About 85 individuals representing a diverse collection of public, private and non-profit organizations participated in an intense and interactive workshop - Balancing Nature and Commerce in Transylvania County - in early March.  It was offered by the Conservation Fund in partnership with Brevard College, City of Brevard, Town of Rosman, Transylvania County, Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, and North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service.  The goal of the workshop was to collectively identify and assess the assets unique to Transylvania County, which positively contribute to the county's sense of place in the overall region; and to develop action plans for capitalizing on those assets, charting a course for the next 150 years in the county!  Groups identified a number of projects and out of these, action plans were developed for about half a dozen of them.  Projects included creating a gateway to Brevard, Pisgah Forest and the National Forest; developing a communications plan to highlight the County's natural resources and related attractions; creating some community-provided wireless internet in key places; and developing a county-wide community vision for the future.

The event kicked off with a public presentation by Ed McMahon on "The Dollars and Sense of Protecting Community Character" by Ed McMahon.  Ed is a leading national expert on creating livable and prosperous communities, and current Fellow at the Urban Land Institute.  He spoke about the economic, social and environmental benefits of protecting community character, and the value of open space and historic resources. He also discussed major tools that can be used to protect community including education, voluntary initiatives and other non-regulatory action, as well as alternatives to conventional residential and commercial development.  About 150 people attended this session and left with some excitement and new ideas.