Chattahoochee Hill Country Conservancy has a new executive director. And Christine McCauley brings with her a passion for stewardship of the land and a desire to conserve the rural character of the 40,000-acre Chatt Hills area envisioned by residents and the organization.

“I’ve followed Chattahoochee Hill Country’s progress over the years and I’m really interested in the TDR (Transferable Development Rights) component. I have a very good theoretical knowledge of TDRs so I can provide that kind of technical knowledge,” McCauley said, noting the realities of development that so often compromise the quality of land and the quality of life. “And I have a real passion for conservation. I love trees and clean air and clean water and a good quality of life. And it’s not impossible to have that here in a rapidly expanding metro Atlanta. So we have to figure out how to make that happen.”

One of the mainstays of the conservancy’s approach is its TDR program. Transferable Development Rights provide a way for an area to preserve agricultural and ecologically sensitive lands and historical landmarks, to stimulate economic growth and manage urban development. This is accomplished by selling the rights to acreage in a “sending zone” that is designed for protection to a “receiving zone” that is designated for future growth, according to University of Georgia Institute for Ecology. It is the TDR concept that is so relevant to the Chatt Hills vision of developing three full-functioning villages and a number of hamlets in the 40,000-acre hill country.

McCauley grew up in Atlanta with the desire to be a good steward of all resources, including historic resources not always associated with environmental advocacy.

“Historic preservation really played a role in my views on being a good steward,” she said. “In historic preservation you use and re-use historic resources, instead of tearing something down, throwing it away and then using more resources to replace what was removed. It’s a waste.”

Everyone knows that development in urban areas is inevitable. But that development does not have to come with a price that sacrifices the vision of a community committed to preserving its rural character, a vision that holds the environment itself as a worthwhile and needed component of the community.

“The value of the environment and its resources is not only valued by what it’s going to do for me or humankind. The value is intrinsic. Nature itself has value,” McCauley explained with a smile. “Does a tree on the street corner have value? Why? Because it provides shade and clean air and looks pretty on the street. If I cut it down I can get $1,500 for it. I think that tree has value beyond the monetary.”

Whether the large amount of greenspace included in the area overlay, the village concept, the TDR program or the sweeping beauty of the rolling hills of south Fulton, Chatt Hills stands as something unique in Georgia. It is poised on the threshold of the future of the ever-sprawling Atlanta megalopolis. Chatt Hills is a place where development can take on a different hue, one where large expanses of virgin land in South Fulton County can form an oasis of green.

“Chattahoochee Hills is the one place in Georgia where you have a model of conservation and development trying to work together. And part of the conservation, TDRs, is cutting edge for Georgia even though it’s been used in other parts of the country. It’s important for me to understand and make the TDR component work so that other communities can use that conservation pool to work for development. It’s all about harnessing the market force of development for conservation,” McCauley said.

Prior to her arrival at the conservancy, McCauley served as executive director for the Madison-Morgan Conservancy and as special projects coordinator for Morgan County Board of Commissioners. She also served as interim executive director for Atlanta Interfaith Aids Network.

McCauley earned a Master of Historic Preservation and a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from University of Georgia.

Chattahoochee Hills Conservancy is a non-profit organization that raises private funds to leverage foundation and government grants to support sustainable development with environmental protection. The Chattahoochee Hill Country Overlay includes 40,000 acres in the far west portion of South Fulton County.

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