CONTACT: Laurie Fowler, 706/542-3948, lfowler@arches.uga.edu

UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA STUDENTS WORK ON
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN THE ETOWAH RIVER BASIN

ATHENS, Ga. -- The Etowah River in north Georgia was once the highway of an empire. For centuries, Native Americans lived among its winding banks, certain their lives would always be enriched by the river’s bounty. Europeans, disease and battles with other Indian tribes finally destroyed the chiefdoms of the Etowah, but the river still surges through the area.

Now, the upper Etowah and the basin it drains face different challenges. Water use, pollution and endangered species combine to make it a challenge to manage, but counties in the basin have developed a strong working relationship with a group of perhaps unlikely allies: students at the University of Georgia.

"The students are idealistic, which is very energizing to our faculty and the folks we serve," said Laurie Fowler, director of Public Service and Outreach for the Institute of Ecology. "They are learning in this class how to achieve those ideals. That might mean communicating in a more inclusive way -- drawing connections, for example, between the environment and the economy that they might have overlooked before. This class lets them see first-hand what it’s like to work with stakeholders
in the area."

Since 1996, the Etowah Practicum has given UGA students a taste of real-world problem-solving. Split each semester between students in ecology and the School of Law (where Fowler is also an adjunct professor), the course allows students to work closely with people in the upper Etowah Basin on problems they face. The result has been considerable assistance for lawmakers and valuable experience for the
students.

This semester, nine students are enrolled in the Practicum, three from the School of Law and six from the Institute of Ecology. The project has been so influential among students that has changed the subjects for some of their master’s theses.

The area in question, the upper Etowah River watershed, is relatively small, comprising only five counties and less than 5,000-square kilometers. The area is a key hot spot of threatened biodiversity, with at least 82 species of fish and as many as 50 species of mussels. Three federally protected species of fish thrive in the system, including two that live only in the Etowah River. As a result, the Etowah was designated in
1996 as one of the country’s top three endangered rivers by a watchdog group called American Rivers.

"County and municipal governments within the watershed are struggling to balance the demands of urbanization with sustainable development of the area’s land and water resources," said Fowler.

Because the counties are not far from metropolitan Atlanta, pressures have grown dramatically in the past decade. For that reason, county officials have been looking for balanced information that can help them maintain the quality of the watershed while planning for growth that is inevitable. That’s where the UGA students came in.

Since the class’s founding, students have drafted legislation, passed by the Georgia General Assembly last spring, allowing the use of transferable development rights to protect prime agricultural land and drafted a conservation subdivision ordinance passed by the Cherokee County Commission this fall. It has also helped stakeholders form the Etowah Alliance to address water quality and growth issues on a regional basis.
Among current projects are:

*Finding ways for more efficient water use in the basin. This will be crucial because of increasing demands from other parts of Georgia, Alabama and Florida for water originating in the Etowah watershed. In 1990, Alabama and Florida brought suit against Georgia to prevent the state from siphoning too much water from its rivers, claiming the process interfered with the water quality and quantity in those downstream states.

*Documenting the negative effects of impervious surfaces and
developing guidelines for their use. As these surfaces, such as paved areas, increase, stream hydrology changes dramatically. Runoff increases and reaches bodies of water faster and with greater force. The students have been creating a model that incorporates limitations into zoning plans.

*Managing agricultural wastes to keep the river system healthy. Animal waste management for the upper Etowah River watershed remains a thorny problem, and students have been studying ways to limit damages from such runoff.

"This is really a great project, and it allows law and ecology students to work together and address ecological problems with real world applications," said Seth Wenger, a master’s student in ecology from Pennsylvania. "Working with the stakeholders in the area has been very positive and productive for us." As a result of the class, Wenger’s master’s thesis will address scientific and policy aspects of water issues in Cherokee County.

The student group meets regularly with appointed committees of the upper Etowah Alliance in Pickens, Cherokee, Dawson, Lumpkin, Forsyth counties. In addition, students have worked with University of Georgia faculty members to gain insight into research helpful in the areas they are currently studying.

Rebecca Klaper, a doctoral student in ecology from Athens, said the class has helped her expand beyond her primary research focus.

"My area of research is theoretical plant-insect interactions, so it’s nice to get involved with an applied, real-world project," she said. "It really expands my knowledge in ecological issues to talk to people facing these difficult problems."

Initial funding support for the class was obtained through a grant from the Turner Foundation and has also been provided by R.E M. Ltd. It is now being supported by several federal agencies.

(Editors/writers: For a good view of the counties’ side of the Etowah Practicum, call Ken Patton, head of the Planning Commission in Cherokee County at 770/479-0504.)