill its mission.
"SAMAB has a good record," Gilbert said, "but not good enough." "We now have well defined issues (from the assessment)," he said, "but strong follow-through is needed."
Roger Soles, Executive Director of the U.S. MAB Secretariat, followed Gilbert. He said legislation had been introduced by Congressman Young of Alaska to ban the designating of Biosphere Reserves on U.S. lands. It failed to pass, but the effort will likely continue.
"Somehow people have the idea that sovereignty is involved," Soles said. He noted that Georgia's Rep. Newt Gingrich abstained from voting on the Young bill.
He said the National MAB Committee met recently and is moving to educate people on the realities of the Man and Biosphere program. He recommended similar educational activity on the local and regional level.
SAMAB has a new standing committee -- the Environmental Coordinating Committee. It was approved by the Executive Committee at its November 5 meeting in Gatlinburg.
The establishment of this committee is the result of the NEPA Coordinators workshop that SAMAB sponsored last May. (See the September, 1996, SAMAB newsletter).
Harold Draper of TVA, who made the recommendation, pointed out that there are many similarities between SAMAB and NEPA. Both are concerned with interagency cooperation to address environmental issues.
Briane Adams of the U.S. Geological Survey said calling it the NEPA Committee would tend to narrow its focus. Others agreed, so the name, "Environmental Coordinating Committee," was chosen. Draper agreed to chair this committee.
The following summarizes reports made by other standing committees:
Research & Monitoring
Dr. Elizabeth Smith said the committee met October 22 to identify information gaps found in the Southern Appalachian Assessment and to identify priority projects as a follow-up. The plan is to get input from SAMAB member states on issues that need further attention. As many as seven workshops may be held, she said. In addition, Dr. Smith said, the committee will work more closely with the Environmental Education and Training Committee because of mutual concerns.
Sustainable Development
Chairperson John Peine said that Washington officials of the Department of Interior who were briefed on the Southern Appalachian Assessment earlier this year may be invited to the SAMAB region for a workshop on community sustainable development.
Planning also is underway for a Sustainable Communities Information Fair at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and for production of a catalogue that would help communities implement sustainable development programs. The committee also wants to produce a publication that could help communities plan for sustainable development. Executive Director Hubert Hinote suggested that the committee consider sponsoring a sustainable development forum or workshop at the Spring Planning Meeting next April.
Environmental Education & Training
Chairperson Gene Cox reported that new environmental posters are being produced.
Six ecosystem educational posters that SAMAB is partially funding are at the printer. The posters will focus on endangered species, non-native species, neotropical migratory birds, riverine habitat, cave/karst ecosystems and aquatic species.
Resource Management
The idea of adding 11 West Virginia counties to the SAMAB Zone of Cooperation is still alive. Chairperson Larry Luckett led a discussion of the issue. The main problem with adding the counties has to do with administrative boundaries of SAMAB member agencies, particularly the U.S. Forest Service. Executive Committee Chair Randy Phillips said this situation has changed and it may be time to re-address the question. Phillips said he would look into it and report back at the next Executive Committee meeting.
On other matters, Luckett said the committee is prioritizing several issues and will produce an action plan for addressing them.
Cultural, Human Resources
Ruthanne Mitchell, chair of the committee, said two projects are in the works: (1) Production of a directory identifying cultural and human resource leaders in the region, and (2) Publication of papers dealing with cultural and human resources that were presented at the 1994 SAMAB Fall Conference.
In addition, Mitchell said there were deficiencies in the Southern Appalachian Assessment report on cultural and human resources. Executive Committee Vice-Chair Karen Wade suggested that Mitchell's committee develop information to plug any gaps in the report.
Public Affairs
Demand for copies of the Southern Appalachian Assessment continues high, according to Terry Seyden, who chairs the committee. The additional 1,000 copies previous ordered will be well used, he said.
The Southern Appalachian Assessment continues to enhance its reputation as a model of environmental assessment from the standpoint of getting the job done efficiently and at low cost.
He said Department of Interior staff had asked whether Congress funded the assessment effort and were surprised when they were told it had not. This, said Wade, may indicate that SAMAB should seek Congressional funds in the future.
Seyden said Town Hall meetings to spread results of the assessment have been delayed but will be scheduled soon.
Also, at the fall conference, Roger Soles, Executive Director of the U.S. MAB Secretariat, presented a 20-year award of Recognition to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory.
Karen Wade, superintendent of the park, accepted the award "for all the employees" of the park. "They really care for this place," she said. She credited park professionals for any progress that has been made.
She said areas like Biosphere Reserves are needed "as barometers of ecological health." And in defense of the Biosphere Reserve designation in the Smokies, she added, "I am not going to let anyone intimidate me into being ashamed of that sign that says the park is a Biosphere Reserve." "The 20th anniversary of Biosphere Reserves means we've come a long way," Wade said. "There is hope for the future, but we still have a long way to go."
The Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, was also honored as one of the first Biosphere Reserve Units. Wayne Swank, project leader, was unable to attend the conference, so the award was accepted by Dr. Katherine Elliott, research ecologist at Coweeta.
Dr. Elliott said the lab has hosted more than 20 groups from other countries. Lab personnel have also visited other countries and helped establish a million-acre Biosphere Reserve in the Caucasus Mountains of Russia.
The following are those who helped make the 1996 SAMAB Annual Conference the "best ever": The Chevron Companies; The National Center for Environmental Decision-making Research; Beneath the Smoke, Gatlinburg; and Old Smoky (Flyfishing) Outfitters, Gatlinburg.
Also, thanks are extended to Cherokee storyteller Driver Pheasant, Appalachian storyteller Charles Maynard, and musical entertainment by the "Woodpickers."
Land trusts are becoming an increasingly important force for conservation of environmentally important land. For that reason, representatives of four land trusts were on the program for SAMAB's Seventh Annual Fall Conference to explain their activities.
Jim Brown of the Tennessee River Gorge Trust at Chattanooga, served as moderator. He said his trust was formed 16 years ago to protect the resources of the 26-mile-long scenic gorge. It now protects 12,500 acres.
Land trusts, Brown said, can do things government agencies can't do -- for example, lobby and raise money.
And local citizens are willing to give money to protect scenic beauty, he said. The trust raises $350,000 a year from local sources. These funds paid for 5,000 acres of land that is now part of the River Gorge Trust.
Don Morrow heads the southeastern regional office of the Trust for Public Land, a national organization. He emphasized that land trusts are part and parcel of the local community and they can work more closely and quickly to acquire land.
He gave this example: When a government agency wanted to buy private land at the headwaters of the Chatuge River, red tape prevented it. But the land trust could -- and did.
Land trusts can be very creative, Morrow said. When the need arose to acquire some federal property on Fontana Lake, the Trust for Public Land worked with TVA and the Forest Service to exchange pieces of property, with approval by the land owners and the developer. As a result, the tax base of the county will increase 25 per cent.
Lynn Cox, director of the Southern Highlands Conservancy, said it is good to give land owners options rather than single choices. For example, if an owner doesn't want to sell property outright, an easement may be appropriate. This lets the land stay in the owner's hands, but any future development is limited by terms of the legally binding easement. In many cases, she said, the land owner gains a tax advantage under an easement.
"It is amazing how people love the land," she said. "They want to protect it."
Brown said the presentations given at the conference were "just an overview." He said more dialogue is needed between conservancy groups.
Executive Director Hubert Hinote said SAMAB is planning a directory of land trusts in the region that will provide more information on land trusts and specify how many acres each one holds. This will be distributed when available.
Growth means different things to different people, and these differences were discussed at length on the second day of SAMAB's Fall Conference.
Dodd Galbreath, Environmental Coordinator, of the Tennessee Environmental Policy Office, moderated the discussion. He said the Southern Appalachian region is expected to grow 15 per cent in population in the next 15 years and to some that will mean loss and stress.
"The big question," he said, "is how can we grow 'smart' and 'safe'."
Galbreath introduced panel members Dr. Olin Ivey, Executive Director of the Georgia Environmental Organization; Annette Anderson of the University of Tennessee; Linda Caldwell, Director of Tennessee Overhill; and Todd Holt, of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Community Alliance.
Dr. Ivey, a member of the President's Council on Sustainable Development, said "a whole new chapter about sustainability" has been opened in Georgia. He said a roundtable planned within the next two years will define a strategy for sustainability in Georgia, and a "Sustainable Communities Initiative" is already in the works.
The plan for the Sustainable Communities Initiative calls for sessions in 10 different communities. A team will work with each community for two years to plan for sustainable development.
Ms. Anderson followed, focusing on development of a "Futurescapes" plan for the town of Pittman Center, Tennessee. The town incorporated to try to avoid the unbridled development going on in nearby Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, she said.
Citizens are actively involved in efforts to keep the area much as it is, but the community is not averse to all development. Ms. Anderson said they would like to see among other things small-scale tourism development, with bed-and-breakfast facilities and specialty farming of gourmet products. A community development corporation is planned to guide growth while preserving the natural atmosphere of the town.
Ms. Caldwell of the Tennessee Overhill Organization said her group works in three counties and is focused on heritage tourism that features local historical sites. Tennessee Overhill began in 1990 with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. One highlight of her presentation was that the organization uses rustic signage to direct tourists to key spots.
Holt, an alderman on the Sevierville City Council and a member of the Sevierville Planning Commission, concluded the panel discussion. He heads the Community Alliance that supports the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Holt said 26 communities that border the park are members of the alliance. The alliance plans to incorporate as a civic government agency. It will address issues related to the park through five committees that deal with transportation, environmental issues, community partnerships and cooperation, and education.
Galbreath closed the discussion, pointing out that many communities in Tennessee are asking for "smart growth" assistance.
Two sessions at the Fall Conference attempted to answer the question, How is the Southern Appalachian Assessment (SAA) being used?
Karl Hermann chaired the first session, with three speakers: Gary Pierson, head of planning and program development for the U.S. Forest Service, Jerry Dobson, scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and John Peine, of the Biological Resources Division of USGS.
Pierson said the SAA was "the most successful to date" in cost- effectiveness and in the way it strengthened relationships among the participants. He said problems "can't be solved with technical solutions alone; we must have people working together."
Pierson also said the SAA will be a big help in developing new planning documents for the national forests. "This is the first time we will have broad-scale information to put into the plans," he said. He added that the SAA puts issues into a context where each agency can identify what it needs to do. For the Forest Service, he said, it will improve the consistency of the planning process. He also said the SAA is influencing assessments in other regions, specifically in Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Dobson's presentation focused on the National Center for Environmental Decision-Making Research, with which he is affiliated. The center is in Knoxville, Tennessee, and was set up to "improve the way society faces environmental problems and decisions."
The center was created with funds from a National Science Foundation grant. It is viewed as a place where local, state and regional environmental decision-makers can find help from experts who analyze a problem, then provide the right decision-making tools for solving the problem.
John Peine of the U.S. Biological Service followed. He said the SAA could be used in a variety of ways. One way the SAA could be utilized is to provide county resources atlases where planning for a sustainable future is just getting underway. He also said that SAMAB might sponsor a field test that would apply lessons learned in the assessment to a specific site.
Michael Gilbrooks, a consultant with HDR Engineering, described studies being done for a transportation corridor across north Georgia. He said the SAA proved to be very useful in the study, and that 14 of the 28 variables identified in the corridor plan came directly from the SAA.
Gilbrooks said the corridor is being planned so that it will have minimum environmental impact.
At the Fall Conference, Forest Carpenter of the U.S. Forest Service and Cory Berish of the Environmental Protection Agency reviewed results of the Southern Appalachian Assessment (SAA).
Eleven federal and state agencies were involved, Carpenter said. "The best minds available" were used to determine the status of the region's terrestrial, aquatic, and atmospheric resources, as well as the social, economic, and cultural assets of Southern Appalachia.
Teams were assigned to study each of these four areas, with a coordinating team overseeing the effort. Public involvement was one of the keys to success for the SAA, he said. Private land owners and the general public were involved throughout and will share the benefits of the assessment.
There were town hall meetings and working sessions open to the public. A special newsletter kept others posted on progress of the assessment.
Carpenter pointed out that the first assessment of the region's resources occurred in 1901 during the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt, an avid conservationist. He read excerpts from a report at that time which described the poor condition of the natural resources. By use of color slides, Carpenter demonstrated the tremendous improvements that have occurred since then.
Here are highlights from Carpenter's and Berish's review:
Social, Cultural and Economic. The region's population is now much more diverse. In some counties, population is up more than 50 per cent. New residents want the natural resources conserved. Farming has decreased and industry has increased. Employment is up 65 per cent. The tourism industry has doubled.
Terrestrial. Seventy percent of the assessment area is forested. There are 51 species of animals classified as threatened or endangered, with 65 per cent of these located in eight communities of rare specimens. Wild turkey population is way up. The bear population has increased. Many important tree species are threatened by pests and exotic species that compete for space. Infestations of gypsy moths are causing decline in oak trees. This pest's range will reach into north Georgia by the year 2010.
Aquatic. Berish said that water pollution continues to be a problem in many areas. For example, one particular campground is heavily used by a public that doesn't realize the stream flowing by the camp is heavily polluted. In summary, he described how strong new partnerships had been developed during the SAA as people from different agencies worked together. This, he said, was one of the best results of the assessment.
SAMAB is investigating the opportunity to meet with selected county planners and demonstrate how the SAA may assist them in their county development plans.
Due to past experiences with Franklin County Tennessee, the Tennessee Conservation League has proposed a partnership with SAMAB in addressing the needs of Polk County Tenneessee, according to Hubert Hinote, Executive Director.
Special awards were presented to three individuals at the Fall Conference for their contributions to SAMAB.
The second annual Hinote Award went to Tommy Gilbert, called the "father and mother" of SAMAB. It was Gilbert who came up with the concept for designating special natural areas in the US and the USSR in the Nixon-Brezhnev Communique of 1974. Tommy's later work led to the creation of SAMAB in 1988.
"What a nice surprise!" Gilbert exclaimed in accepting his award from Randle Phillips, chairman of SAMAB's Executive Committee. In brief remarks, Gilbert emphasized how useful SAMAB has been as a successful model for MAB programs all over the world.
Gary Everhardt, superintendent of the Blue Ridge Parkway, was also recognized with a Hinote Award for his work on the study team that developed SAMAB. Karen Wade, superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, called Everhardt "an institution in this part of the world." She mentioned his vast knowledge about, and deep understanding of, the people of the region, which have contributed so much to SAMAB.
Forrest Carpenter, co-chair of the SAA Policy Team, presented the Leadership Award for Sustainability to Karl Hermann. Carpenter said Hermann was "probably the most valuable person in SAMAB . . . for educating all of us."
Hermann developed the CD-ROM data base for the SAA. His knowledge of Geographical Information Systems and his ability to apply this technology to projects "are without equal," Carpenter said.
Unfortunately, SAMAB is losing Hermann's expertise. He has accepted a position with EPA in Colorado. (Good luck Karl. You will be missed!)
The next meeting of the SAMAB Executive Committee is tentatively scheduled in Atlanta, February 10, 1997. The time and specific location will be announced later.
An attractive new poster is being used extensively to call attention to the historic Southern Appalachian Assessment sponsored by SAMAB.
The poster calls attention to the four areas covered by the assessment: terrestrial, atmospheric, aquatic, and social/cultural/economic.
It is 10 inches wide and 27 inches deep and is suitable for framing. Contact the Executive Director's Office for copies.
The 8th Annual SAMAB Conference has been set for November 5-7, 1997 at the Holiday Inn-Sunspree in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. (Same as the 1996 Conference.)
Due to the interest in the Southern Appalachian Assessment, the supply of CD-ROMs containing data from the SAA are exhausted. A proposal was made at the Executive Committee meeting that additional copies be obtained. Briane Adams of the USGS is working on obtaining additional copies.
Many other organizations make use of volunteers to augment their professional staffs. In SAMAB, we have two people on the staff, myself and Phill Gibson, my assistant. We could use some more help.
Why not, then, have a "Volunteers for SAMAB" program? I received much encouragement for such an initiative at our Fall Conference. For example, two retired persons Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Olson, told me they would welcome the opportunity to serve as volunteers. I am sure there are many others who feel the same way. So I will suggest that the Executive Committee and other friends of SAMAB give some serious thought to organizing a "Volunteers for SAMAB" program. Your thoughts and comments on this idea would be welcomed.
Most of you know that allegations continue that the Man and Biosphere Program is a tool of the United Nations and that somehow people's private property rights are at risk. Nothing could be farther from the truth. U.N. sponsorship of the Man and Biosphere program in no way reduces local control of the SAMAB program. The public is involved in what we do from start to finish.
We all need to spread the word about what SAMAB really is and to allay any fears that private property rights are endangered by SAMAB in any way, shape, form or fashion. SAMAB's fundamental purpose is clear: We try to encourage a balance between development and a healthy environment.
Following is a summary of some of the things your Executive Director has done since our last report:
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