RUSS PAGE, OCONEE RIVER LAND TRUST

WIN ALEC LITTLE ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD

The 2007 Alec Little Environmental Award will recognize Russ Page and the Oconee River Land Trust for their work to preserve farmland in Oconee County and other natural areas in Northeast Georgia.

Page has guided three farmland preservation projects encompassing 300 acres in Oconee County from inception to completion. The Oconee River Land Trust, based in Athens, has helped protect more than 1,700 acres of natural areas, including forests, wetlands, farmland and wildlife habitat, in seven Northeast Georgia counties.

The Alec Little Environmental Award was established in 1991 as the first major prize that recognizes individuals and organizations for environmental responsibility in the Athens area. First presented in 1992, the award is named for the late John A. (Alec) Little, who worked closely with many environmental organizations in Georgia.

Page and ORLT will receive a $200 cash prize and a plaque featuring an original work of art. The award will be presented April 20 during the GreenFest Awards Ceremony held in conjunction with GreenFest ‘07. The ceremony will be at the Lyndon House beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Winners of the award are chosen by an advisory panel composed of past winners and representatives of the organizations that created the award shortly after Little’s death from a heart attack in 1991.

Page and representatives of several organizations started the Oconee Partnership for Farmland Protection in 1998 to promote farmland preservation in Oconee County. The organization has helped protect 60 acres on the Powers-Breedlove Farm, 50 acres on the House Farm and 190 acres on the Mitchell Farm.

The projects were the first examples in Georgia of bringing together financial support from three sources--individual farm owners, the state’s greenspace/land preservation programs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture--to purchase development rights that preserved farmland.

Page has provided expertise to the Georgia Land Preservation Program and its advisory council and to other farmland protection groups around the state.

He is also a leader in creating the 2.5-mile Riverwalk that radiates from Oconee County’s Heritage Park. He has helped raise money for the project and worked with developers and homeowners to explain the benefits of linking nearby subdivisions with the trail.

The Oconee River Land Trust, a private, non-profit conservation organization, was started in 1993 primarily to help create what is now the Oconee Rivers Greenway. The group’s main mission today is helping land owners who want to ensure that their property remains in its natural state.

The main tool the land trust uses is a conservation easement, a legal document that allows a land owner to permanently limit development on property while continuing to use and live on the land. Property protected under conservation easements includes forests, timberland, river and stream corridors, wetlands, farmland, historic sites and land with special environmental, cultural or economic value.

ORLT holds 20 conservation easements encompassing more than 1,700 acres in seven Northeast Georgia counties. The group has also assisted local governments by pre-acquiring land the governments intend to use for public purposes.

Previous individual winners of the Alec Little Environmental Award are Nancy Lindbloom, Laurie Fowler, Walter Cook, Joan Gould, Leo Smith Jr., Al Ike, Pam McClure, Jere Bowden, Charles Carter, Bud and Mary Freeman, Sigrid Sanders, Dick Field, Melanie Ruhlman, Smith Wilson, Dan Hope, Larry Dendy, Beth Gavrilles, Bob Barker and the late Ronnie Lukasiewicz and the late Charles Aguar.

Previous organization winners are Sandy Creek Nature Center, the Broad River Watershed Association, the Community Tree Council, the UGA Environmental Law Association, the Creek Kids, the Oconee Rivers Audubon Society, the Athens Grow Green Coalition, the Upper Oconee Watershed Network and the Athens Land Trust and three of its long-time members, Nancy Stangle, Skipper StipeMass and Laura Hall.

The late University of Georgia ecologist Eugene Odum received a Lifetime Achievement award.