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Perdue goes to Palmetto to tout land plan

By Ben Nelms
bnelms@thecitizennews.com

Governor Sonny Perdue chose South Fulton’s Chattahoochee Hill Country Conservancy yesterday as the setting for his announcement of the Georgia Land Conservation Act.

The announcement at the Palmetto site stemmed from Perdue’s Dec. 30 Executive Order creating the Governor’s Advisory Council for the Georgia Land Conservation Partnership. Yesterday’s announcement created a funding mechanism to obtain land for conservation purposes.

The state will place $75 million into the trust fund, and is expecting an additional $25 million from private sources. The council will oversee the development of the state’s first comprehensive land conservation plan. The council will have responsibility for ensuring that all interested parties have full opportunity for involvement and input into the plan and advising Perdue on the implementation of the plan.

With support provided by Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the plan will summarize the need for land conservation, describe and identify the most vulnerable and valuable areas for protection, establish goals for land conversation and develop and describe strategies for land protection.

Chattahoochee Hill Country was one of four new communities nationwide selected last week to participate in the second round of the Smart Growth Leadership Institute’s Implementation Assistance Program. Funding for the program was provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Chattahoochee Hill Country Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working to implement a innovative land use plan to protect the ecological health and quality of life in a 65,000-acre area in south Fulton and surrounding counties.