KnoxNews

URL: http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0,1406,KNS_347_3492723,00.html

New director joins nonprofit

By MORGAN SIMMONS, simmonsm@knews.com
January 24, 2005

A nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area has hired its first full-time executive director.

Barbara Shoemaker, who taught math and science in the Oneida school system for 14 years, joins the Friends of the Big South Fork at a time when the group is making big plans for the future.

In addition to hiring Shoemaker, the Friends of the Big South Fork recently moved into its first physical base of operations - the main floor of the new Big South Fork Visitor Center, located on U.S. Highway 27 between Huntsville and Oneida.

"We want to deliver good information about the resources, not just in the park but in the surrounding region," Shoemaker said. "People come to this area, and they don't have a clue about what's available or where to go. We want to fix that."

Formed in 1995, the Friends of the Big South Fork spearheads numerous projects in the Big South Fork NRRA such as the annual storytelling festival, which draws thousands of visitors to Bandy Creek, and volunteer river cleanup projects.

The Friends group recently raised $300,000 in donations to launch full-scale operations over the next three years. Contributors included the First National Bank of Oneida, National Coal Corporation, Cumberland Wood Products and Grand Vista Hotel.

The group hopes to raise significant revenue through the sale of a specialty license plate. The plates, which go into production after 1,000 are pre-sold, will generate $17.50 per plate to the Friends group on an annual basis. A similar license plate has helped the Friends of the Smokies raise more than $600,000 each year for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Friends of the Big South Fork is working with the University of Tennessee to develop a state-of-the-art interactive computer information and mapping system to be installed in the new visitors center.

The system - known by the trade name CartaVista - will allow visitors to explore the park in a virtual recreation using a touch-screen surface. Educational overlays ranging from geology and archeology to hiking and photography will be available, and as a Web-based program, the information will be available to school, other parks, or anyone planning a trip to the region.

Work on the CartVista project is expected to begin this year with the help of a $500,000 federal appropriation. The target date for completing the project is 2006.

UT also is partnering with the Friends of the Big South Fork to develop a laboratory and learning center inside the park similar to the Appalachian Highlands Science and Learning Center at Purchase Knob in the Smokies.

Authorized by Congress in 1974, the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area covers about 120,000 acres and draws about 850,000 visitors per year. While the gorge areas inside the park are managed as wilderness, the adjacent areas allow for a variety of recreational uses and more motorized access.

The National Park Service soon will release the first comprehensive management plan for the Big South Fork. In addition to protecting its natural resources, the park also is mandated to promote economic development throughout the region.

After several decades of dormancy, coal mining is making a comeback in the area, and a growing number of retirees and recreation enthusiasts are buying property around the park.

Shoemaker said the Friends of the Big South Fork hopes to serve as a liaison between park managers and outside interests groups.

"Our goals are preservation in the park, conservation around the park, and education for all," Shoemaker said.

Greg Love, president of the organization, said the group's outreach efforts would begin with local schools, businesses and civic groups.

"The park can be an effective catalyst for economic development, and right now I believe it's being underutilized," Love said. "We've reached a crossroads where foresight is critically important. We have to carefully promote tourism now, or one day we're going to wake up and it will have gotten away from us."

Morgan Simmons may be reached at 865-342-6321.