Beyond Good Guys and Bad Guys

It is easy to blame the “bad guys” for what’s wrong with our communities.  Greedy developers, heartless bureaucrats, “Not-In-My-Backyard” residents, meddling tree-huggers, amoral Big Businesses – take your pick. But I’ve learned that there are very few true enemies out there.  Most developers want to construct quality buildings and create a legacy, not make a quick profit.  Most local officials want to safeguard citizens’ rights and conserve taxpayer funds, not squelch innovation.  Most conservationists and neighborhood activists want their communities to thrive, not drive away jobs.  Most executives want to be good corporate citizens, not polluters.  In short, most of us want to do the right thing.

Everyone appreciates natural beauty, vibrant downtowns, and clean air and water.  If we put aside the labels and the name calling, we can appeal to our better natures and find common ground. 

Upstate Forever’s mission is to promote sensible growth and protect special places throughout the Upstate.  We connect the dots between land conservation, air and water quality, and sustainable communities.  Sensible land use policies encourage growth in already-developed areas, creating great places to live and reducing the demand to pave over our beautiful landscapes.  Protecting our region’s natural heritage keeps our air and water clean, creates recreational opportunities, and promotes a healthy economy.

A recent project illustrates our strategy at work.  Recreational trout fishing is a $15 million industry in our region.  Native trout, once abundant, have been decimated by human activities – 90 percent of our region’s original trout streams can no longer support them.  Meanwhile, rising land values have priced out many locals and reduced the number of public fishing areas.

Dianne Culbertson and her late husband, Charles, purchased 15 acres along the South Saluda River in the 1990s as a fishing retreat.  They worked with S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to stock the river with trout and allowed others to access the river through their property. (Charles Culbertson was a 1971 Clemson graduate in Chemical Engineering.)

When Partners for Trout, an alliance of government agencies and nonprofit organizations (including Upstate Forever) committed to the protection and restoration of South Carolina’s trout habitat, approached Culbertson in 2009 about enhancing the river through her property, the Upstate Forever board member immediately agreed to participate.

The once-degraded stretch of river is now healthy, protected, and well-populated with trout, thanks to the South Saluda Trout Enhancement Project. The project improved trout habitat at 15 key locations throughout a 3,000-foot stretch of the river, decreased erosion from historical abuse, and enhanced the access areas.

There were a number of area residents who did not support the project at its onset.   They viewed Upstate Forever as a “bad guy,” and we felt the same way about them. But through this project, a sense of mutual understanding developed.  We at Upstate Forever realized that these individuals simply do not want to see their way of life change, and many of the community members realized that Upstate Forever is truly trying to do what is best for the river and the region.  While a few disgruntled opponents remain, since the project’s completion many community members who initially fought the project have now expressed their enthusiastic support for it.  At the same time, local anglers are considerate and respectful of the surrounding community as they enjoy the convenient public access fishing spots.

The South Saluda Trout Enhancement Project was good for the river, good for the trout, and good for the community – a true win-win-win!

-Nancy Fitzer
Education Director
Upstate Forever

**Nancy Eisen Fitzer, a 1998 graduate of Clemson University's Masters program in City and Regional Planning, has served as Education Director of Upstate Forever since 2005.  She lives in Greenville with her husband and three children.