October Events

     Upstate Forever was a co-sponsor of Upstate Together: Grow by Choice or Chance?, a conference held at the Airport Marriott on October 20. Nearly 300 people from throughout the region attended this important event. The conference included a presentation by Dr. Barry Nocks of Clemson University on the economic and environmental impacts of growth in the Upstate; the keynote address by Gianni Longo and Jamie Greene of ACP Planning and Visioning on how a regional planning process should work, with examples from other regions; and a panel discussion that included Upstate Forever Executive Director Brad Wyche (on far left in above photo).

Panel discussion at Upstate Together conference.

The conference concluded with an electronic survey of the audience which found, among other things, that the number one regional priority should be land use and growth; that 57 per cent are “very concerned” that the Upstate will become another Atlanta (another 28 per cent are “moderately concerned”); and that 93 per cent support the establishment of a regional umbrella organization to facilitate regional planning and coordination. These findings show strong support for Upstate Forever’s advocacy for a regional approach to growth and land use issues.
A summary of the conference is being prepared by USC Upstate. If you would like a copy, please contact Dr. Doris Paez at dpaez@uscupstate.edu or 864-503-5903.

Vince Graham in Spartanburg.

     Upstate Forever and the Spartanburg Chamber of Commerce jointly sponsored a lecture by Vince Graham, the developer of the widely acclaimed I’On Village in Mount Pleasant. Nearly 200 people packed the Barrett Room at the Spartanburg County Library to hear Mr. Graham describe the basic principles of traditional neighborhood development and how such developments are good for both the environment and the developers’ bottom line.

The packed house at Greenville County Council chambers.

     For this entire year, Upstate Forever has advocated for the appointment of a well balanced citizens committee to study and recommend a tree protection ordinance to Greenville County Council. With a standing room only crowd in Council chambers on October 21 in support of the committee, the Council finally approved it.

Field Trips

Celebrating the State’s acquisition of its highest peak (Sassafras Mountain) with some delicious cupcakes are, from left, Jerry and Anna Gibbins, Cat Martin, Robert Collins, Upstate Forever Field Trip Coordinator Cindy Young, Dennis Chastain, Michael Martin, and Jane Chastain.

Have you ever wanted to be a sleuth? Go on a treasure hunt? On March 12, Bill Jordan, Field Coordinator for the SC Champion Tree Project (far left), and Tim Lee, Naturalist for Caesar’s Head State Park (fifth from right), led a group of Upstate Forever members on a search for a new state “Champion Tree.” A champion tree is one judged to be the largest of its species based on a scoring system that combines crown spread, height, and trunk circumference. The search took the group into the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area, where they achieved their goal by finding a new State champion striped maple. They also enjoyed seeing several other champions that had been previously identified.