A workshop involving a
wide variety of regional leaders on the topic
Envisioning the Future of
the Cumberland Plateau: Land-Use Change and
Public Policy was held
Friday September 16 at Sewanee: The University of
the South. The workshop was the first in a series
of meetings that bring
together decision-makers at the local, county,
and state levels for
dialogue about the future
of the Cumberland Plateau.
The more than sixty
participants came from the seven counties of the
southern plateau
(Bledsoe, Franklin, Grundy, Marion, Sequatchie, Van
Buren, Warren) and
included county and city officials and other important
community leaders, as
well as representatives of
numerous state and
regional agencies. Participants heard talks and
participated in small
group discussions
organized around two themes:
first, current trends
concerning the plateau
and their future implications; and second, tools
that are, or could be,
available for shaping that future in accordance
with residents' values
and desires.
A major catalyst for the
workshop was Governor Philip Bredesen's
Tennessee Heritage
Conservation Trust Fund and its initial $10 million
appropriation. A primary focus of the governor's
public-private sector
initiative is the
Cumberland Plateau, a region whose biodiversity is so
rich that it surpasses
the better-known Blue Ridge region, as one speaker
noted.
For many workshop
participants their primary concern for the future of the
region is the economic
needs of their communities, from job creation to
improving education to
the needs of farmers and small business owners.
A theme that emerged
repeatedly throughout the workshop was the importance
of protecting the best
qualities of the communities and landscapes of the
region as a way of
attracting both tourists and new residents. The
Conservation Trust Fund
initiative was seen by some as a good move in this
direction but others
worried about its possible impact on local tax
revenues. Attention was
also given to improvements in
other programs,
such as the Three-Star community development
program.
A parallel workshop was
held October 1 in Crossville for the eight
counties of the northern
Cumberland Plateau (Cumberland, Fentress, Morgan,
Overton, Pickett, Putnam,
Scott, and White), organized and facilitated by
members of the faculty at
the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and
Tennessee Technological
University.
Following these two
workshops, project organizers are meeting in Nashville
with state officials from a variety of
agencies to discuss the
information gathered
during this first phase of the project.
A concluding
conference will be held
October 28 at Cumberland Mountain State Park just
south of Crossville, with
Commissioner Jim Fyke of the Department of
Environment and
Conservation scheduled as the keynote speaker.
The primary objective of
this final conference will be to further explore
methods for state-local
cooperation and support, and regional coordination
related to the plateau
and its communities. The
conference will bring
together participants
from the earlier southern and northern county
workshops, along with
representatives from the state agencies relevant to
the future of the
Cumberland Plateau. If you would like to participate or
wish further information,
please contact Katharine Wilkinson, project
administrator, at
931.598.3354 or at this email address:
<plateauworkshop@sewanee.edu>.