Walking the Talk: Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin

The man who cleans our stove and chimney each fall also works throughout our region, including Cashiers and Highlands. He expressed his astonishment at the square footage of many of the houses there, even though some are used only a few weeks out of the year. Many of these developments are erroneously titled "Preserves," perched on slopes with little consideration for the defacement of the mountains on which they are built. These Preserves, with poetic sounding names--Wildflower, Trillium, and so forth--are taking over our mountains, altering the landscape, polluting streams, destroying community. Lately, committed groups of citizens, including The Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River, have taken their stand in opposition to the Legasus Corporation, speaking out at meetings and hoping to educate the public about their concern for responsible, environmentally sensitive development.

The Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River has attempted to work with the Legasus Corporation, becoming involved when the US Army Corps of Engineers circulated a permit application by Legasus to build a gated, second-home community at Webster Creek in the Tuckasegee area of the county -- including 828 residential units, 2 golf courses, tennis courts, club houses, stables, and other amenities. The permit calls for the impact of 3,890 feet of streams classified as water-supply level III, with some also classified as trout habitat.

One of the most articulate voices in the campaign to make sure that Legasus does as little environmental damage as possible is that of Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin, a woman I met in a poetry workshop a few years back at Campbell Folk School. I've followed her poetry ever since, watching it grow and deepen. I wasn't surprised when her chapbook PATRIATE won the the Longleaf Press chapbook prize last year. She was featured on our ncarts.org Writers and Books site last December.




As Jeannette has pointed out in a recent email,"as the first, and one of the largest, developments to seek a development agreement with the county, what Legasus does has far-reaching implications... the impacts to the watershed, viewsheds, environment, and quality of life—taxes, traffic, air and water quality, loss of historic landmarks and unexamined Cherokee (and earlier) sites, The environment doesn’t vote, but people do. After all, Legasus is just trying to make money in the time-honored way around here—it’s up to the governing agencies to shape the course. While it would be nice if developers would suddenly “develop” an environmental and social conscience, we shouldn’t look for it to happen. What we should expect … DEMAND … is that public agencies serve the public good."

Later (Sept. 19 and Oct 4) there will be events to rally the community – and by that we mean, across WNC, because this development is only one example of how our landscape and culture is being overrun and ruined all through the Blue Ridge. "


Some informative links:

http://www.smokymountainnews.com/issues/08_08/08_13_08/fr_legasus.html
http://www.smokymountainnews.com/issues/08_08/08_06_08/fr_financing_dev.html
http://www.smokymountainnews.com/issues/08_08/08_06_08/fr_ecofriendly_wary.html
http://www.smokymountainnews.com/issues/08_08/08_06_08/fr_honor_system.html


To get an idea about River Rock -- go to their website: www.riverrocknc.com
To understand the plan for the Webster Creek development, go to the permit application
to the US Army Corps of Engineers: http://www.saw.usace.army.mil/wetlands/Notices/2008/0800492.pdf
For a differing opinion of the development, check out and navigate around the blog:
http://gulahiyi.blogspot.com/ -- you will find commentary on many topics including Legasus.



(The historic Moody Farm … soon to be yet another golf course?)

SOME OF JEANNETTE'S POEMS WILL BE POSTED IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS.