August
2001
Contents
Message
From the Executive Director
. Education:
A Large Part of What We Do
Conservation
Easements:
. Fariview
Farms Preserved
. Four
Columns Property Preserved
. Paris
Mountain Property Preserved
. Sloan
Family Grants Conservation
Easement on 200 Acres of Land In
Southern Greenville County
Conservation
Bank Act
. Conservation
Bank Act Stalls in Legislature
Green
Development
. New
Directions in Land Use and Design
. Upstate
Forever's Green Schools Initiative
Staff,
Board, Members and Volunteers
. Kris
Yon, Leon Patterson, Keith Marrero Join Upstate Forever Board of Directors
. Staff
News and UF Field Trips
NEWS FROM THE BOARD
UPSTATE
FOREVER
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
WELCOME KRIS YON TO THE BOARD!!
We are
delighted to announce that Kris Yon of Anderson has joined Upstate
Forever's Board of Directors. Kris exemplifies community spirit. She cares
deeply about Anderson County and has worked tirelessly and passionately
for many years to improve the quality of life in the county for everyone.
She
has an associate degree in nursing from Clemson University and practiced
as a registered nurse for five years before teaching science at the elementary
and middle school levels for eleven years. Kris has been involved with
Advance Anderson, an Anderson Chamber of Commerce committee that has studied
infrastructure and quality of life issues in the area. She has also served
as a volunteer on committees established by the Anderson County Planning
Department to address land management and conservation issues.
SMART
GROWTH: 
The Path to Quality Development and
Protection of Special Places
By Kris Yon
These
are exciting times for South Carolina!
There is a sense of urgency and an undercurrent
in our communities that now
is the time to preserve the beauty and quality of our state. Citizens
are becoming activists on land
use issues. They are demanding good stewardship of our resources for future
generations.
They are insisting that in order for our
state to continue its prosperity, economic growth must be balanced with
ecological preservation. The truth is we don't need one more chart or
statistic to prove that we are losing favorite spots, witnessing poor
planning, and bulldozing the landscapes that are the very reasons people
come to live
and work in South Carolina.
What do we advertise? Our beaches, marshes,
lakes, creeks, and mountain vistas. Will South Carolina be so easy to
promote in the next 30 years? Yes, if we make Smart Growth a reality.
That is why I was so excited when I first saw
the orange and green Upstate Forever brochure that talked
about sprawl, saving our streams, promoting sensible growth, and having
a voice about the quality of life in the Upstate. In that one brochure
were listed all the problems that citizens in our area have been expressing
for the past 10 years. And now there was an organization focused on solving
those problems. I immediately joined and have worked on many projects
for Upstate Forever since then. Now I am so proud to be
a member of its Board of Directors!
"Where
shouldn't we develop?", asks Ed McMahon, Director of the American
Greenways Program. He confirms that citizens want to know what will be
preserved and what new development will look like. McMahon was one of
16 speakers at Governor Hodges' Summit on Growth last year. McMahon
encourages "growth with grace and dignity." His article, "Why
Is Everybody So Mad About Development?", reports that all over
the country everyday citizens are "jamming public hearings"
to protest rising taxes, loss of green space, water and air pollution,
and especially "Ugly Development." "We were in favor of
progress until we saw what it looked like," comments a citizen who
is quoted in McMahon's article. The view from our corner of South Carolina
is no different from the national sentiment described by McMahon, nor
is it any different from what you are feeling today. As the Summit experts
reported and the 31 sponsors, including Upstate Forever,
advocated, there are new choices for South Carolina. In fact, the
Summit adopted this statement as its title and theme for 2000 as well
as this year.
No longer can the
planning departments be separate from economic development. Open space,
green belts, and inventories of our special places and natural resources
must be a priority item leading the agendas of all economic development
efforts. Smart Growth is the path to our continued prosperity.
KRIS YON'S GUIDE TO GOOD ADVOCACY* Know your local government
representatives and share Smart Growth information. |
In The Experience
of Place, Tony Hiss predicts that America will complete itself in
the next 100 years. Looking at data from the Census Bureau, he concludes
that "the surge of American population growth will take place before
2020." He goes on to write that "the lasting shape of those
late 21st century surroundings will be determined by the thousands of
short-term decisions we will be making during the next 30 years."
His book also confirms and validates that humans experience a sense of
place or home through the environment and need to know with certainty
that these special places will be preserved. He adds that our environment
directly affects both our mental and physical well-being. Hiss asks the
reader to identify and take steps to protect the special places in their
corners of the world.
"Teaching
a child not to step on a caterpillar is as good for the child as it is
for the caterpillar." This philosophy has been my personal guide
as I've taught my own children as well as my students. We need that same
philosophy to guide the future growth of our region. We need to quit "stepping
on" the beauty and quality of our region with "Ugly Development,"
wasted resources, disrespect for our history, and degradation of natural
biodiversity.
It is our responsibility to insist on quality growth and identify and
preserve the special places in our corner of South Carolina for ourselves,
our children and their children. That is what Smart Growth
is all about.
KEITH
MARRERO AND LEON PATTERSON
JOIN UPSTATE FOREVER BOARD
We are delighted to announce that Keith Marrero of Greenville and Leon Patterson of Laurens have joined Upstate Forever's Board of Directors.
Keith is the President of AMI Architects, LLC in Greenville where he has been actively involved in promoting green design and development principles in the Upstate. His projects include the Training and Development Center for BMW, the Reedy River Baptist Church, and the renovation of the Berea Middle School. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Greenville First Bank, the St. Francis Hospital Foundation Board, and the South Carolina Children's Theatre. Keith received his bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Notre Dame.
Leon is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Palmetto Bank in Laurens. He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Banking Association and as President of the South Carolina Banking Association. Leon has been actively involved in his community, serving as President of the Greater Laurens Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Upper Savannah Council of Governments, and a founding member of the Leadership Laurens Board of Directors. He received his bachelor's degree from Wofford College and his MBA degree from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business.
Welcome, Keith and Leon. We are honored to have you on our Board!
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