the
Upstate
Advocate
Promoting Sensible Growth and Protecting Special Places in the Upstate
The Newsletter of Upstate Forever • July 2000
MESSAGE FROM
THE EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
It has been an exciting spring for Upstate Forever,
with much good news to report.
In April, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
notified us of the award of a $150,000 grant
payable over three years. We are deeply honored
to have earned the confidence and support of this
prestigious foundation.
We have already put the grant to good use by hiring
Tricia King as our new Director of Resource
Protection. Take a look at her article on greenways in
this newsletter (pages 4 and 5), and you will understand why we are so pleased to have Tricia
on board.
And there is more good news. We have two
outstanding new members of our Board of Directors:
Amanda Bauknight from Pickens and George Dean
Johnson, Jr. from Spartanburg. Amanda’s article on
page 6 of this newsletter, “Peaches or Pavement,”
reflects her passionate commitment to protecting the
beauty and quality of this region.
George Dean Johnson is the founder and chairman of
several successful businesses, a member of the
South Carolina Business Hall of Fame, and the former
chairman of both the South Carolina Chamber of
Commerce and the South Carolina Development
Board. His business acumen and in-depth knowledge of Spartanburg will be of tremendous benefit to
Upstate Forever.
Finally, we would like to express our deep appreciation to Carolina First, one of the Upstate’s most
philanthropic and community-minded organizations,
for underwriting the cost of this newsletter. Thank you,
Carolina First, for your generous support!
I hope you and your families have a safe and
enjoyable summer.
Best regards,
Brad Wyche
What Is Happening To the “Green”
In Greenville?
Greenville and Other Upstate Counties Urgently Need
Land Conservation Programs
by Diane Eldridge, Associate Director
W
hen my dad retired from the military in 1962, he moved our family to Greenville. He
had grown up here and he loved Greenville – it was the place he longed for during those many
years away. He couldn’t wait to return home, and we couldn’t wait either! His stories about
family farms in North Greenville, Greer and Laurens had thrilled us as we were
transferred from post to post around the world. He painted our imaginations with visions of
glorious mountains, green pastures and blue skies. Greenville was the place we knew we’d one
day call home.
We weren’t disappointed. I was eleven
when we came “home” to Greenville.
Everything my dad had said was true
– it was a magnificent place. What a
wonderful childhood I had! The consummate “tomboy,” I climbed to the top
of every tall tree in the neighborhood,
learned about tadpoles and dragonflies in
nearby streams and rode horses in
a pasture just a few blocks away. Neighborhood streets were safe and we routinely walked to school.
In 2000, that idyllic childhood is impossible in most of Greenville’s neighborhoods. Now we strip the land bare, foul
the streams, and bulldoze the pastures.
Our children can’t bike to school or anywhere else. We’ve taken them out of the
outdoors and put them in front of the
television. They’re growing up without
Continued on p. 2
Continued from p. 1
knowing the joys I had just being a kid with nothing except the outdoors
for entertainment.
Where are those trees and pastures from my childhood? What is happening to the “Green” in Greenville?
In Greenville County, we convert about seven acres of land to some type
of impervious surface every day! In fact, as the graph below shows, nearly
100,000 acres (20 per cent) of Greenville County’s total area are now
covered by artificial, impervious surfaces, and at the current rate of development, approximately one-fourth of Greenville County will have been
Increase In Impervious Surfaces
In Greenville County
Acreage
200,000
156,320
150,000
94,212
100,000
50,000
Year
108,344
123,295
139,323
55,113
1984
1998
2005
2012
2019
2026
Projections by Upstate Forever, 2000. Data Sources: S.C. Dept. of Natural
Resources, 2000; U.S. Bureau of Census, 1990.
transformed from green to gray by 2012!
This graph is based on a study by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Using sophisticated satellite imagery, the agency determined
the increase in impervious surfaces in the county from 1984 to 1997. They
focused only on true impervious surfaces (roads, parking lots, rooftops, and
so forth); backyards did not count. Thus, the study did not determine the
total amount of developed land – only that covered by impervious surfaces.
parks and natural areas.
Yet in Greenville County, there is no funded program for acquiring parks
and natural areas, and except for Spartanburg, the situation in the other
Upstate counties is no better (see table). The Greenville County Recreation
Commission receives no funding for acquiring lands. Only through donations
of land has the Commission been able to establish the few parks that we do
have in the county.
Land Conservation Programs In
We must address this woeUpstate Counties
ful shortcoming. We must
County
Annual Budget
establish a funded program in Anderson0
Greenville County to acquire
Greenville0
additional park lands and
Laurens0
natural areas. This program
Oconee0
can serve as a model for
Pickens0
similar programs in the other
Spartanburg$750,000
Upstate counties.
Source: Data collected from each county,
In our view, there is no
June, 2000.
reason to create a new
government agency to assume the responsibility of acquiring and protecting
additional lands. Rather, we believe that the Greenville County Recreation
Commission has the staff, the expertise, and the commitment to carry out
this mission. Accordingly,
Upstate Forever respectfully proposes the following:
The name of the Commission should be changed to the Greenville County
Conservation and Recreation Commission.
◆ A dedicated source of funding should be provided to the Commission for
land acquisition.
◆
The new Commission would be required to spend a significant amount of its
budget in acquiring and protecting natural areas.
◆ The Commission would be primarily responsible for implementing the
Compare these numbers with the amount of public park land in Greenville
recommendations of the Greenville County Storm Water Task Force relatCounty. Of the county’s total 510,000 acres, less than 14,000 (not
ing to the greenways and flood plains. The Commission could also assist
quite 3 per cent) are in state, county, or city parks, and 90 per cent of
the County in implementing the recently enacted clustered development and
that is north of Highway 11. Yet we will pave over that same amount
open space ordinance.
of land in just seven years (1998 to 2005.)
A key question, of course, is: How do we pay for it? Several alternatives should
be considered, such as using a portion of the surplus, using real estate transfer
Some land in Greenville County that is not accessible to the public is protaxes, increasing the current millage, issuing general obligation bonds, impostected against development through conservation easements, most notably
ing impact fees, increasing the sales tax (if approved by the voters), using a
the 19,266 acres surrounding the Poinsett and Table Rock reservoirs. We
portion of the accommodations tax, and so forth.
estimate that the total amount of public park land and privately conserved
land is about 36,000 acres – only seven per cent of the county, with the vast States and municipalities around the country are finding creative ways to
majority of it north of Highway 11.
finance programs that conserve land for parks and open space. In the 1998 and
1999 elections, voters approved over 200 state and local ballot measures that
One of Upstate Forever’s goals is that for every acre of land developed in
Greenville County (and the other Upstate counties), one acre should remain committed more than $7 billion for land conservation through a myriad of
financing options.
undeveloped. This 1 to 1 goal has been established in York County and
is one that a county with “Green” in its name should certainly embrace as
One widely used source of funding is the real estate transfer tax. In South
well. In order to achieve that goal in Greenville County, we will need to
Carolina, the seller of real property pays a transfer tax (formerly called the
protect an additional 120,000 acres of land over the next 26 years. (Actudocumentary stamp tax) at the rate of $3.70 per $1,000 of land value. Use of
ally, the figure is higher than that because “developed land” includes more
this tax for land conservation makes sense because it is collected when land is
than just impervious surfaces.)
sold, often for development. Greenville County collects approximately $2 milThe public overwhelmingly supports the acquisition of more land for parks lion of these taxes each year, enough to support an $11 to $12 million bond.
We could make a real difference with that level of funding!
and natural areas. According to a poll conducted by Republican pollster
Frank Luntz, the preservation of open space is now the number one enviWhat can you do? Please contact your representatives on Greenville
ronmental issue in the nation, and nearly 90 per cent agree that we must
County Council and urge them to take immediate steps to establish a
act now to protect and conserve natural habitat and open space. In a recent program that conserves and protects a significant portion of our beautiful
statewide poll conducted by the University of South Carolina, an overcounty. Tell them we need to keep the Green in Greenville!
whelming majority of our citizens support programs to acquire land for
◆
2
2
Green Architecture for the Upstate
by Scott Johnston
C
onsider that 30 percent of our total energy usage is linked to
buildings, 26 percent of the contents of our landfills comes from our
construction industry, and 85 percent of our time (if we are an average
American) is spent indoors. Clearly, the choices we make when we build
have a significant impact on how we live. Only in this century have our
buildings been designed with a dependence on new technologies such as
central air conditioning and the car, often at the expense of our resources,
our life style, and our health.
Traditionally buildings and cities were conceived and built around more
natural principles. In times past, architects and builders considered such
issues as the direction of the prevailing breezes, the topography of the land,
the availability of local building materials, and the orientation of the sun.
Much of the attraction of places such as Charleston, European villages, and
other traditional towns derive in large part from the connections between
their designs and these natural principles.
Fortunately, we are now experiencing a renewed awareness in how our
buildings can be more responsive to our environment and our natural human needs. The concepts of this “green architecture” are based in large part
on the following principles:
Sustainability
The most sustainable approach to building is to recycle old buildings. In
recent years, an increased awareness of the need to preserve historically and
architecturally significant buildings has resulted in many success stories for
Greenville, including the restoration of old cotton warehouses for the new
West End Market, an old cigar factory
for the Kent Court office building, and
the Poinsett Hotel.
reducing the costs,
both financial and
environmental, of
infrastructure for
roads and utilities.
One sterling example
of a thorough commitment to the green
approach is Dewees
Island in South
The Huyler House on Dewees Island incorporates such
Carolina where the
following rules have sustainable products as non-toxic paints and building
products made from recycled materials. Shown here are
been established: no Bahama shutters, made from recycled aluminum. The
cars or impervious
extended overhang provides aid in heat reflection and
surfaces are allowed; offers high-wind storm protection.
Photo courtesy of Dewees Island
no trees may be cut;
no house may exceed 5,000 square feet; every house must use natural ventilation and passive solar heating; asphalt roof shingles and garbage disposals are
prohibited; an innovative no-discharge wastewater system is used; and 93 per
cent of the island is preserved. The development is truly “win-win”: the impact on the environment is minimal, and the developer is making three times
the profit projected in the original pro-forma.
Green Building Checklist
Conscientiously renovating existing buildings
is the most sustainable construction.
Renovate older buildings:
In-fill
development that increases density is inherently better than
building on undeveloped (green field) sites. Mixed-use
development, in which residential and commercial uses are
intermingled, can reduce automobile use and help to create
healthy communities.
Minimize automobile dependence: Locate buildings to
provide access to public transportation, bicycle paths, and walking access to basic services. Commuting can also be reduced by
working at home—consider home office needs with layout and
wiring.
Encourage in-fill and mixed-use development:
Materials Selection
Key to materials selection is determining whether a building product
was harvested in a sustainable way,
whether it is recycled or recyclable, and
whether it is harmful to our health.
Companies such as
Greenwood Mills, Milliken, and
Interface are leading the construction
industry by offering building products
that are made in an environmentally
responsible way.
Early in the siting process carry
out a careful site evaluation: solar access, soils, vegetation, water resources, important natural areas, etc., and let this inforEnergy Efficiency
mation guide the design.
The West End Market in Greenville is an
The use of energy efficient
outstanding example of the renovation of an old,
Design for durability: To spread the environmental immechanical systems and conservation abandoned building.
pacts
of building over as long a period as possible, the structure
methods is the most obvious win/win
Photo courtesy of Freeman & Major Architects
must be durable. A building with a durable style (“timeless
for building owners because it reprearchitecture”)
will be more likely to realize a long life.
sents an opportunity to benefit the environment while saving money. For
Design for future reuse and adaptability: Make the structure adaptexample, the Duke Power Greenville District Office utilizes an innovative
ice storage system for air conditioning. Energy costs are reduced by making able to other uses, and choose materials and components that can be reused
or recycled.
ice during off-peak energy usage hours and in using that ice as an energy
transfer medium for the air conditioning coolant during the day.
Scott Johnston, a partner with Freeman & Major Architects, P.A., in Greenville,
Land Use
recently served as project architect for the West End Market and the SC Governor’s
Cluster housing is potentially one of the most significant land use changes
School for the Arts and Humanities. He also serves on the Greenville City Design
made in Greenville County in recent years. By allowing developers to
and Preservation Commission, the Greenville City Quality of Life Task Force, and
achieve equal or higher densities through cluster development we have
the Chamber’s Smart Growth Task Force.
encouraged the preservation of open green space while at the same time
Value site resources:
3
Greenways: Improving the
by Tric
What is a Greenway?
Floodplain Management Benefits
Greenways are linear corridors of natural
land, complimenting and following features
such as rivers, creeks, ridges, abandoned
railroad lines, and sewer/utility line easements. Many of these corridors are vegetated buffers and serve as the perfect place to
locate multi-use trails for bicyclists, joggers,
walkers, rollerbladers, and persons with disabilities. Greenways not only provide recreation, transportation, fitness and economic
opportunities but also many other benefits,
including improving water quality, reducing the impacts of flooding, and providing
wildlife habitat. Greenways can fulfill many objectives.
By designating flood prone areas as greenways, the encr
aged. Floodplain areas can be protected as linear “green
and businesses as well as providing critical flood water s
and slow down the flow of runoff, thereby reducing the
age during a flood. Acquiring floodplain lands for green
use is far less costly than the expense of repairing flood
aged areas. Communities like Louisville, KY, Grand Fo
ND and Mecklenburg County, NC are realizing the pot
tial of acquiring floodplain areas as dedicated greenway/
space.
Transportation Benefits
Our dependence on the automobile as our primary mean
of transportation in the United States has increased sub
ban sprawl to a rate that is out-of-control. The country
whole has been neglecting to improve other forms of tra
portation networks
to provide some type
Upstate, future plan
ing a choice in trave
Greenway corridors
as an extension of th
roadway network, of
istic and convenient
and from work, scho
libraries, shopping a
local attractions. Am
Greenways used as transportation
are willing to walk a
corridors in Santa Barbara, CA
miles to a destinatio
as far as five miles. Greenways are very effective for the
distances that most residents make on a daily basis.
Greenway along Reedy River
Multi-Objective Greenways
Multi-objective Greenways have been implemented across the country by other communities as
a land protection tool. Many communities are experiencing rapid urban and suburban growth
which impacts the availability of open space and affects natural resources. Greenways are a
natural way to protect resources, provide a choice in transportation mobility, provide a safe
place for recreation opportunities, and improve
the overall quality of life.
Greenways can compliment rural, suburban, and
urban settings. Across the country, trails are
becoming a part of these settings in very unique
ways. By using utility corridors, sewer line
easements, abandoned railroad lines, and roadway corridors, greenways make use of existing
infrastructure to create safe and accessible transportation and recreation venues.
Reedy River Falls Historic Park
Water Quality Benefits
Economic Benefits
The protection of land adjacent to creeks and rivers is crucial to the improvement of water quality within the Upstate region of South Carolina.
Restored creek banks and adjoining lands improve water quality by trapping nonpoint source
pollutants such as urban runoff. These vegetated areas also serve as habitat for species of plants
and animals, provide food and shelter, and serve as migratory routes for animals. Many communities across the country are establishing
stringent vegetated buffer requirements along
streams and rivers to protect and improve
water quality and
control water
quantity.
Greenways offer numerous economic benefits to a comm
including higher real property values, increased tourism
revenues, and cost savings for public services. Direct ac
greenway systems i
tions search for in r
NC, surveyed over
biking paths were t
price levels and buy
tem in a new develo
not located on the g
states in the nation
cally to generate th
ism potential of a re
destination. The 1
West Orange Gree
in Orange County,
has already paid for
Greenways link to important local
million cost from to
destinations like
dollars generated by
the Peace Center
ment and revitaliza
small towns along i
Boardwalk Trail along Green Mill Run in
Greenville, NC
Little Sugar Creek Greenway in Mecklenburg County, NC
Photo courtesy of Mecklenburg County, NC
4
e Upstate’s Quality of Life
cia King
Cultural Benefits
Greenways have become the cultural meeting point and spine for community activities across
the country. In the Upstate, the Reedy River Trail is major part of many community activities
in Downtown Greenville including the Reedy River Run, Riverfest, and other special events.
In many communities, civic groups adopt segments of the greenway for cleanup, litter removal,
beautification, and environmental awareness programs. Greenways have become the new “neighborhood streets” where people and children meet and community groups gather to celebrate the
unique resources that make a place special.
roachment of buildings and land uses can be better mann” open spaces that serve as an amenity to local residents
storage areas. The vegetated buffers help to absorb water
damnway
damorks,
ten/open
Health and Recreation Benefits
Greenways encourage people to walk and take
advantage of close-to-home recreation opportunities.
Studies have shown that a minimum of 30 minutes of
moderate exercise a day can significantly improve a person’s physical and mental health. Greenways in
the Upstate could provide residents with safe and convenient outdoor recreation opportunities. According to
recent statistics, approximately 2.8 million South Carolinians walk for pleasure and recreation.
Greenways provide connections to
outdoor recreation opportunities
As the Upstate becomes more populated and urbanized, pressures of growth on the natural and man-made
infrastructure will increase. The quality of life in the
Upstate will depend on factors such as clean water
and air, good transportation systems, safe places to
walk and ride bikes, close-to-home
natural features, and convenient and central
recreation opportunities. A comprehensive
multi-objective greenway strategy will offer
viable solutions to improve the Upstate’s quality
of life for future generations.
ns
burTypical Greenway Section
as a
anssuch as bicycle, pedestrian, and transit facilities. In order
e of relief to the congested streets and roadways in the
nning and development should be directed toward providel mode to local residents.
should serve
he current
ffering reallinkages to
ools, parks,
areas, and
mericans
as far as two
on and bike
short travel
Riverwalk in Chattanooga TN was a
key factor in the city’s restoration
Photo courtesy of City of Chattanooga
munity
Greenways encourage economic growth
in the Historic West End
m, recreation
ccess to
is one of the top amenities that home buyers and corporareal estate. The Crosland Land Company in Charlotte,
800 area homebuyers in 1993 and found that walking/
the second most important amenity to buyers across all
yer types. In Apex, NC, lots adjacent to the greenway sysopment were priced $5000 higher than comparable lots
greenway system. Greenways have been created in several
n specifihe touregional
16-mile
enway
Florida
r its $2
ourism
by investation of
Greenways offer close-to-home
its route.
Meet Tricia King, Our New Director of Resource Protection
We are pleased to announce that Tricia King has
joined Upstate Forever as our Director of Resource
Protection. Tricia holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design in Landscape Architecture and a Minor
in Horticultural Science from North
Carolina State University. As a former
employee of Greenways Incorporated, a
nationally recognized greenway design
firm, Tricia has over 5 years of
experience in bicycle, pedestrian, and
environmental design.
Her work experience has been in all
phases of design development including site
evaluation and assessment, computer aided design,
design ideation, conceptual master plan development,
graphic design, landscape design, public workshop
facilitation, construction documentation, funding
evaluation, and cost estimating. Tricia has served as
a principal project manager/designer for Greenways
transportation and recreation
opportunities in Santa Barbara, CA
5
Incorporated projects across the country, including
the Research Triangle Park Pedestrian Trail System in
North Carolina, the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway Master Plan in Chattanooga, TN, Philadelphia
Bicycle Network Plan in Pennsylvania,
Mecklenburg County Greenway Master
Plan in Charlotte, NC, and the Wake
County (NC) Open Space Plan.
As a result of the Mott Foundation Grant,
she will now assist Upstate Forever with
planning and implementation of the “Rivers and Streams” project in the Upstate.
With her greenway knowledge and background, she
will also be developing a comprehensive greenway master plan for this region. An avid outdoor recreation
enthusiast, Tricia has enjoyed getting to know the
Upstate’s beautiful resources through mountain biking,
kayaking, and hiking during her spare time.
Peaches ... or Pavement?
Welcome Amanda Bauknight
To Our Board
by Amanda Bauknight
W
We are pleased to announce that Amanda
ho among us does not savor the taste of a juicy, fresh local peach on a
Bauknight has joined the Upstate Forever
hot summer’s day? We are so fortunate that our climate allows us to grow
Board of Directors.
a great abundance of an incredible variety of food! Will it be this way for
Amanda is a resident of Pickens County
our grandchildren? Just as doctors today would not consider using straight
where she is a timber and cattle farmer and
whiskey to dull the pain of surgery, so should we require a new prescription
serves as Commissioner of the Pickens
for using and caring for the land?
Soil and Water Conservation District. She
Wherever I go in my work as Commissioner for the Pickens Soil and
also currently serves as the secretary of
Water Conservation District, people from every walk of life are eager to
the South Carolina Association of
tell me their stories of observed land abuses. Yet the land continues to be
Conservation Districts.
used carelessly.
We are fortunate that America’s productive land is not limited to the same
Every American suffers when the land is wasted, and if we continue, the hungry
degree as in many other nations. But we cannot continue to treat our land nations of the world may no longer be able to look to America with hope for a
as if it were in endless supply or we will quickly reach our productivity limit reliable food source. Moreover, food imported for our consumption is increasas our available farmland dwindles. The human race owes its very existence ing at an alarming rate and this food is being produced without oversight for
to six inches of topsoil and the fact that it rains.
quality on our part. On a recent trip to my childhood home in Tennessee, I
According to the 1997 National Resource Inventory, since 1982 more than saw signs standing in the beautiful farm fields, just in front of the red barn, say30 million acres have converted to development, with 16 million of those
ing, “Prime Commercial”. I could only think how much smarter we would be if
acres having been developed in the past five years alone. South Carolina
the signs said, “Prime Farmland”. Meantime, back in the Upstate, we’re paving
currently ranks ninth nationthe peach orchards!
ally in the rate of conversion to
The problems associated with farmland conversion are fardeveloped land. It has become
reaching. Agriculture is more than acres; it is a $1.5 billion
nearly impossible for new farmindustry in South Carolina,1 and forestry (wood products) is the
ers to buy land, as the temptation
third largest manufacturing industry in the state, employing over
to sell prime farmland for non50,000 residents and contributing $5.6 billion annually to our
agricultural use is strong. The
economy.2 Further, we are poised to lose an even greater treasure
developer can always argue that
. . . the loss of thousands of businessmen-farmers who have the
the 20 or 40 acres in question
skills needed to coax a harvest from the land.
is not important to the local or
A new land ethic would contain responsibilities for all of us . .
national agriculture picture, but
. the elected people who represent us, and the individuals who
where and when in this “nibbling
own land and hold the control and management of the land in
This beautiful peach farm in western Cherokee County is
process” is the public interest
their hands. Giving birth to a strong, new land ethic will not be
being sold for development.
threatened?
without pain, but I believe both the city-dwellers and farmers are
Charles F. Little of the American Land Forum has pointed out, “the
willing and ready to establish a different vision of the future.
capability of land to be sold for development somewhere, suggests to each and
A new land ethic cannot be enacted as law . . . it can only be effective when our
all that land can be sold for development anywhere. Therefore, the prices go
behavior as well as how we think about land is altered. We must elect repreup everywhere, making the marketing of land for non-agricultural use almost
sentatives who will be responsive to initiating an incentive process for landownmandatory.” We all, farmer and non-farmer,
ers and farmers who are now being penalized for
must change our way of looking at the land!
Too many people are using
their good land stewardship efforts, who will see
the land for short-term profit and too
We need a new land ethic, one which should
that the same incentives are available for good
few use it as though they and their
lay to rest the notion that the value of land
land use as those offered a developer or an induschildren and grandchildren will need its
rests solely in its price on the market. We contrial client, and who will see that good stewards
bountiful harvest in the future
fuse price with value and money with wealth.
of the land are rewarded by the economic and
A new land ethic would reject the notion
political system. We must promote and encourthat we owe the entrepreneur his profits. Today’s land use game is clearly
age protection for our productive farmland and its caretakers, as we savor that
one-sided — speculators make money, farmers don’t.
last juicy bit of peach.
A new ethic would support the idea that rights of ownership do not include
I wish to thank Mr. R. Neil Sampson, author of Farmland or Wasteland: A Time
the right to destroy the land for immediate profit. A new ethic would state
to Choose, for permission to use portions of his book in this article.
that anti-social conduct in relation to the land is becoming a real and seri1
www.cherokee.agecon.clemson.edu/all_sc.htm (Information provided by the Departous threat to the continued existence of our society and whether the cause
ment of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Clemson University, Clemson, SC,
of that conduct is private greed or public stupidity really matters very little.
and the S.C. Agricultural Statistics Service.)
Too many people are using the land for short-term profit and too few use it
2
www.state.sc.us/forest/refmgt.htm#sc (Information provided by South Carolina
as though they and their children and grandchildren will need its bountiful
Forestry Commission, Forest Management Facts)
harvest in the future.
6
Spring Field Trips
In February, Tommy Wyche led us on a
wonderful trip in the Mountain Bridge
Wilderness Area (left). In May, Upstate
Forever Board member John Lane guided a
tour of four gardens and natural areas in
Spartanburg County. At the Pacolet River
Heritage Preserve, the group took a break
to hear John read one of his poems (right).
Upstate Forever’s Major Donors
Carolina First Bank
Hayne & Anna Kate Hipp
Mimi Wyche & Jeff Sumerel
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
John & Carol Hopkins
The Turner Foundation
Dan & Sally Coenen
JST Foundation
Diane Smock & Brad Wyche
Community Foundation of Greater
Greenville
The Liberty Corporation Foundation
Tommy & Harriet Wyche
Upstate Forever’s New & Renewing Members
Protecting
Our Place
(January 1 - June 16, 2000)
Add Your Name To The List – Send In Your Membership Today!
Total Number of Members: 739 (as of 6/16/00)!!
Sustainers Mitsubishi Polyester Film, LLC
Paper Cutters, Inc.
The Pinnacle Consulting Group
Benefactors
David & Keller Freeman
Ralph H. Walker, Jr.
Sponsor
Mark & Tara Bakker
Louis P. Batson, III
Barry & Anne Bishop
Dr. Lawrence P. Brown
Rhea & Nancy Eskew
R. Austin Gilbert, Jr.
Ed & Peggy Good
Mr. & Mrs. Roger Habisreutinger
Richard K. & Gwendolyn D. Heusel
Chicken & Hurdle Lea
Neal-Prince & Partners Architects
Mark & Renee Masaschi
William N. Page
Mr. & Mrs. J. M. Shoemaker
George E. Tate
Reid Taylor
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Patron
Joe & Vauda Allmon
Rita McKinney & Eric Amstutz
Dr. & Mrs. William D. Anderson, Jr.
Anthony H. Barash
Lawson & Becky Barnes
Ford H. Borders
Bill & Kathy Boswell
Robert W. Morris & Susan C. Brady
H. J. Brand
Alice D. Cantey
Mr. & Mrs. M. L. Cates, Jr.
John & Ginger Cebe
Sam Cely
Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Chastain
Chris Christopherson
Dr. & Mrs. Lucius M. Cline, III
Mike & Pam Davis
John Evans
Mr. & Mrs. Judd B. Farr
Mr. & Mrs. Richard L. Few
George & Sarah Fletcher
Bob Glenn
Ernest Glenn
Roger & Ellen Gower
Georgia & Don Griffin
Pat Grine
D. Allen Grumbine
Cary Hall
Glen & Jeanine Halva-Neubauer
Donald L. Ham
Hammond Tarleton Properties
James L. & Peggy C. Hamrick
Max & Trude Heller
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Herdman
Elizabeth Houston
Dan & Diane Hughs
Mr. & Mrs. Roy F. Hunt, Jr.
Paul Jensen
Anthon & Laurie Johnson
Michael Johnson
Susan Cyr & Mark Johnston
Bill & Libby Kehl
John & Chelle Kelaher
Dr. & Mrs. Gerry King
Bo & Laurie Knapp
Bruce & Wanda Latham
Barbara B. & Frank L. League, III
Bill & Dr. Charlotte Lindsey
Toni Masters
Jack & Betty Mayer
Suzanne Hofford & Jack McCall
Rachel & Larry McCalla
Mr. & Mrs. James McMurria
Nancy Neal & Associates, Co.
David Black & Lesley Moore
Tony Niemeyer
Joan Peters
Johanne Puckett
Susan Reynolds
Mrs. Barbara Roberts
Helen M. Sloan
Thomas Small Foundation
Hank Stallworth
Nick & Emilie Theodore
Jack A. & Jane V. Turner
Joel P. Van Dyke, AIA
Stephen R. & Yvonne P. Vance
Jennie Wakefield
Warth & Company, Inc.
Virginia A. White
Alex & Philip Whitley
Beth Wright Woodside
Paula & Baxter Wynn
Kris Yon
Family
Roy & Mary Carol Abercrombie
Melania C. Anderson
Susan & Bob Ariail
Deb & Bill Arrington
Mike & Roxanne Baker
Stephanie Barczewski
Dennis & Amanda Bauknight
Christopher Berg
Linda Bivens
Karen & Mel Blake
Peter & Amy Brenner
Jay & Melissa Broering
Lou & Sis Brummer
Shirley & Raymond Campbell
Joseph & Stefanie Chambers
Larry D. & Sylvia H. Clanton
Bill & Sara Clayton
Dr. & Mrs. Richard L. Conn
Cokey & Lee Cory
Camille & Symmes Culbertson
David & Teresa Demarest
Dr. & Mrs. E. Arthur Dreskin
Richard & Hedy Dreskin
Mr. & Mrs. G. P. Earle, Jr.
The Gaskell Family
The Helmers Family
Phil Garrett & Patti Brady
Jeffery & Alison Hall
Mr. & Mrs. Dean Harrigal
Steve & Toni Heckman
Gregory Helvey
Mr. & Mrs. L. A. Hendricks
Amy & Geoff Herbert
Bryan & Diane Hickey
Phillips Hungerford
Lewis & Denny Jones
R. N. Jones
David Calvin & Deborah Killinger
Jim, Roxie Todd & Todd Kincannon
Greg & Mary Anne Lepak
Ed & Carolyn Little
Jim & Michelle Malushizky
Bill McCuen
Maria & Will McKibbon
Joe & Christine McLaughlin
George & Martha McLeod
Curt & Molly Chappell-McPhail
Laurel & John Melson
Susan Morgan
Earle Morris, Jr.
Andy VanPutte & Kim Mudar
Mr. & Mrs. Ben K. Norwood, Jr.
Lori & Tony Peoria
Martha Rogers Plaster
Buddy & Judy Player
Frances & Donald Plotnik
Fran Ponder
Norman Powers
Bill & Pat Quarles
Dr. & Mrs. Steven Ross & children
Brian & Sue Rothemich
Ronnie & Patsy Salyer
Gail & Peter Schmunk
Dale & Susan Sellheim
Dr. & Mrs. George W. Smith
Debra & David Spear
Jack & Pat Stewart
John A. & Carolyn H. Todd
Dale & Beverly Turner
7
Doug & Beck Williams
Mike & Jane Wilson
Sidney M. Wilson
Frances & Gary Wortkoetter
Mr. & Mrs. Robert L.Wynn, III
June Yanick
Individual
Amy E. Anderson
John C. Barnes
Charles E.Barnett
Jennifer Bausman
Camelot-Sheffield Homeowners
Association
Annette Clark
Trey Cole
Catherine M. Cope
Susan Dunlap
Emily L. Edwards
Elaine Eilenberg
Peter Elliman
Dianne S. Fergusson
Kate Giese
Caroline Gilbert
Jo Petty Gilliland
Ellen S. Goldey
Kris Haugen
Jay Hewitt
Elaine Kent
Mary Rene Kirby
Gloria Larkin
Helen E. League
Francie Little
Ms. S. Lanford Marchant
Tony McAbee
Ann L. McCord
L. R. Moody
Lawrence E. Moore
James F. Murphy
Nicola Page
Mitchell Patton
Darla Schoone
Sharon C. Stilwell
Merike Tamm
Bill Taylor
Thomas Webster
Mrs. Jacquelyn C. Williams
Jerry Wylie
Susan H. Young
Student
Van Whitehead
I
live in a valley in the
most beautiful forest in the
Upstate. People come to
the Upstate to camp, swim,
fish, and much more. But
when they come they just
think, “let’s live here.” So
more, and more, and more
people come all the time.
Then the developers take
over and it is not a beautiful
forest like it used to be. It
is all right to have people
come in and live, but I don’t
think it’s right for almost a
whole city to come in and
just take out the forest.
The worst thing is when
there is a lot of houses and
the animals can’t spread
out. Since there is only one
little spot for them, they’re
going to die because they’ll
get shot by more people or
run over by cars. I can’t do
a whole lot now but if I get
a good job, I would try my
best to buy back the land
which all the development
took.
by Austin Pittard
Ann Cooler’s 4th Grade Class
Holly Springs Elementary School,
Pickens County
Mountain Spirit/Mountain Renewal
by Mark Taylor
Just to the west, the forest is so open and the timber is so tall that you think
you’re in a cathedral.
My preference is to camp beside running water. No sleep is as sound as that
induced by the ripple and rush of a mountain stream. Two years ago, in the
– Psalm 121:1-2
Ellicott Rock Wilderness, we camped by ourselves where Bad Creek flows
ne of my most cherished family traditions is an annual New Year’s
into the Chattooga River. Deep in the gorge, darkness took us by surprise
backpacking trip with my teenage daughter. Leaving the house at daybreak around 5:00 in the evening. We warmed, dried our socks, cooked and relaxed
on January 1st, we nearly have the world to ourselves. Finding breakfast is
by the light of the fire. Our solitude went unbroken until morning when two
our first challenge—few businesses are open at all on New Years Day, much fly fishermen worked their way upstream. After that, we were on our own
less at 7 AM. But we find something, and make
the rest of the day, hiking out the spur trail from
it to the trailhead by mid-morning.
Ellicott Rock to Highway 107.
Our destination is the Foothills Trail. In three
As inspiring as the mountains are, my renewal
years, we have hiked three segments that have
comes from the company of my daughter. Untaken us over 35 miles of the trail. Our unspolike the hours we spend together on soccer trips
ken goal is to hike every foot of that amazing
or studying at the kitchen table, our time on the
ribbon of God’s creation, with several of the spur
trail is an opportunity to communicate without
trails thrown in for good measure. We’ll attain
talking. Gasping simultaneously at a breathtakthat goal before she graduates, and hopefully do
ing view or coming to a stop in mid-stride at the
it several times again.
scent of a big cat that has marked its territory,
Sometimes we start our hike in the full winter
we know that we’re on the same page, listening
sun, with the cloudless sky a bottomless Caroto the same song, sharing the same wonder.
lina blue and the bark on the poplars a crisp
Our Upstate mountains are appreciated by many
Confederate grey. The Blue Ridge Front is
for scenery, wildlife, wilderness, and much more.
the only place on earth I’ve found these colors.
For me, the mountains are a sanctuary, a place
Other years we start in mountain fog, deep and
Mark and his daughter Ashley on this past year’s trip.
where I know without question that God created
mysterious, protecting the delicate landscape in a
heaven and earth. But perhaps most imporquiet shroud. Last January, we finished on Sassafras Mountain caked with
tantly, the mountains are a common bond that all of us in the Upstate share,
ice and had to chisel open the doors of the Jeep.
a place where we speak without words and hear each other in the rustle of the
Weather is only the beginning of the variety on the Foothills Trail. On
leaves and the roar of rapids.
New Year’s Day there’s always ice, and perhaps snow, on the north facing
slopes and in the deep coves. We delight in bizarre ice formations that
Upstate Forever Board member Mark Taylor works as an environmental
emerge from saturated soil. Often we’re stopped in our tracks by the lace
consultant at The Fletcher Group in Greenville. Ashley Taylor is a rising
of ice that adorns a fern or cluster of galax. On the section near Bear Gap,
sophomore at Eastside High School where she played on the soccer team
between the Horsepasture and Toxaway Rivers, the laurel and rhododenthat won this year’s state championship.
dron create a cavern so dark we expected to come upon a hibernating bear.
I lift up my eyes to the hills
From where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
O
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