Environmental Protection Agency Helps Protect the Appalachian Trail
Asheville, N.C. (October 21, 2009)—A $20,000 community stewardship grant from the Environmental Protection Agency will allow the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) to teach citizen-scientists how to monitor rare, threatened, and endangered (RTE) plants, monitor and control invasive exotic (IE) plant species, and begin restoration of ecosystems harmed by IE plants.
In addition to a series of environmental-education workshops, a hike on the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) will provide the perfect platform for learning, as well as allow North Carolina citizens to protect their local national-forest and Appalachian National Scenic Trail lands from species that significantly damage ecosystems and the habitats and native species within them. The one-day workshops are approved for environmental-education credits for teachers seeking certification through that Program in North Carolina. Teachers attending these one-day workshops are eligible to receive credits toward the North Carolina Environmental Education Certification Program.
The USDA Forest Service has identified that invasive species represent one of the top threats to national forests and grasslands in the United States, contributing to forest degradation and damaging migratory corridors. The annual economic toll numbers in the millions of dollars; total losses attributed to only 15 noxious species were estimated at $603 million between 1901 and 1991 by the congressional Office of Technology Assessment. Through monitoring, baseline surveys provide the early detection necessary to set priorities for the control of invasive-exotics and restoration of healthy plant communities, as well as allow managers to respond rapidly to newly established IE populations.
This grant will be administered through ATC regional office for Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee in collaboration with the regional partnerships of Western North Carolina Alliance, Equinox Environmental Inc. on behalf of Mountain Valleys RC&D, National Park Service Southeast Exotic Plant Management Team, and the USDA Forest Service.
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is a volunteer-based organization dedicated to the preservation and management of the natural, scenic, historic, and cultural resources associated with the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in order to provide primitive outdoor-recreation and educational opportunities for Trail visitors.
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