The Core Committee helped identify and develop leaders in the community for membership on the 19-member Steering Committee. The Steering Committee directs the course of the Alliance. Each member has one equal vote and jointly the group is the primary decision-making body. Membership consists of:

Subcommittees are formed as needed, which in 1999 included: education, agriculture, development/recreation, and monitoring. One Steering Committee member leads each subcommittee with the exception of the education subcommittee that has co-chairs due to its size. The remainder of the subcommittee membership consists of stakeholders and others selected for their local knowledge and/or technical expertise. One Core Committee member also assists each subcommittee.

Stakeholder participation is achieved through the committee structure and outreach efforts. Five public meetings were held, one in each watershed county, from November 1998 to June 1999. In addition, a technical agency meeting and an elected official meeting were held. Over 200 people participated in a process that invited input on their perception of water resource issues, priorities, and appropriate solutions. Technical Advisors, called on for expertise and data related to land and water resources, include scientists, university affiliates, environmental organizations, and representatives from government and non-profit agencies.

Technical Analysis & Implementation
From its headwater 98 miles to Lake Allatoona, the Upper Etowah River is a hotspot of biological diversity, rich in the number and variety of aquatic species dependent on the watershed. Yet, in 1996 the national conservation organization, American Rivers, named the Etowah one of the country's most endangered rivers due to the tremendous growth in the metropolitan Atlanta area.

The emphasis of the Alliance’s first year was on identifying natural and human resource concerns and alternatives and on assisting citizens through education and funding options in order to solve those concerns. The Alliance initiated a resource study titled the Upper Etowah River Watershed: Our Land, Our Water, Our Future that included sponsoring the public meetings.

The resource study will become the foundation of future watershed protection efforts and guide the Alliance’s response to opportunities that may arise. The Alliance will use the resource study to reach consensus on a 5-year plan from which yearly work plans can be developed. As well, the Alliance can use parts of or the entire resource study as an education mechanism by distributing it to watershed residents, local officials, and government agencies.

The resource study synthesizes the available information on the river and its watershed. It summarizes numerous scientific studies including water quality trends and changes in land use patterns. It compiles the concerns and options identified by watershed residents during the public meeting process. It also presents potential protection strategies that resulted from student research.

The student research, focused on sustainable growth strategies, pollution prevention, and biological/ecosystem protection, has resulted in guidance documents, legislation, and model ordinances. A sample of the guidance documents can be downloaded from the website, http://www.ecology.uga.edu/outreach/etowah_initiative/etowah_reports.html including:

Statewide legislation was passed to enable adoption of local ordinances that establish transferable development right programs. These programs permit development rights to be transferred (sold) from a protection area or sending zone to developable areas or receiving zones, thereby, maintaining the same development density overall. The watershed counties have yet to adopt such ordinances or to identify areas of high protection priority and areas appropriate for development.

Model conservation subdivision ordinances were written that direct the set-aside of 50% of a development in a natural state targeting sensitive areas like streams and steep slopes. Developers build the same number of houses arranged in clusters, which can be more profitable than traditional approaches. Cherokee County has approved 10 conservation subdivisions and is reviewing plans for others, while Forsyth County is considering this strategy.

Specific conservation activities are beginning to be implemented by Alliance members. Cherokee County has developed plans for a countywide greenway system that targets protection of riparian land and is seeking funds for its development. The Chestatee-Chattahoochee Resource Conservation and Development Council is overseeing bioengineered streambank stabilization for at least six demonstration sites within the watershed. Trees from the landowner’s property are strategically placed and cabled to badly eroded sections of the river that, along with a required 35-foot buffer, provides long-term streambank protection and creates wildlife habitat.

Financial Considerations
The Alliance does not have a permanent funding source but its partners have been creative in seeking support from a variety of sources. An initial $30,000 grant from the Turner Foundation to the Institute of Ecology was used in partial support of the professor’s salary, for printing and distribution of research results, and to cover other expenses connected with start-up of a student practicum.

Researchers from the University of Georgia and Kennesaw State University conducted the scientific studies, while the resource study was conducted as a student thesis requirement. The public outreach initiative and one year of the resource study coordinator’s salary were funded by a $5,000 grant from the Natural Resources Conservation Service and a $10,000 US Fish and Wildlife Service grant, both administered by the Limestone Valley Resource Conservation and Development Council.

Three water and sewerage authorities operating in the watershed have each contributed $500 toward the Alliance’s general operating expenses. In addition, Cherokee County has budgeted $10,000 to support the activities of the Alliance including development of its work plan, continued public outreach, and costs associated with the first Annual Meeting. Two grant proposals have been submitted to Coca-Cola and the Turner foundations to support the printing of the resource study and, perhaps, a stakeholder’s guide to the watershed.

The two-year $65,000 streambank stabilization grant was awarded to the Chestatee-Chattahoochee Resource Conservation and Development Council from the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Wildlife Program. In addition, the Limestone Valley Resource Conservation and Development Council has just been awarded $411,000 in a five-year 319 (h) Nonpoint Source grant. This Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant, administered through the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, will demonstrate agricultural and urban best management practices to reduce nonpoint source pollution. It will also support public outreach by paying for printed and slide show materials.

The Alliance has recently voted to formalize a relationship with the Nature Conservancy through a memorandum of understanding. This can be an important long-term affiliation for the Alliance as the groups have similar objectives for the watershed. The Nature Conservancy has received a $40,000 internal grant to support the work of the Alliance that includes paying for some administrative expenses and hiring an Upper Etowah River Project Coordinator. The position, partially supported by the EPA grant, will be affiliated with the Nature Conservancy and located in the watershed.

In addition, private foundation funding supports an Institute of Ecology graduate student as a part-time education coordinator who works directly with the education subcommittee. The coordinator will produce a brochure(s), new member packets, newspaper articles to publicize the progress of the Alliance, and a slide show and conduct additional outreach to civic organizations.

Lessons Learned
The collaborative approach of the Upper Etowah River Alliance has proven to be key to involving the community and to providing an opportunity for diverse interests to come together to resolve common concerns. Leveraging technical and financial resources has been an important contribution of the partnership but it is secondary to the forum provided for people to discuss concerns and to seek solutions.