DECEMBER 1997 SAMAB-NEWS

Executive Committee Meeting Notes

The executive committee met on November 4 in Gatlinburgand directed Hubert Hinote to meet with committees and proceed with theactions to implement the Program of Work 1998-2000. The working committeemeeting is scheduled for December 16 in Clayton, Georgia at the US ForestService's Tallulah District Ranger Office.

Geri Spring, Program Manager for The Chattanooga Instituterequested SAMAB's assistance to develop a comprehensive database from theSAA and to track key indicators of sustainable communities. Jon Loney ofTVA, Cory Berish of EPA, and Boyd Rose of EDA applauded the proposed Chattanoogaproject and encouraged the member agencies to get involved. Executive CommitteeChair Karen Wade asked John Peine, Chair of the Sustainable DevelopmentCommittee, to prepare a proposal which would provide technical assistanceto The Chattanooga Institute and the New Century Council in Roanoke, Virginia.

Karen Wade, Executive Committee Chair, welcomed about200 people attending the Eighth Annual Conference (November 5-7). CoryBerish, EPA Region 4, presented a review of the SAMAB cooperative's programto the plenary session. The conference theme: "Working with Communities"was addressed by three invited speakers: Adela Backiel, Director SustainableDevelopment, US Dept. of Agriculture; Sakina Thompson, Senior PolicyAdvisor to the Federal Co-Chairman, Appalachian Regional Commission; andSupt. Pat Reed, of Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park.

Appalachian Regional Commission'sNew Strategies -- SakinaThompson reported that ARC's new strategies to achieve long-term developmentin the region include two key components: civic capacity building and entrepreneurialdevelopment.

Thompson discussed how many of our communities are smalland isolated, often without professional staffs with the experience togarner resources necessary to solve local problems. As such the Commissionhas set aside funds to invest in the skills of local leaders and institutionsto increase their ability to better address their needs.

Thompson remarked that while large businesses are downsizing,small businesses that learn to exploit these new market niches are becomingimportant contributors to the restructuring of the national economy. TheARC believes that such entrepreneurial firms can play a pivotal role increating self-sustaining local economies and has committed $15 millionover the next three years to pursue entrepreneurial development in theregion.

Building Local Partnerships--Supt. Pat Reed of Chickamauga & ChattanoogaNational Military Park, spoke on building local partnerships. Reed explainedhow Park officials worked with local, regional, state, and federal planninggroups, community groups, and landowners from two states and several countiesto implement a multi-jurisdictional planning effort. As the result, historicsites associated with the Chickamauga Battlefield were identified and protectedwithin and beyond park boundaries.

Supt. Reed recounted the benefits of public outreach effortswhich helped to build strong local partnerships in the Chattanooga-Ft.Oglethorpe area. Downtown Development Authority and main street corridorplanning are underway for this gateway community.

Professor Bowen of the Graduate School of Planning, UT-Knoxvillebegan this session by presenting a model for sustainable communities. Thisserved as a useful starting point for presentations to follow.

Chattanooga and Roanoke -- Geri Springof the Chattanooga Institute and Dr. John Leffler of the The New CenturyCouncil of Roanoke, VA then discussed how their respective communitieswere going about building benchmarks and indicators of sustainability.

New Data Sources -- Brand Niemann of the Center for EnvironmentalInformation & Statistics, EPA in Washington, D.C. presented informationon new data sources that are readily available from which to create indicesof community sustainability.

Grassroots Activism -- Hugh Irwin of the Southern AppalachianForest Coalition (SAFC) spoke of efforts to conduct conservation planningin the Southern Appalachians, integrating grassroots activism and communityideas. SAFC has been very active in analyzing the Southern AppalachianAssessment data base to define critical habitat.

Land Tenure -- Next graduate student Shirley Hollis Ricefrom the University of Tennessee-Knoxville Department of Sociology discussedland tenure and it's threats to sustainable communities in the SouthernAppalachians.

Recycle -- Phillip Araman of the USDA Forest Service,Brooks Products Center at Virginia Tech University discussed how wood palletrecovery, reuse and recycling provides an eloquent example of a communitybased environmental and resource sustainability program.

Protect Tennessee Network -- Arleen Barnett concludedthe session with a description of the Protect Tennessee Network programestablished by the Tennessee Environmental Council. A statewide toll-freephone number (1-888-PROTEKT) was set up for citizens to report environmentalproblems in their community She described how the program works and howthe complaints are followed up by notification of appropriate authorities.

Historic Cherokee landscapes, archaeology and Twentiethcentury history were the focus of the Cultural Heritage Seminar.

Archaeology -- Archeology professor Anne Rogers from WesternCarolina University spoke about building community partnerships to fosterpublic awareness and protect sensitive archaeological resources. The universityarcheologists work with the US Forest Service's Passport in Time Programand hold summer field schools each year in the Nantahala National Forest.

Trail of Tears -- A reconstruction of western North Carolina'shistoric Cherokee landscape at the time of Trail of Tears (1838) was presentedby archaeologist Brett Riggs from the University of Tennessee. Riggs saidthat a Trail of Tears Chapter is being established in North Carolina. ContactDave Moore at the NC Dept of Archives and History (704-274-6789) for membershipinformation.

Curatorial Facility -- US Army Corps of Engineers archaeologists:Richard Lewis (Wilmington District) and Chris Pulliam (St. Louis District)reported on the need to develop a partnership in North Carolina for museumcollection management and curatorial facilities. They said that Federalagencies have been collecting archeological materials from their propertiesfor nearly 100 years. The partnership effort is needed to upgrade the State'scuration facility.

Oral History -- Univ. of Tennessee anthropology student,Chris Parker, gave a review of oral history studies conducted this summerin the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He highlighted an interviewwith a WW II conscientious objector who served at one of several CivilianPublic Service camps.

Walker Papers -- Holly Hodges, of the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga,Lupton Library, described the Robert Sparks Walker special collection.An on-line catalog is being prepared to access information on Walker papers.Walker was a well-known Chattanooga naturalist and author.

Cocke County, TN -- Origins of the Dead Pigeon River Counciland the 90 year history of the people of Cocke County and their strugglesabout the toxicity of the Pigeon River were the subject of Dr. Jamie BranamKridler's presentation.

Local History -- Sarah Hilten spoke about preserving localhistory. She described the construction of Norris Dam and the planned developmentof the town of Norris, Tennessee in the 1930s. Her presentation includedfascinating historic photographs which will be preserved by the NorrisHistorical Society in a new museum.

Cumberland Trail Conference -- Arleen Barnett discussedthe newly formed nonprofit Cumberland Trail Conference's 1997 projectsto maintain and build sections of the historic Cumberland Trail, one ofTennessee's State Scenic Trails. Visit their website for information -http://users.multipro.com/cumberlandrail.

SAMI -- Thursday afternoon's Research and Monitoring Sessionbegan with a talk by Patricia F. Brewer of the Southern Appalachian MountainsInitiative (SAMI). Brewer reported on SAMI's Phase I Visibility Assessmentthat includes monitoring data from 2 sources - the IMPROVE (InteragencyMonitoring of Protected Visual Environments) network and the Electric PowerResearch Institute's SEAVS (Southeastern Aerosol and Visibility Study)network. The visibility assessment combined monitoring data with 5 setsof assumptions regarding extinction efficiencies and relative humidityto represent the current range of scientific opinion.

Forest Heterogeneity -- Stephanie Zucker of Utah StateUniversity spoke on research ongoing at Noland Divide Watershed in theGRSM that examined whether variability in inorganic soil Nitrogen dynamicsis related to above ground characteristics of red spruce - Fraser fir foreststands. Unfortunately, high variability in data collected rendered studyresults statistically insignificant.

USMAB -- Roger Soles, Executive Director of the U.S. Manand the Biosphere Directorate, gave a presentation on MAB's Inventory andMonitoring programs.

Seed Banks -- Carol Wells of Univ. of North Carolina-Ashevillepresented a study that looked at seedbanks of a Southern Appalachian fenand an adjacent disturbed floodplain.

GAP Analysis -- Alexa McKerrow, NC Fish & Wildlife,gave an update of State Gap Analysis activities that are underway in theSouthern Appalachian Region. Gap Analysis is underway in TN, VA, WV, NCand SC and it is expected that GA and AL will be underway in the comingyear.

Wood Thrush -- NC State University zoologist, George Farnsworth,reported on research that is evaluating the Great Smoky Mountains as apopulation source for wood thrush. Research results indicate that the parkmay be serving as a significant population source for the regional meta-populationof wood thrush.

Breeding Birds -- S.A. Shriner of NC State Universitypresented results of an extensive survey of breeding birds that is beingconducted in the GRSM. Initial results of this survey indicate that oldgrowth sites exhibit greater diversity of bird species than second growthsites, but some species are more abundant in second-growth stands.

Critical Habitat Model -- John Boetsch and Frank van Manenpresented a newly developed model that may be able to predict criticalhabitat for 4 rare vascular plant species in the Great Smoky MountainsNational Park.

Woodland Salamander -- Andy Ash of the University of NorthCarolina-Pembroke discussed differences in size, sex and age for the SouthernAppalachian woodland salamander that occur ten years following a clearcut.Adult animals were bigger on the clearcut areas but a smaller proportionwere in breeding condition.

Black Bears -- Rick Eastridge, Dept. of Forestry Wildlife& Fisheries, University of Tennessee presented tracking results followingrepatriation of black bears in the Big South fork area of Kentucky andTennessee.

Northern Hardwoods -- Wade Davidson, University of Kentucky,closed the session with a presentation on survey results that documentdecline of northern hardwoods in Southern Appalachia.

The first SAMAB Conference with an environmental coordinationsession was held this year. The initial Environmental Coordination sessionon November 6 attracted about 30 attendees. It was sponsored by the newEnvironmental Coordination committee, authorized in 1997 by the SAMAB ExecutiveCommittee.

NEPA --Harold Draper of TVA presented a historical overviewof the committee and its goals. He explained that the idea for the committeegrew out of a 1995 Federal Highway Administration meeting on the 25th anniversaryof the National Environmental Policy Act.

At that meeting, the coordination and sustainable developmentgoals of NEPA were emphasized. It was apparent that the goals of SAMABand NEPA were very similar, and it was decided that an effort should bemade to determine whether individuals involved in environmental coordinationand NEPA activities should be encouraged to participate in the SAMAB organization.

USFS Uses SAA Data -- Paul Arndt, US Forest Service planner,organized a panel discussion which featured talks by Glen Gaines and LarryHayden of the Forest Service and Hugh Irwin with the Southern AppalachianForest Coalition.

Glen Gaines (USFS) gave an overview of the SAA processand how the data was acquired. Larry Hayden (USFS) described how the SouthernAppalachian Assessment (SAA) is being used in efforts to revise the landand resource management plans for the National Forests in the SouthernAppalachians.

Hayden said the SAA identifies issues common to the variousforests, helps in assessing cumulative effects, and establishes goals commonto several forests.

SAA Aids NEPA -- The SAA also provided assistance in theNEPA process because it scoped a wide range of publics, sorted out themost pressing questions, and provided up-front federal and state agencycoordination.

The SAA established a foundation of facts, helped plannersto bound impact zones, raised public awareness, and connected public agencieson key issues. All of these helped to get the forest plan revision processoff to a good start.

Roadless Areas -- Hugh Irwin, of the Southern AppalachianForest Coalition, contrasted the roadless landscape of Native Americanbefore settlement to the SAA data which reveals a scattered patchwork ofroadless areas. Two examples where landscape views will be important arein the Chattooga watershed, which is split between three national forestsand the Unicoi Mountains area of the Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests.

Environmental Decision Making in Atlanta --Niki Nicholasof the Tennessee Valley Authority provided a case study of how environmentaldecision making took place in the Atlanta ozone non-attainment region.This is relevant to the Southern Appalachian region because the problemsof Atlanta are the problems of Knoxville and Chattanooga in the future,as ozone standards are strengthened in the future and population growthcontinues in the region.

Ecoregional Planning -- Susan Andrews of the SouthernAppalachian Forest Coalition spoke about ecoregional planning in the NatureConservancy's Southern Blue Ridge ecoregion. The major initiative is toselect conservation targets. Current planning partners: The Nature Conservancy,Natural Heritage Programs, and the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalitionare locating examples of old growth forest.

Stekoa Creek Watershed -- Donald Van Blaricom of the StromThurmond Institute at Clemson University described a study on the StekoaCreek watershed, a tributary of the Chattooga River which has been impactedby residential, agricultural, and road impacts and is currently listedas an impaired watershed by EPA. Image processing techniques were usedto determine which subwatersheds had the most bare soil and were contributingthe most to stream impairment.

Assessing Bioregional Health -- John Nolt, Athetia LeeBradley, Mike Knapp, and Earl Lampard of the Foundation for Global Sustainabilityconcluded the session with an overview of a newly published book on thestate of the bioregion of the Upper Tennessee Valley. Nolt said that mostenvironmental impact assessments on new projects emphasize how minimalthe impact of the project is. What is not done is a larger explanationof how it fits into the entire picture. The speakers emphasized that furtherprogress in environmental cleanup in the region is likely to require newenvironmental values. In addition, sustainable development that seeks toclose the cycle of production and consumption needs to be promoted.

Chip Ramsey of USDA-NRCS in Knoxville reported that thepresentations focused on wetland restoration, wetland protection, restoringriparian vegetation, water quality issues and the ecological recovery ofthe Pigeon River.

Monitoring Wetlands Restoration -- Reed Rossell, WarrenWilson College, reported on monitoring pre-and post restoration of a mountainwetland mitigation bank in western North Carolina.

Stream Restoration in North Georgia -- Charlene Neihardtfrom Clemson University described the efforts of the Stekoa Creek WaterQuality Committee's design, monitoring, implementation, and documentationof Best Management Practices (BMPs). The project included the City of Clayton,EPA, GA EPD, USDA Forest Service, USDA-NRCS and several regional groups,consultants, and volunteers.

ROW Mitigation -- K.D. Choate from TVA spoke about on-sitemitigation of right-of-way impacts to riparian zones and wetlands. A demonstrationstudy of proposed guidelines for mechanical or chemical treatments of streamsideand wetland sites was completed in northern Georgia.

USDA - Forest Service -- John Vann reported on the useof Bio-Engineering techniques to revegetate and protect streambanks andhill slopes in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest and other NationalForests in the South.

Pigeon River -- S. Marshall Adams reported on a studyof fish populations in the Pigeon River before and after modernizationof a kraft mill facility in western North Carolina. Post modernizationstudies showed noticeable improvement in fish health in the past threeyears.

Geochemistry -- Robert Seal reported on USGS geologicand geochemical studies to determine the controls on acid mine drainage,acid-rock drainage, and atmospheric deposition in the Great Smoky MountainsNational Park.

The Environmental Education Committee's program moderatorsemphasized environmental awareness.

Kudzu -- George Markin from the US Forest Service reportson the potential for long-term biological control project for kudzu.

Gypsy Moth -- Donna Leonard of the US. Forest Servicein Asheville reported on slowing the spread of Gypsy Moth.

Safety Testing of Biological Control Agents -- JenniferBirdsall said that the US Forest Service in Bozeman, Montana is workingto develop a host specificity plant list to infer the host ranges of potentialbiological control agents. The list will follow the proposed guidelinesrecommended by the USDA.

Herbaceous Plant Diversity -- Scott Pearson from MarsHill College presented the results of a study to determine the effectsof disturbances, terrain, and soil chemistry on cove forest herb communities.

Brook Trout -- University of Tennessee biologists, R.J.Strange and J.W.Habera reported on the distribution of brook trout. MattKulp from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park presented informationabout brook trout research and the partnership with Trout Unlimited.

Plans for USGS Video -- Sandra Clark presented a seriesof slides and a narrative to show the thematic and technical basis forthe proposed video of the Geology of the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

Teacher Workshops -- Carol and Johnny Kimmons from theSequatchie Valley Institute reported on workshop for teachers which emphasizeecology, forest health, sustainable technology, and herbs-agriculture.

Bob Butler from the US Fish & Wildlife Service inAsheville organized the symposium which was facilitated by Peg Jones whorepresented Save Our Rivers, Inc. of Franklin, North Carolina.

Four Case Studies of Partnering in Urban Settings -- Casesstudies of stream restoration and reservoirs in urban settings was thetheme of Ruth Anne Hanahan of the Water Resources Research Center, Universityof Tennessee.

Community-Based Protection: Etowah River -- Universityof Georgia Institute of Ecology's Laurie Fowler discussed community-basedenvironmental protection on the Etowah River in Georgia. She said a stressanalysis, funded by USFWS is underway to prioritize restoration projects.

Little Tennessee Watershed Association -- A success storyfrom the Little Tennessee Watershed Association and the Southwestern RC&DCouncil was the subject of Kenneth Futreal's presentation. State grantshave been awarded to Macon County, North Carolina from the North CarolinaClean Water Management Trust Fund.

Citizens' Role -- Peg Jones spoke about the role of citizensin successful local watershed projects. She encouraged volunteerism andin-kind services to support environmental education efforts.

Protecting River Heritage -- Leslie Colley from The NatureConservancy of Tennessee reported on watershed conservation efforts inVirginia, Tennessee, and Georgia. The Nature Conservancy has adopted newstrategies to protect difficult to conserve ecosystems. Conservancy representativesare now working with local communities and individual landowners to implementlandscape scale river conservation on the Clinch and Conasauga rivers.

The watchable wildlife posters that SAMAB contributedfunds to won a 1st place award from the National Association for InterpretationDr. Mary Ball of Carson-Newman College and Laura Mitchell of the CherokeeNational Forest were the primary developers of the poster text and activities.They did an outstanding job on this project and contributed many hoursin-kind. If you are interested in ordering some poster call the SAMAB officeor Hilary Vinson of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Asheville at704/258-3939 ext. 234.

Federal and state agencies and community-based organizationscontributed significantly to an exceptional poster session at this year'sconference. Pictured above is the exhibit from the Tennessee Valley Authority.The Little River exhibit emphasized watershed conservation. It was oneof several outstanding posters/exhibits.

8th Annual Conference -- I want to thank everyone-- registrars, presenters, including those who prepared and presented postersand exhibits, attendees, and all others -- who helped make this year'sannual conference one of the best. Moreover, we should all express ourgratitude to Bobby Boone of The Chevron Companies who made a generous donationin order for the registration fees to be kept at a reduced level. Our annualconference just seems to get better every year. We are already receivingprogram suggestions for next year's conference, which will be held in Gatlinburgin the first part of November (likely Nov. 3-6, 1998).

Thanks also to all of you who took the time to fill outthe evaluation forms. There were many compliments and two common complaints:(1) inadequate audiovisual equipment and (2) lack of recycling bins. Everyeffort will be made to improve the audiovisual equipment next year.

Regarding recycling, Sevier Solid Waste, Inc. (a nonprofitcorporation) which handles solid waste for Sevier County and the Citiesof Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, and Pittman Center has one ofthe most comprehensive solid waste management programs in the country;for example, in 1995, 72.3% of the solid waste generated in the countywas recycled - thus, no need for recycling bins!

Obviously, with the exception perhaps of SAMAB, recyclingis one of the best kept secrets in Sevier County; but, like SAMAB, notacross the country and worldwide. In fact, visitors from as far away asSt. Petersburg, Russia, Beijing, China, and many countries in Europe havecome to Sevierville, Tennessee to tour these facilities. Your commentshave resulted in my bringing this to the attention of the Gatlinburg CityCommission, The Gatlinburg Tourism Advisory Board, and the Gatlinburg Chamberof Commerce. Already several major hotels - including the Holiday Inn -have indicated that they will prepare materials making our visitors awareof the great recycling efforts underway in Sevier County.

SAMAB Foundation Role -- An unheralded aspect ofSAMAB is the role the Foundation plays in expediting cooperative activitiesacross the region. In addition to sponsoring the annual SAMAB conferencein November, it also cosponsored with EPA's Region 4 Waste Management Division,EPA's Partnership Programs Coordinating Committee, and the Region 4 StatePollution Prevention Offices an "EPA Pollution Prevention/Green ManufacturingConference for Business and Industry" in Atlanta. This was a comprehensivepollution prevention conference highlighting management, technical andregulatory aspects of pollution prevention, green manufacturing, and wasteminimization.

The conference included presentations by industry leaderson how to reduce and even eliminate hazardous waste, solid waste, wastewaterdischarges, and air emissions. In one of the plenary sessions, I made apresentation on SAMAB. Significant interest was expressed by the audience,especially in the Southern Appalachian Assessment (SAA).

Beyond SAMAB Region --Reaching beyond the region, bothCharles Van Sickle and I made presentations in Minnesota during November.Charlie was invited to speak to Region 3 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serviceproject leaders about the SAA. They considered the SAA a model of effectiveintergovernmental interaction on a critical need. I was asked by the Centerfor Resource Management, Salt Lake City, to speak to the "NorthernMinnesota Conference on Land Use Planning Issues and Processes." TheCenter for Resource Management has a contract to provide technical assistanceto the ten northernmost Minnesota counties. This area includes the VoyagersNational Park and two National Forests. They view SAMAB as an outstandingmodel of an institution promoting cooperation, coordination and integration.I was the luncheon speaker to a group of about 150 local leaders.

Global Warming -- As I write this, preparationsare underway for the Global Warming/Climate Change Conference in Kyoto,Japan, in early December. As most of you know, global warming is an issuethat is gaining international attention, especially in the political andscientific communities. However, many of you may not be aware that SAMABhas played and continues to play an increasing role in addressing thisissue (as well as other issues).

Many individuals and several organizations from the SAMAB"family," especially the US Geological Survey (USGS) and theOak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), have been significantly involvedin this effort.

Back in June, there was a workshop at Vanderbilt University,sponsored by the USGS, NASA, and NOAA, on "Climate Variability andWater Resource Management in the Southeastern US." One of the sessionsfocused on "Parks and Public Lands"; and Suzette Kimball, NPS,and I served as recorder and facilitator, respectively. It was made clearduring this session that any changes in climate, as it could effect migrationof species and changes in catastrophic events such as hurricanes and/ordroughts, require better and more information and could significantly impactthe ability of land managers to effectively plan for and manage parks andpublic lands.

Since this summer, there have been a number of meetingsand conferences across the country focusing on global change. I was invited(along with Briane Adams, USGS, and Dave Shriner, ORNL, who both serveon the SAMAB Executive Committee) to participate in the "U.S. ClimateForum: the Consequences of Global Change for the Nation" in Washingtonin mid-November. In this conference, it was made clear that global changecould seriously impact ecosystems, water resources management, and ultimatelyresult in significant changes in the way we manage our resources. BrianeAdams and Dave Shriner are assuming increasing roles in this area and wewill be hearing more about this in the future. For example, SAMAB, in cooperationwith the American Water Resources Association will likely sponsor a conferenceon "Water Resources in a Changing Climate" in Gatlinburg in early1999.

One of my major concerns is that, as yet, those workingon global warming and its potential impact have note effectively communicatedthese concerns to those who day-to-day manage our resource base, including,most importantly, private land owners. Moreover, I do not perceive thatthere is any significant effort to link "global warming" to "sustainabledevelopment." Yet these are two issues where significant nationalfunds and manpower are being expended. It appears to me that there aretwo separate and distinct efforts sweeping Washington in this regard. Ananalogy might be the 1960's when there were the "economic developers"and the "environmentalists." Over time these polarized viewpointsseemed to moderate and compromises were reached, but unfortunately manyof the compromises resulted from court actions.

I believe SAMAB is in a unique position to demonstratethe links between the potential impacts of global warming and sustainabledevelopment. The SAA provides an invaluable data base for beginning suchan effort, but it must be kept up to date. The "Community SustainabilityIndicators Workshop" that SAMAB cosponsored this past July providesadditional background and information. In addition, the SAMAB Programof Work: 1998-2000 Proposed Initiatives offers other opportunitiesto demonstrate these links. These three initiatives grouped under the generalsubjects of (1) sustainable development, (2) native plants and exotic pests,and (3) watersheds offer us the opportunity to again demonstrate the valueof SAMAB to the region and the nation. However, just like in the SAA, everyagency/organization and its leadership and staff must recognize the valueof such a demonstration. In this regard, I am somewhat concerned when Ihear representatives of the organizations make statements like "SAMABhas to put more projects on the ground." There is absolutely no questionthat SAMAB must be project oriented; however, everyone should recognizethat the types of programs and projects that SAMAB undertakes are demonstrationprojects that are unique and different. This is what SAMAB is all about;it was established to be a demonstration model of cooperation, coordination,and integration in defining and addressing issues that reach beyond theboundaries of any single agency, administrative/political jurisdiction,and any single landowner or land manager.

This is the first report where I have laid out some ofmy observations, opinions and biases. I hope it will stimulate your thinking-- take me to the woodshed, offer your views and suggestions, but "stepup to the plate" and "take your best swing" and recognizethe value of SAMAB to your agency and to the region, then let us move forwardto really demonstrate its value with the proposed initiatives in the "SAMABProgram of Work: 1998-2000."