Stop I-3 Coalition Newsletter

April, 2008

Good-bye from Lucy Bartlett

As I complete my year as chair of the Stop I-3 Coalition, I want to thank each of you for a job well done. You have responded to Action Alerts, helped spread the word as to why this Interstate is a horrid idea, and many have given money to meet necessary expenses.

And these expenses are going to mount in a hurry, as detailed below. So, if you have not given in the past year, we ask that you send at least $10 to our treasurer, Ginny Heckel, 1074 Arbor Drive, Lakemont, Georgia, 30552, or donate at the web-site www.stopi3.org on Pay Pal. Ten dollars does not sound like much, but if everyone would donate just $10 we could raise more than most grants provide. Naturally, we’d love to have more than $10, but we know that many of you are pushed with high prices just now.

We have made a lot of progress recently. Instead of calling and begging to talk with political candidates, they now call us and ask for an appointment. Our representatives and senators know we exist as do the various state Departments of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.

Under the leadership of Ted Doll, we prepare to take on our greatest challenge yet. The study of the I-3 corridor is about to begin. As a friend told me the other day, “The dog sleeping in the corner will wake up and bite you when you least expect it, and that dog has one eye open.” The time for organizing and preparing is rapidly coming to an end and the real reason we exist is approaching. We need to show the people who get the contract for the study all of the reasons no additional highway should be built in this corridor. Much of the work to keep Congress from including more money for this corridor in a new transportation act has been completed. Now we need to nail down the lid to the coffin of this road,

This next phase of the fight will be very costly. The experts we need to hire to testify – particularly civil engineers - will be expensive. Environmental experts are more inclined to testify without high fees, but even they will have expenses.

So, please dig deep, and, again, thank you for all your past support. We are winning this battle and we can finish the job with your help.

Lucy E. Bartlett
Out-going Chair, Stop I-3 Coalition

Hello from Ted Doll

As incoming Chair of the Stop I-3 Coalition, I’d like to thank all those who have made this last 12 months successful. On the top of the list is Lucy Bartlett, our outgoing Chair, who shepherded the Coalition from a fledgling group to a fully functioning non-profit with political clout. Next on the list is Holly Demuth, our new Executive Director, who “hit the ground running”, winning several new grants, widening our scope to include Corridor K, and diligently managing operations.

The Board of Directors has done a yeoman’s job. I’d especially like to thank outgoing board members. Joe Gatins has been a key contributor to fund raising, outreach, publications, and the nominating committee. John Clarke has made important contributions to our strategy committee helped lead our Corridor K effort. We will dearly miss Andrew Hunt and his contributions to outreach and communications. Larry Winslett has been a liaison to other organizations and has made important contributions to outreach. Lilith Quinlan leaves behind an exemplary website, and will be extremely difficult to replace. Roger Williams will be missed for his outstanding research for the Coalition.

It is likely that we will face serious challenges over the next 12 months. The request for proposals (RFP) for the study of Interstate 3 is scheduled to be released very soon. The study itself may get underway soon. It is crucial that we be prepared to counter those that advocate foolish and wasteful transportation projects that would jeopardize our southern Appalachian communities, environment, and way of life.

We believe that the transportation needs of our region can be satisfied without sacrificing the unique qualities and heritage of this place. We reject the attitude that this region must become a wasteland of strip malls, parking lots, and tract housing like suburban Atlanta and so many other cities. We envision a different development path for southern Appalachia – one in which the economy flourishes and families are secure in an environment that preserves their sense of place and belonging – in short, their culture and heritage.

Southern Appalachia belongs to us, the people who love it, both the newcomers and those whose families have called this place home for generations. I hope you will join us in protecting our heritage as we, as a community, make decisions that will affect our children and future generations.

Please join with us by contributing your time, money, and ideas. Donate to the Stop I-3 Coalition today, and call Holly or me to get “connected” and involved.

Thank you for your commitment to this place!

Ted Doll
Chair, Stop I-3 Coalition
706-878-2526
info@stopi3.org

Augusta says NO to Interstate 3

Land conservationists, riverkeepers, and just plain folks gathered with Stop I-3 Coalition Executive Director Holly Demuth and Congressman Paul Broun’s Augusta field representative Reagan Williams recently to learn more about the latest developments with I-3 and continue to build support against the road in the Augusta area.

The Coalition continues to fight against the road by any route. Four-lane access from Savannah through Augusta to Interstate 85 is already an imminent reality. The Savannah River Parkway is 96% complete and the widening of Highway 17 well on its way. To spend more money to upgrade these roads to interstate levels is not needed and is wasteful.

To learn more about what is going on in Augusta with Interstate 3, contact Executive Director Holly Demuth, info@stopi-3.org, 706-508-3711. If you have friends or colleagues in Augusta, talk with them about Interstate 3 and encourage them to Join Us.

Interstate 3 seminar held at Young Harris College

More than 40 Young Harris College students attended a one-hour seminar on Interstate 3 organized by Professor Lee March on April 10. A panel consisting of 8th District Representative Charles Jenkins, Biology Teacher Brenda Hull and Stop I-3 board member Charley Kraus explained the I-3 proposal and what it means to northeast Georgia and Towns County and also how the Corridor K issue could impact it. The panel also fielded questions and discussion from the interested students. Only one student could be found who seemed to think the proposal was a good idea.

Rabun Trout Unlimited chapter sponsors Stop I-3 meet

A feisty crowd of anglers packed a meeting room in Clayton, Georgia, earlier and this month to hear the latest about Interstate 3 and to ask tough questions about its economic, transportation, and environmental impacts. The impact of the proposed road on water quality was predictably of high importance, along with a concern for the integrity and livelihood of local communities.

Do you have a group that wants to better understand the Interstate 3 boondoggle, which is still on course to advance in Washington? If so, contact the Coalition, at info@stopi-3.org, to explore options.

Group Aims to Preserve Historic Unicoi Turnpike

Remnants of Unicoi Turnpike near Unicoi
Gap. Notice the prominent roadbed.

The road that the first white settlers used to reach the southern Appalachian Mountains is called the Unicoi Turnpike. Built from 1815 to 1817 by a company headed by Mr. Russell Wiley, it ran from Mullin’s Ford on the Tugalo River through north Georgia and western North Carolina, all the way to Vonore Tennessee. Much of the trail ran through lands of the Cherokee Nation, and followed a route that they used for generations. However, the route is believed to have been originated by “engineers with four feet”, as Dr. Tom Lumsden says – that is, woolly mammoths and other large mammals which migrated in the cooler months from what is now eastern Tennessee to the piedmont and coastal plains of South and North Carolina.

Partial Map of the Route of the Unicoi
Turnpike (dotted line) near Unicoi Gap
(Click for larger view)

Parts of this historic road still exist and can be plainly seen in the mountains of north Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. In fact, the part of the trial from Murphy, North Carolina to Vonore, Tennessee was officially designated a National Millennium Flagship Trail by the U.S. Government in 2001. Unfortunately, the Georgia portion of the trail was neglected during this designation process, even though it is just as worthy as the parts to the north.

On Saturday, April 19, 2008 a group led by Mr. Carey Waldrip gathered at the Sautee Nacoochee Center to understand, preserve, and protect the part of this historic resource that runs through Georgia. After a pancake breakfast, they heard a lecture from Dr. Tom Lumsden, noted local historian, at the Sautee Nacoochee Center’s history museum. Dr. Lumsden showed the group copies of documents and maps documenting the development of the turnpike. The accompanying map shows the route of the turnpike through the Unicoi Gap area, just north of Helen, Georgia, and the picture shows members of Mr. Waldrip’s group exploring the roadbed of the turnpike in the same area.

The outcome of the meeting at Sautee Nacoochee was a decision to form a committee to pursue the preservation and marking of the Unicoi Turnpike in Georgia. The group hopes to get the road officially designated as an historic resource by the State of Georgia and the federal government.

Ironically, the route proposed for Interstate 3 would carry it directly through Unicoi Gap. This would probably destroy the remnants of the Unicoi Turnpike, as well as cause severe damage to the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River and the Hiawassee River. The turnpike is another example of one of the many historic resources of the Southern Appalachians that are at risk from this unwise, un-needed, and wasteful Interstate 3 highway proposal.

If you would like to get involved in stopping Interstate 3 and preserving the Unicoi Turnpike, please donate to the Stop I-3 Coalition today! This is our home – let’s preserve this special place for future generations. Call our Executive Director, Holly Demuth at 706-508-3711 to find out how you can help. And thanks for joining the fight to protect our heritage!

Towns County commissioner urges
persistent opposition to Interstate 3

(Editor’s note: The following is penned by Bill Kendall, sole commissioner, Towns County, Georgia.)

Many times the strategy of Washington, D.C. is to prolong and wear out the opposition. During this election year, I feel, it is imperative that citizens and local officials be persistent in speaking out against I-3. I am therefore reiterating and amplifying to Federal and State officials the Towns County Citizens opposition to I-3.

An open letter to U. S. Senators Saxby Chambliss & Johnny Isakson,
Congressman Paul Broun, Gov. Sonny Perdue, State Sen. Nancy Schafer & State Rep. Charles Jenkins.

I am writing to reiterate my opposition and that of Towns County citizens who voted over 92% against I-3 coming through Towns County, in a straw vote, which I commissioned the Towns County Election Board to conduct.

Due to budget shortfalls, the Georgia D.O.T. recently postponed indefinitely the following major road and bridge safety projects for Towns County which were to begin this year:

• Widening to five lanes from the junction traffic light at Highways 76 & 17 to the North Carolina line toward Hayesville.
• Construction was eliminated on five bridges, determined to be unsafe and too narrow, as follows: Two bridges on Hwy 64 from Young Harris to Warne, N. C., two bridges on Hwy. 75 toward Helen, and one bridge on Hwy 76 toward Clayton.
• In previous years where State aid was allotted to pave several miles of rural Towns County roads from the State Local Assistant Road Project, only approximately one mile was received from LARP for ‘08.
  

Building I-3 through our mountains at a cost of over 25 million dollars per mile while at the same time eliminating much needed road safety and maintenance projects, due to budget shortfalls, makes absolutely no sense.

Towns County’s primary industry, tourism, would be devastated. Excessive noise and air pollution from 18-wheelers coming from the port of Savannah to Knoxville, Tenn. will degrade the quality of life of our citizens. Just imagine 24 hours per day of semi-trucks and air brakes as the big rigs struggle to make their way across the mountains and through Towns County. The noise from roadways echoes through the mountains and seemingly is amplified many times before reaching homes.

I am inclosing a copy of the Resolution strongly opposing I-3, which I adopted on 1-9-06 as my first act upon taking office. I beseech you to listen to your constituents in Towns County and other Northeast Georgia Counties on this vital matter.

/s/ Bill Kendall
Sole Commissioner
Towns County
STATE OF GEORGIA
COUNTY OF TOWNS

RESOLUTION

Office of the Commissioner, Towns County, Georgia

Controversy over the proposal to construct an Interstate highway known as
Interstate-3, hereafter referred to as I-3, through the heartland of the
Southern Appalachians has grown significantly during the last 7 months, as a result of numerous public informational meetings; and

Therefore, as sole Towns County Commissioner, I hereby make the following RESOLUTION:

WHEREAS, the federally funded feasibility study for I-3 (Savannah Ga. to
Knoxville Tenn.) has commenced, or is about to commence; and
WHEREAS, the present route of I-3 is currently unknown, but does not exclude Towns County Ga.; and
WHEREAS, the construction of any interstate highway through the Southern Appalachians or specifically Towns County, Ga. would have a devastating environmental, economic, cultural, and aesthetic impact, and severely harm the quality of life, historical landmarks, cemeteries, churches and farms and the livelihood of Towns County citizens;

NOW THEREFORE, I HEREBY RESOLVE, as Commissioner of Towns County, that I am opposed to the construction of I-3 specifically in Towns County and in the Southern Appalachian corridor. I further urge all like-minded citizens to show their opposition to I-3 by signing the petition that has been drafted by the STOP I-3 coalition, and is now in circulation in Towns County.

RESOLVED this 9th day of January, 2006
/s/ Bill Kendall
Sole Commissioner, Towns County, Georgia

Stop I-3 presence at upcoming festivals

The Stop I-3 Coalition will have a presence at many festivals this Spring, Summer and Fall and we hope to see you there. Including:

• The Mountain Laurel Festival, Clarkesville, Georgia, May 17.
• Celebrate Clayton, Rabun County’s Music & Art Fest, Clayton, Georgia, on April 26
• The Big E Festival in Cornelia, Georgia, on August 2.

If you would like to volunteer to help staff an information table at any of these events or if there is a festival in your area that you are willing to attend and tell the public about what's going on with the Stop I-3 Coalition, please contact Sandy Lyndon at 706.754.0046 or sandy@bbinc.org.

The Wilderness Society supports Stop I-3 Coalition

Thank you to The Wilderness Society, one of our 38 supporting organizations, for helping to spread the word about Interstate 3.  We need as many folks on board to counter this disastrous road as possible.  In the most recent America’s Wilderness, The Wilderness Society’s member newsletter, a plea was made to contact Congress to stop this wasteful, harmful road:

“A new interstate, known as I-3 and consisting of at least four lanes, would be built from Savannah, Georgia to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, under a plan drawn up by former Congressman Charles Norwood (R-GA) and currently under study by the Federal Highway Administration.  The proposed route would cut through the heart of the Chattahoochee National Forest in northern Georgia, passing close to the Blood Mountain, Mark Trail, Tray Mountain, and Raven Cliffs wilderness areas.  In western North Carolina, I-3 would go through the Nantahala-Pisgah National Forest and skirt the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock and the Southern Nantahala wilderness areas.  This mountainous option would not only harm pristine forest and its wildlife, it would also be enormously expensive.  We have joined the Stop I-3 Coalition to help derail this scheme.  Please contact your representatives in Congress to urge them to de-fund this effort and send this proposal back to the drawing board.”

If you are a member of an organization that does not support Interstate 3 and would be interested in becoming a supporting organization, contact the Coalition at info@stopi-3.org. Our strength is in our numbers, contacts, and expertise.  You are a vital part of the effort.

Requests of volunteers and supporting organizations

The Coalition’s work continues to build. We need your help! The following are a few of our current needs. For a complete list, click here .

• Data Entry: We have so many new names that need to be entered into our database! We gather information at events about new supporters who want to be kept abreast of Stop I-3 news.  Their information is entered into our database by very special dedicated volunteers who are discreet, detail oriented, and comfortable with computers.
   
  
• Researching issues and sharing your expertise: A core element of our work is staying abreast of science and new developments in a range of related regional issues. Would you like to share your knowledge about, research, or help develop strategies around an issue listed on the volunteer page? 
   
• Organizing Supporting Organizations: help with making the most of all that our supporting organizations bring to the coalition. If you enjoy making phone and email contacts with highly effective, vibrant folks, and are very good with follow-up, this job is for you!

Reminder for supporting organizations: Our next quarterly conference call will be held on May 13 at 10 a.m. More details to follow on the email list. If you are interested in learning more about the Stop I-3 Coalition supporting organization effort, this is a great opportunity. Contact the Coalition to participate, at info@stopi-3.org.

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