Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2015 - 12

Mountain rEPort

More Protection for
Eastern Lands?
The density of at-risk species is far
higher in this part of the country than
out west, where there is much more
public land.
by Cathryn McCue

the north Carolina Foothills Conservancy recently purchased
some 2,200 acres in the Catawba river watershed.
foothills conservancy simms hill

1

2

3

4

5

Around the region

Around the region

north CArolinA

tennessee

tennessee

A team of world-renowned
ecologists
mapped the imbalance
of vast public lands in
the western U.S. compared with the density
of at-risk species found
only in the Southeast.
"We are not protecting
the places where there
is a concentration of biodiversity," says Duke University biologist Stuart
Pimm. Among the scientists' top priorities is
the Blue Ridge region of
Virginia, North Carolina,
and Tennessee-home
to vulnerable amphibians, fish, and trees-and
they recommend specific areas for immediate
conservation attention.
pnas.org/con
tent/112/16/5081

The Department of the
Interior proposed a national rule to protect
6,500 miles of streams,
located mostly in Appalachia, from surface
coal mining pollution,
including mountaintop
removal. Among other
things, it would require
coal companies to restore damaged streams
and return mined areas
to their previous condition. Conservationists
were cool to the longawaited proposal. "It appears to contain some
improvements, but it
still allows companies to
dump mining waste in
our streams," said Thom
Kay with Appalachian
Voices.
doi.gov/news/pressreleases/

In a recent purchase of
2,207 acres, the Foothills
Conservancy of North
Carolina joined with the
state to preserve one
of the largest remaining unprotected tracts
in the Catawba River
watershed. Some of the
land will be added to
South Mountains State
Park and the remainder
will become a preserve
featuring water quality,
biodiversity and wildlife habitat. More than
16 miles of streams lace
the forested mountain
tract, feeding rivers that
supply drinking water
to more than 2 million
Carolinians.
foothillsconservancy.org

The Tennessee Valley Authority released its plan
for generating electricity
through 2033, focusing
on natural gas, renewable
energy and energy efficiency as cost-effective
sources.
Environmentalists expressed disappointment that TVA isn't
using more non-fossil
fuels, noting the utility had just announced
a deal with Google for a
$600 million data center powered entirely by
renewables. Jonathan
Levenshus of the Sierra
Club is hopeful TVA will
take advantage of "more
affordable, reliable and
clean energy resources."
tva.com/news/releases/julsep15/irp.html

Eleven projects have received the Governor's
Environmental
Stewardship Award for 2015.
Three in the Blue Ridge
region include: the Lower
North Potato Creek Watershed Project in Polk
County that is cleaning
up environmental damage from copper mining
that began in the 1850s;
GreenTrips in Hamilton
County to encourage
people to walk, bike, carpool or take public transit
to help improve air quality; and New Alcoa High
School in Blount County,
a new energy-efficient
building situated on a
remediated "brownfield"
site.
tennessee.gov/environment/news/15215

12 BlueRidgeCountry.com

http://www.tva.com/news/releases/julsep15/irp.html http://www.foothillsconservancy.org http://www.tva.com/news/releases/julsep15/irp.html http://www.pnas.org/content/112/16/5081 http://www.tennessee.gov/environment/news/15215 http://www.pnas.org/content/112/16/5081 http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/ http://www.tennessee.gov/environment/news/15215 http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/ http://www.BlueRidgeCountry.com

Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2015