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The Deep South RPC meeting is scheduled for Saturday November 12 at the Forest Service Center in Asheville, NC. The meeting will start at 11am so that folks from afar will be able to leave that morning for the meeting. The annual CMC banquet is Friday night November 11 for those who would like to attend. We welcome all to our banquet. The Blue Ridge Greenways Conference is also in Asheville that weekend.

The first is the Club Presidents Handbook. One of the first duties for our committee is to establish a framework for the work we want to accomplish. This will include the development of a regional perspective and a close coordination with the Deep South regional Office. I think a committee handbook will be a good first step in organizing these policies and goals, and will be a valuable contribution to the next group of committee members.

The second is a graphic, describing the AT Project Management Cycle. Our committee will be a significant partner in prioritizing and implementing regional projects, and will be active participants in discussions of budgets and funding. AT Project Management Cycle

Land-of-Sky Regional Council, with the help of many local and regional organizations and advocates, is coordinating a regional conference on best practices and successful models for planning, designing, funding and building greenways. The Blue Ridge Greenways Conference will be held in Asheville, at the Grove Park Inn, on November 12-13, 2005. It will feature greenways and experts from Western North Carolina and other areas. We hope to attract over 100 citizens, planners and local officials to this two-day conference.

The conference is focused on best practices, beginning and sustaining greenway efforts, and partnerships. It has sessions for beginners through seasoned professionals and for those from both rural and urban areas. This conference will bring people together and give them an understanding and appreciation of the important roles greenways play in the transportation network, in protecting water quality, in economic development and improving community life. Attendees will increase their capacity to plan, fund, develop and build greenways.

Funding for the conference is being provided by the Pigeon River Fund of The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, the French Broad River MPO, NCDENR’s Adopt-A-Trail grant program and local sponsors.

For more information, see our conference brochure which includes the agenda and registration information. It is available on Land-of-Sky Regional Council’s website: http://www.landofsky.org/downloads/greenwayconference.pdf . We have some great speakers and sessions planned. I hope you can attend! Linda Giltz, AICP Regional Land Use and Transportation Planner Land-of-Sky Regional Council www.landofsky.org 25 Heritage Drive, Asheville, NC 28806 Tel: 828-251-6622 x109 Fax: 828-251-6353

The ATC receives first check for new NC AT Tag---$10,740 and AT Sidewalk Emblems dedicated!!

By Fred Hughes

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy formally recognized receipt of a $10,740 check -- its first -- at a half-hour ceremony on Monday morning, Oct. 3 in Hot Springs, the only town in North Carolina where the Appalachian Trail passes through.

Among the speakers were former NC state senator Joe Sam Queen and NC resident Clark Wright. These men "are the real heroes of this effort," said Morgan Sommerville, spokesman for the AT Conservancy, formerly Friends of the Appalachian Trail.

Although it's a new name, the volunteer-based nonprofit organization has been responsible for the conservation and protection of the AT since 1925.

Queen is credited with getting the Friends of the Appalachian Trail license plate authorized by the NC General Assembly.

Wright set out to be a through-hiker on the AT in 2001. He got to Pennsylvania and had to return home. He said he made the mistake of getting his wife pregnant before he began his journey.

With the trail's beauty fresh on his mind, Wright observed a Friends of the Smokies license plate and wondered how a tag could be created for the AT.

In partnership with Tennessee, more than 10,000 Smokies tags have been purchased, he said, raising a quarter of a million dollars.

"My theme is partnerships," Wright stated. He started using the internet to lobby for a license plate, and he actually accepted the money and kept the records for the first 300 purchasers of an AT tag.

Wright noted that the $50 tag places $20 with the AT Conservancy and another $10 for use on such state projects as wildflowers and welcome centers. "It's a great use of your dollars."

Wright said about 1,000 AT plates have been sold. "We want to do 5,000." He also commented, "Land trusts are my other passion."

"Everything we do in the legislature is more complicated than it seems," said Queen. The road through the NC General Assembly wasn't easy, and representative Ray Rapp agreed.

"But Hot Springs is special because this is the only trail town in North Carolina," said Queen. "Hopefully every citizen in Hot Springs will eventually have an Appalachian Trail tag."

Queen led the effort to unify the pricing structure for specialty license plates. "It's a voluntary way that citizens can support these great resources," he said.

The revenue stream created by the license plate also helps to buy state parklands, Queen stated. He mentioned purchases at Lake James and Hickory Nut Gorge. "This stream of money will continue to build the park system across North Carolina."

Don Walton, chair of the AT Conservancy, commented that Hot Springs "has always been involved" with the trail. And now, the conservancy wants to be equally as involved, he indicated.

Pointing to the new AT emblem embedded in the sidewalk in front of the Hot Springs Visitors Center, Walton stated, "This is a great symbol of what the future can bring to us." He added, "This took a long time to get to the sidewalk."

The diamond-shaped emblems are being put down along the Appalachian Trail where it passes through the town to promote the trail as well as the town and their relationship.

HandMade in America was involved in making the emblems. Madison County resident Betty Hurst was on hand to represent HandMade in America, which has also been involved in downtown economic development and beautification in Hot Springs.

HandMade's relationship with the town of Hot Springs started about six years ago, according to Debbie Ponder, mayor. It was at a time when Rapp was the mayor of Mars Hill.

The new source of revenue from license plates will help the conservancy expand its community and school outreach programs, and attract more volunteers to help it preserve natural and cultural resources along the famous footpath.

"The check you've gotten today suggests that it's working," remarked Rapp. He noted that the inflated price of the specialty tag is a tax, but it's voluntary. He also thanked Queen for helping to reshape thinking in Raleigh concerning specialty plates.

And Linda Randolph, speaking for the US Forest Service, said she expected the "long relationship" with hikers, the town of Hot Springs and the conservancy to continue.

The conservancy's Morgan Sommerville indicated that the organization hopes to replicate the North Carolina license plate project "in 13 other trail states."

Reprinted from Madison County's News-Record & Sentinel.