Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance Protects Natural Preserve

The Arabia Mountain Heritage Alliance is a collection of private citizens, civic groups, localities and State and Federal agencies that have joined together to protect and enhance the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve and the surrounding area which is under strong development pressure due to a new mall. NRCS first became involved in 1998 when the Alliance successfully applied for a grant from the Urban Resources Partnership in Atlanta to put up educational signage at the Preserve.

Urban Resources Partnership (URP) was a coalition of local conservation agencies funded primarily by the NRCS and the Forest Service that provided cost-share grants for locally led conservation projects in many metropolitan areas across the country. In 1998, Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney wrote a letter to then Secretary of Agriculture, Dan Glickman, asking for United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) assistance with preserving farmland in the area.

Butch Goff, Retired Assitant State Conservationist, and Steve Leslie, District Conservationist, attended the next meeting of the Alliance and talked to the group about the conservation programs that are available and what technical services they might provide.

Since then Steve Leslie has continued to participate with the group and provided an assessment of a pond dam on the property, as well as soil survey information. Later the Alliance successfully applied for another URP grant to produce a video that introduced school children to the Nature Preserve before they visited. Both URP projects have since been completed.

The Nature Preserve has grown along with the Alliance through land acquisitions funded by over $30 million of private, County and State, as well as, in-kind services. Most recently an additional $10 million in Federal funding through the Park Service was approved by President Bush to officially designate it as a National Heritage Area.

A smart growth plan has been drawn up for the area, which includes plans for an environmental magnet school and a trail system that would link the Preserve with Panola Mountain State Park and with other public properties along the South River. For more information please go to http://www.arabiaalliance.org/

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