EPA Region 4 Honors Six North Carolina Environmental Merit Award Recipients.

Business Editors & Environmental Writers

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 19, 2000

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 today honored recipients of its inaugural Environmental Merit Award at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

These awards were presented in recognition of the creative and productive activities of those outside of EPA in the Southeast who are working in their communities to sustain our natural systems and promote environmental stewardship. The Environmental Merit Awards program provides the Agency an opportunity to reach out to individuals, states, Federal partners, local governments, stakeholder groups, businesses and others who have made specific contributions in 1999-2000 to improve the environment.

"Those honored today have gone above and beyond the call of duty to address public health and natural resource protection issues of concern and, in so doing, have made this region a better place for all of us," said John H. Hankinson, Jr., EPA Regional Administrator in Atlanta. "They have demonstrated that hard work and collaborative problem solving can bring positive environmental results."

The Agency sought nominations of individuals and groups throughout the Southeast who have made special efforts to identify environmental problems or needs and have worked to address them by utilizing innovative techniques and/or successful collaborations with others. As a result, 47 winners were selected from more than 250 nominations. The award categories included individuals, businesses, governmental and not-for-profit organizations from EPA Region 4 (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee).

A list of the award winners and a description of their projects is attached. A complete list of the award recipients in the Southeast is available at http://www.epa.gov/region4/.

2000 Environmental Merit Awards Winners from North Carolina

Individuals

Rick Dove, New Bern, NC

Mr. Dove recently retired as the Neuse Riverkeeper where he educated and involved thousands of youths and adults in becoming better stewards of the river. In 1998, he was named by Time Magazine's Time for Kids as one of their Heroes of the Planet. He was also ranked among the top 100 most influential people in North Carolina's history for actions that have significantly improved the quality of life for citizens of the state. Mr. Dove worked tirelessly and extensively to protect the river from illegal storm water discharges after Hurricane Floyd by working with state officials and the media. He has united many people from widely diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds to work together to strengthen water quality protection for present and future generations. This year he joined the Water Keepers Alliance to help establish additional Riverkeepers on rivers throughout the Southeast. He also was instrumental in establishing the Junior Riverkeepers program in a North Carolina middle school to educate young people on the importance of protecting and preserving water resources.

Businesses

Weyerhaeuser Company/North Carolina Timberlands, New Bern, NC

The Weyerhaeuser Company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in conjunction with the Nature Conservancy, North Carolina Coastal Land Trust and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources for the conservation of natural areas within the company's ownership in eastern North Carolina. This MOU is a major conservation commitment by Weyerhaeuser and is the culmination of a five-year process with the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program. It seeks to protect unique natural areas totaling more than 7,000 acres and includes swamps, bays, longleaf pine ridges and hardwood uplands. Conservation acquisition, conservation easement and natural heritage registry are protection options provided in the five-year, potentially renewable MOU. Weyerhaeuser is the first North Carolina corporation to give a comprehensive right-of-first-refusal covering known natural areas within their ownership.

Local, State, Tribal & Federal Government

Battery Island, North Carolina Bird Habitat Preservation

Battery Island supports the largest colony of wading birds in North Carolina, including 90% of nesting white ibises. This habitat restoration project's goal was to stabilize the shoreline and prevent further loss of the trees that birds need for nesting. The project used many innovative techniques, including lining the shore with large, sand-filled geotubes and filling the area behind the tubes with dredged sand. Not only was the habitat preserved, but the channel was clear for boating. The project was sponsored by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Other partnering agencies included the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Marine Fisheries Service and the National Audubon Society. The cooperation of federal and state agencies, non-profit organizations and the public was instrumental in the success of this project.

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, NC

The Cherokee Tribal Utilities implemented a successful sanitation program by constructing a waste transfer station and closing an open dump in partnership with several other Tribal and Federal agencies. The station receives and sorts solid waste on the reservation and transports it off site for appropriate disposal and sale. They also receive, sort and transport solid waste from two neighboring counties. The Tribal Utilities conducts a recycling education program in the schools and the community. They recycle many items, including cardboard, plastic, glass, aluminum, used oil, tires and paper and have supported a reservation-wide cleanup effort by launching roadside cleanups and posting signs prohibiting littering.

Environmental, Community and Non-profit organizations

Dogwood Alliance, Asheville, NC

The Alliance is a cooperative network of more than 30 grassroots organizations with the shared mission to stop the deforestation of southeastern native forests containing an abundance of plant and animal diversity and pristine wetlands. Current programs include promoting ecologically responsible forest stewardship through landholders education, legislative incentives and demonstration projects; providing training, coordination and information to communities impacted by existing and proposed chip mills; and educating the public about the economic and environmental impacts of wood chipping. The Alliance has been effective in raising the significance of forest management and health issues at the state and Federal level resulting in a region-wide forest assessment. It has contributed extensive technical input to this assessment and continues to play an active role in the process. Overall, the Alliance seeks to ensure long-term protection of valuable forest resources and to establish a connection between sustainable human communities and economies and sustainable, diverse, healthy ecosystems.

Land of Sky Regional Council Environmental Program, Asheville, NC

The Land-of-Sky Regional Council, area solid waste officials, North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service agents and many others partnered to create the Mobile Environmental Learning Center (MELC). This interactive North Carolina certified classroom on wheels is an environmentally focused "field-trip" that travels to schools, festivals and special events. Constructed with recycled materials, the self-contained center promotes a wide variety of innovative ideas and techniques in environmental education, including interactive quiz boards on waste reduction and a mannequin modeling recycled clothing. Land-of-Sky Regional Council has accomplished its goal of creating a long-term sustainability project that educates thousands of children and adults throughout the region.