TVA Tilts Balance In Favor Of Development

Little Cedar
TVA Tilts Balance In Favor Of Development

Little Cedar Mountain and its environs make up a
beautiful tract of land hugging the Tennessee River
near the Nickajack Dam. The land's location and
contour have made it a favorite place for humans
and non-humans over the centuries. Native peoples
dating back to before the time of
Christ have found the banks of the
river near Little Cedar Mountain a
rich secure home place, accessible
to the river and its fresh water
mussels and fish. More recently a
hero of the Cherokee nation, Chief
Dragging Canoe, located his towns
of "Running Water" and "Nicka-
jack" on the banks of the river as
he resisted the migration west of
the European settlers.
Today the grave sites and other
archaeological locations are all
that remain of this earlier time. Unfortunately,
these sacred treasures of history have yet to be ful-
ly characterized and protected.
As I traveled along the Tennessee River recently,
I was struck by the increasing level of development
— the power plants, industrial parks, dams, mari-
nas and resort homes that extend out from the cities
which have grown up along the river. I'm sure that
the former residents of the river would not recog-
nize the distorted river banks that served as an in-
spiration to so many for so long.
President Roosevelt signed the visionary man-
date that created the Tennessee Valley Authority to
balance the destructive human activities of the
times and the need for human development against
the broader goals of protecting the river and its
shores as a complete functioning watershed from
the mountains of North Carolina to fertile fields of
Kentucky. That balance has always been a difficult
act, but today it's more important than ever.
Some people in Marion County, home of Little
Cedar Mountain, seek to get their "fair share" of
development dollars along the river and the pro-
jected financial gains including tax revenues for
their schools. While I doubt that it is the schoolchil-
dren who truly motivate the champions of develop-
ment more than their own projected personal finan-
cial gains, we should ask TVA if their current in-
lieu of tax payments are really holding Marion
County school children back. Maybe a comprehen-
sive review of how much TVA pays counties con-
taining TVA land is in order.
Maybe also a comprehensive review of many of
the current board's recent decisions is in order.
As I travel from one end of our Valley to the
other, I see that the Little Cedar Mountain public
land giveaway has been repeated again and again.
Upstream, three tracts of public land on the Chicka-
mauga Reservoir near Agency Creek, Possum
Creek and Sale Creek are to be lost. In Alabama,
public lands given away for hotels near Scottsboro,
big resort homes near Guntersville and in west
Kentucky, TVA's largest tract of public holdings,
Land Between the Lakes, hangs in the balance due
to the board's recent willingness to abandon the
agency's stewardship functions they were sworn to
uphold.
This balance, so critical to TVA's mission and to
their justification as an "Authority," needs some
"fixin'." We should never forget that these lands
and our tax dollars for years have been taken by
this "Authority" for the greater public good, not the
narrow financial interest of a few in positions of
power. Public land is just that — public land for us
all and the greater good.
Why has TVA's leadership suddenly forgone all
they were sworn to uphold and tilted the balance in
favor of big development? It's simple; they seek to
become the "Directors" of the nation's largest elec-
tric power marketing company. Period! When
you're pushing electric power, then clean water,
"undeveloped" public lands and historic archaeo-
logical sites just pale when compared to hotels,
commercial development and big resort homes.
It's time to call the TVA board on their power trip
and fix the balance.
The Tennessee Valley Energy Reform Coalition
is dedicated to protecting the financial and environ-
mental interest of the citizens of the Tennessee Val-
ley. For more information call (888) 2-FIX-TVA
(234-9882).
Dr. Stephen A. Smith is a veterinarian, a recent con-
gressional candidate and the executive director of the
Tennessee Valley Energy Reform Coalition.

Mountain
Outsiders Ignore Needs Of Marion Residents

The Marion County Chamber of Commerce is obligated and dedicated to see that Marion County is developed to serve the needs of all our people. We are also dedicated to preserving and protecting our environment while retaining our small-town, rural atmosphere.

Balancing development, environmental protection and lifestyle is probably one of the most difficult tasks facing the people of Marion County. The establishment of policies for an ecologically sustainable rate of growth for the county is the desirable aim. This is a task that requires a good understanding of economics and great sensitivity for the aspirations of the people of Marion County. The task may be monumental, but a good project to start on is Little Cedar Mountain.

My personal observation from attending several public meetings is that those who are opposed to the Little Cedar development have formed their opinion either emotionally or sentimentally. Those who are serving in city, county and state government must make their decisions more rationally. All of us need to be interested in the following facts.

Marion County government officials must generate $18.5 million to operate our schools each year and another $7 million to operate the remaining services, for a total of $25.5 million to operate our county on a bare-bones budget. And this does not begin to address the present dire need for a school building program.

The future quality of life for our county will be greatly influenced by sensible economic and environmental development of Little Cedar.

The Marion County economic development groups have witnessed the larger counties such as Hamilton, Shelby and Davidson develop their entire counties with revenue- and job-producing commercial and industrial complexes. Chattanooga has commercialized its entire riverfront acreage. Hamilton County is in the process of commercializing and industrializing 7,500 acres of the federally owned Volunteer Ordnance Tract.

These same people want Marion, Sequatchie, Grundy, Bledsoe and other surrounding counties to keep their counties natural and undeveloped in order for city people to drive over, enjoy the scenery and recreation, and return to their high-paying,

high-tech, highly developed area that hasn't seen fit to set aside some of its own land for such pleasures.

Marion County has done its homework and has its priorities in order. The following summary of Marion County land use will document the fact that we can never be accused of "overdeveloping" and failing to provide for environmental protection and recreational needs of future generations.

Marion County has 324,480 acres. Of this, 251,700 acres or 78 percent is forest or woodlands and 72,780 acres or 22 percent is residential and commercial. This 22 percent is our tax base.

Our publicly owned tax-exempt areas in Prentice Cooper State Forest, Marion-Franklin State Forest and Foster Falls Recreation Area total 32,975 acres, or 10.2 percent of our county, set aside for recreation and preservation of the natural environment. It is set aside for everyone, not just local citizens. Besides the tax-exempt land, we have 7,197 acres owned by TVA or by the Tennessee River Gorge Trust that provide the same purposes and are modestly taxed. We also have 53,006 acres of corporation-owned land which is used for recreational pursuits, is not available for development, and is modestly taxed because of the "Green Belt Law."

All this land set aside for future scenic beauty, preservation of the environment and recreation — 93,178 acres — is 28.9 percent of Marion County's total acreage. The Little Cedar Mountain Development is 660 acres — a mere 0.2 percent of the county's acreage.

If this project were to be just a closed community for the "rich and wealthy" as has been suggested, the Marion County Chamber and Joint Partnership would never support it. The development is reasonable way to meet the needs of Marion County's citizens for job opportunities and of the county's visitors for their pursuit of pleasure.

Bobby (Brad) Carter is executive director of the Marion County Chamber of Commerce and Partnership for Economic Development Inc.