Appendix 3
With several millennia of established interests in the local environment, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) has set a priority to conserve southern Appalachian natural resources. In recognition of both a long history of natural resources stewardship, and a renewed need to lead the region in preserving environmental integrity, the tribe developed a document called the Legacy Plan, also known as the Integrated Resource Management Plan (IRMP) (EBCI 2013). This plan included 14 EBCI programs and a professional analysis of community perspectives through a detailed survey of EBCI citizens. The EBCI Legacy Plan reviewed the landscape and ecosystems through information about watersheds and zones of influence. Through reviewing citizens and professional input, a clear perspective of the linkage between cultural values and natural resources was created, which included relationships related to subsistence, art, ceremony, language, aesthetics, and medicine. The Legacy Plan affirmed that the Cherokee people wanted to maintain ecological integrity for the preservation of cultural identity. Specifically, strong interests were expressed in conserving clean water, fish and wildlife habitats, natural viewsheds and recreational opportunities that help citizens maintain a connection to the ecosystem and boost the economy through tourism. The Legacy Plan outlined how biodiversity is integral to supporting valuable services for the Cherokee people, and acts as a living guide for future management decisions. In 2013, the EBCI tribal council recognized the Legacy Plan as an important document for protecting resources for future generations. It is now vital to use the knowledge gained by the Legacy Plan in an efficient way to protect natural resources while maintaining a productive economy. For community development and conservation management schemes to coexist, a dynamic plan for integration may provide an optimal model. In the following sections, we outline just such a dynamic plan that includes a model of how to interweave human systems with natural systems. Some conservation groups are now proposing a social-ecological framework where people are members of the system, rather than passive contributors to system change (Grove et al. 2013, Huber et al. 2013). We believe a social-ecological model would work well for the Cherokee because of the close ties to culture, government, and natural resources. In this social- ecological framework, we can add people to the process with the goal of leveraging a unique adaptive management strategy to benefit fish, wildlife, and people alike.
2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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