This text was obtained via automated optical character recognition.
It has not been edited and may therefore contain several errors.

---

??ajv/$oSo
Bartram Study Started
A federally-sponsored study to determine the feasibility of the Bartram Trail as a National Scenic Trail in eight Southeastern states has just been initiated, with headquarters in Montgomery, AL.
The proposed trail would trace the route of William Bartram of Philadelphia, the first naturalist artist of the American Colonies, who came through the region during the American Revolution to study the environment. collect plant and animal specimens for British and European gardeners, and artistically record his findings.
According to an announcement by Martha Mclnnis, Chairman of the Bartram Trail Conference, the feasibility study will be a national pilot project and the first phase of the American Heritage Trust Proposal which President Jimmy Carter included in his environmental message to Congress earlier in the year.
The feasibility study will be implemented by the U.S. Interior Department?s Bureau of Outdoor Recreation (Southeast Region), with major assistance from the Bartram Trail Conference, an eight-state amalgam of citizens, state and federal officials working to develop the trail.
?Under the federal contract," said Miss
Mclnnis, ?the Bartram Trail Conference will collect, analyze and evaluate available information on the works and travels of Bartram.?
She added that the study team will assess Bartram's contribution to the historical, natural and cultural heritage of the region and nation.
?The team also will devise the American Heritage conceptual plan to preserve, enhance and make accessible the outstanding natural, scientific, historical and cultural areas and features related to, or revealed by, Bartram?s travels.?
The study to determine the potential of the Bartram route as a National Scenic Trail will feature citizen participation as a major component. Open public meetings will be held along the trail corridor to discuss the mission of the study and to obtain public sentiment which will help form the recommendations of the study.
Pointing to the uniqueness of the Interior Department?s link with the citizen-oriented Bartram Trail Conference to implement this particular study, Miss Mclnnis said the approach will be a pilot effort to develop a process whereby active
citizen involvement will be a high priority in all Interior-sponsored resource studies.
Named to serve as technical project director of the study is Robert M. Peck, who comes to Montgomery on leave as special assistant to the president of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, the oldest scientific institution in North America and one of the most distinquished in the world, having been founded in 1812 with William Bartram as one of its members.
Peck has a B.A. degree in art and archaeology from Princeton University, and an M.A. in American cultural history from the University of Delaware, in conjunction with the Henry Francis DuPont Winterthur Museum. His background is extensive in historical and botanical research, writing and administration.
Serving as project administrator in a consultant capacity will be Jerome Anderson of Atlanta, formerly Southeastern regional director of the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation.
Miss Mclnnis will serve in a supervisory
Continued on Page 23
Bartram Study Started ^
From Page It
role as liaison between the Bartram Trail Conference and BOR.
The study will encompass the states of North Carolina. South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee, an area explored by William Bartram from 1773-77.
Having been stalled in Congressional committees since 1973, the Bartram feasibility study was authorized by Congress and signed into law by President Gerald Ford in October of 1976.
Partial funds totalling $100,000 were given Congressional approval and a signature by President Carter last May. Seven trail studies were authorized in the package tailored a year ago. however, the Bartram study is the only one thus far to receive an
appropriation?a fact attributed to the high interest in trails and other forms of outdoor recreation in the Southeast.
To date, there are two National Scenic Trails in the U.S.. the Appalachian Trail in the East and the Pacific Crest Trail in the West.
The study of Bartram's 2400-mile journey is expected to conclude in 10 months. If the corridor is deemed feasible as a National Scenic Trail. President Carter will present the proposal for Congressional action.
Inquiries concerning the study may be addressed to Robert M. Peck, Technical Project Director, Bartram Trail Feasibility Study, the Bartram Trail Conference, 3815 Interstate Court. Suite 202-A, Montgomery, AL. 36109.?