American Heritage Rivers Keystone Project

New River- 1

Blue Ridge Business Development Center

Project Summary

Situated in the northwestern corner of North Carolina, Alleghany County has a long history of economic self-sufficiency, necessitated in large part by its geographic isolation. Even today, Alleghany is one of only a few counties in the state without a four-lane highway within its borders. In the mid-1990s, the county and its school system recognized that new technology was one way in which Alleghany could gain access to the world and open the way for new community and economic development. As one of the first "commuters" on the North Carolina Information Highway (NCIH), the A. Anderson Huber Cyber Campus has become a statewide model and has opened a world of new opportunities for thousands of Alleghany residents.

Despite the county's best efforts to fully utilize technology, however, there are still many people in Alleghany who have been left behind in the information revolution. Alleghany is ranked 86th (out of 100) in the state in median family income at $35,100 and 80th in per capita income at $26,021, and the cost of a basic computer is out of the reach of many average citizens. By July 2002, the county will have lost four of its five largest employers, leaving over 15% of our workforce unemployed or severely under-employed. There is little chance that many of these jobs will be replaced because of the downturn in the traditional textile operations that have served as the backbone of the county's economic base for decades.

Again, county leaders are embracing technology as an avenue to open economic development within the community. In October 2001, the Rural Internet Access Authority granted $650,000 to open the Blue Ridge Telecenter (now the Blue Ridge Business Development Center) in a converted textile plant in Sparta. Since its opening in January, the Telecenter has been working diligently to create telework and job opportunities for the county and the region (serving Surry, Wilkes, Ashe and Alleghany Counties).

On the same day as the grand opening of the Blue Ridge Business Development Center's (BDC) temporary offices, Alleghany County launched its e-communities initiative. Over 30 community leaders have actively participated in the development of the e-Allegany Connectivity Plan, embracing it as the umbrella document for the next ten year's of technology development in the county. The Steering Committee has surveyed over 750 Alleghany citizens, met with 12 community groups, held a countywide e-community meeting, and assisted in the ongoing development of a community website. Out of these meetings, three areas of focus for the BDC have been identified:

Business Development- The Blue Ridge Business Development Center (BDC) was established to revitalize and diversify the local economic base by transitioning our community to a new technology based economy. The BDC focuses on recruiting, creating and training high quality, new and existing businesses, industry and jobs in order to provide technological diversification throughout the community. In order to facilitate reaching these goals, the BDC offers tailor-made training, business counseling services, incubation space, and flexible physical space in the form of offices, work stations, meeting facilities and potential small building sites. All operational aspects are focused on meeting the specific objectives and needs of businesses and individuals within the BDC and the community at large.

The goal of the BDC is to assist the business community in meeting their goals through technology in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Through the provision of these resources and services, the BDC staff and clients will be able to locally meet the technology needs of a community that all too frequently must look elsewhere for answers to technology and telecommunication challenges.

Training- In today's world, basic computer and digital literacy skills are necessary to compete for better jobs. One goal of the Blue Ridge Business Development Center (BDC) is to enable every citizen to develop the professional and personal skills needed to participate fully in a knowledge-based economy. This goal is being accomplished through the development of Community Access Sites, offering every Alleghany County citizen free access to computers, high speed Internet service and Digital Literacy Training within 15 minutes of home.

Each Community Access Site is staffed by competent, trained personnel to assist in learning computer and Internet basic skills or in accessing more advanced training opportunities available through the Alleghany Campus of Wilkes Community College. CAS staff provides personalized one-on-one assistance to all users. They offer regularly scheduled workshops on such topics as Introduction to Computers, E-mail, Introduction to the Internet, and Keyboarding for those who prefer a structured environment and a short-term commitment. Wilkes Community College offers a wide range of continuing education and regular curriculum based courses for those desiring in depth instruction on specific topics.

Technical Services and Resources-The Blue Ridge BDC offers many technical services at competitive prices. Staff includes web developers, graphic designers, video professionals and technology specialists, all ready to help customers with any technology need. In addition, video conferencing, video production, digital cameras and client computer terminals are available for public use. Other services include web hosting and list serve. Additionally, a 10-seat conference room with laptop and video projector may be leased by the hour or day. If required, PowerPoint presentations can be produced by staff. Client computer terminals have high speed Internet access and are networked with scanners, color and black and white printers.

Current Partnerships

Project Stage/Status

Funding is now in place for the full renovation of the former textile plant that has a targeted completion date of May 2003. Partial funding is in place for the purchase of equipment and furniture and it is anticipated that tenants will be able to move into the BDC by June 2003. Funding is needed for the implementation and construction of the Wide Area Network. Additional funding is needed in order to expand digital literacy programs for the entire population of Ashe and Alleghany Counties and for the continued upkeep, maintenance and expansion of the Community Access Sites.

Funding Analysis

Resources Needed

Grants and/or in-kind engineering/construction and renovations for the Wide Area Network
Grants to fund staff, training and travel, and maintenance costs for the Community Access Sites
Funds to assist in the marketing, outreach, and education for the general public (in order to keep costs low or, in most cases, free)

Champion Agency: Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration

Political Support

Congressman Richard Burr (R-NC)
Senator John Edwards (D-NC)

River Navigator

Ben Borda U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Huntington District 502 8th Street Huntington, WV 25701-2070 304-528-7429; 304-529-5136 (fax) Anthony.b.borda.jr@lrh01.usace.army.mil

New River- 2

New River Sustainable Agriculture Initiative

Project Summary

The New River watershed encompasses 14,000 square miles and covers 21 counties in northwestern North Carolina, southwestern Virginia, and southern West Virginia. Agriculture remains a dominant part of the economies of these rural mountain counties. Because of recent declines in the numbers of dairy farms, tobacco allotments, and other traditional commodities, New River Community Partners in partnership with state, federal and local organizations in the three states proposes an initiative to sustain family farms, to keep farm land in agricultural production, and to assist farmers in implementing new farm management practices and investigating new crop alternatives. This watershed-wide project creates a vision for economic and social improvements in the agricultural base of the New River watershed through the development of niche crops specially suited to our growing season. We propose to do this by building a sustainable agricultural economic base through the support of research, grants to small farmers, and by creating a marketing network for the products produced by our farmers. The New River Sustainable Agriculture Initiative will focus on the following interconnected components:

• New Crops: Small Fruits, Vegetables, and Ornamentals Project - This project is investigating various groups of plants as new crop opportunities for area producers. New River Community Partners has been working closely with the Upper Mountain Research Station in Laurel Springs, NC, an agricultural research facility managed by the NC Dept of Agriculture. This research station has several crops almost ready for commercial production. The research has proven these crops to be viable products. Now the next step is to provide the education for the producers and help set up a marketing system for these crops. Through research in the 'small fruit initiative' program late season strawberries have shown great promise as a new crop for our farmers. The farm is working with several other small fruits for fruit production and also has an edible landscaping project going. Another area of intense interest is ornamental production and the various niche market opportunities available in this area. Medicinal herbs are another strong area of interest with several companies interested in the production of specific plants. New methods of growing more traditional vegetables that would require reduced use of chemicals is another area of work, such as sowing pumpkins in sod to prevent some of the insect and disease problems this crop faces. The establishment of a small grants program and a revolving loan fund to help reduce the risk to farmers is needed to encourage more producers to begin producing these new niche crops. This is the type of work we would like to see continued here and at other research facilities throughout the watershed.

• Sustainable Agriculture Education and Demonstration Project - This project combines education at all levels: secondary schools, community colleges, land grant universities, and professionals including farmers, lenders and computer experts, all levels of government, and anyone else that can help further the goals and efforts of this integrated movement. The educational phase of the movement includes establishing an aquaponics education program that serves middle and high school students, as well as family farmers and landowners seeking alternative income opportunities. There is strong interest in grass-fed beef production and several producers in the watershed are now raising grass-fed beef. They have a great need for local USDA certified animal processing facilities to handle their animals. A feasibility study and business plans for a USDA certified processing facility that could be duplicated in several locations in the watershed would benefit not only beef producers, but also meat goat and sheep producers. This phase of the project will also create education materials and curricula that will inform middle and high school students, farmers and land owners about best management practices, conservation easements, riparian buffers, niche crops, and other alternative income opportunities. Field days will be held at the research station and on farms that are expanding into the new crops and controlled grazing techniques for livestock production. These will be held with the research project leader present to answer questions and provide help to producers. Additionally, demonstration projects will be implemented regionally throughout the watershed that relate to BMP's, niche crops, riparian buffer establishment and alternative income crops.

Project Benefits

• Economic benefits to livestock producers and family farm owners, as well as environmental benefits to the river and general public.

• Educational benefits to middle and high school students and farm producers.

• Livestock producers who use controlled grazing management system can expect to see an increase of 100% over a 3 to 4 year time frame.

• Cost-share programs for best management practices relating to watering systems and cross fencing.

• Reduced erosion on pastureland and reduced access to streams by livestock. Also, fewer pollutants in streams will be achieved.

• Diversification of agricultural base through development of niche crops and alternative income opportunities.

• Promotion of good stewardship of the New River watershed natural resources.

• Maintenance and enhancement of the New River's Outstanding and Resource Waters and High Quality Waters designation in North Carolina.

• Maintaining the rural character of New River communities through preservation of small family farms.

Current Partnerships

Project Stage/Status

The Blue Ridge Business Development Center in Sparta, NC has been created and will help with logo design, web-page set-up and links for area producers. Research projects are underway at all the land grant universities and with funding will be able to expand to the producer level. A series of educational workshops have been held in the headwater counties introducing growers to a variety of topics any of which could become a niche market. Funds are needed to establish a series of grant offerings and revolving loan programs to area producers to help offset the initial costs of producing a new crop.

Resources Needed

EPA Home | Privacy and Security Notice | Contact Us