BUTLER/CUNNINGHAM

This page will serve as the relative home page for the 2003 Conference in November in Montgomery.

This site will change from time to time. Basic organization will remain constant.

click here to contact Mike Polioudakis, site developer

polioej@acesag.auburn.edu

LEVEL 1

2003 CONFERENCE

Selection of Similar Pages

Topics from This Page

The title for the second conference is:

TRENDS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR RURAL LAND USE

The initial brochure for the second conference can be accessed through the button at left (in MS Word format; please remember to use the "Back" function on your browser). This brochure contains a statement of the purpose for this conference, and some brief background material.

The final brochure is available through the button immediately left. It contains a short registration form, and a final listing of the speakers, panels and topics.

A registration form suitable for printing is available through the button at left. Additional information about registration (including a link to the same form) is available on a registration page, accessible through its button. Electronic online registration and payment are now available through the registration page, through the button at left.

From the initial brochure:

"Tradtional agriculture has declined in Alabama and millions of acres of former cropland and pasture have been idled or converted to woodland. Rural communities are suffering economic hardships, and the tax base for education and other governmental services is woefully inadequate statewide. There is an unprecedented movement of people of means into rural areas near major highways and cities. Forest land ownership is changing from industrial forestry to investment companies and private individuals. New owners of rural property usually have different land use objectives, more money, and a better environmental ethic than traditional rural Alabamians, and conflicts about property rights and land use are increasing. This conference will provide an overview of the history and current status of rural land use, examine the new dynamics of rural property values and ownership, consider issues causing conflicts and poltical debates, and discuss opportunities for productive and sustainable use of rural land in Alabama."

Useful background information on US agriculture, Alabama agriculture, and the Alabama environment can be found on pages for those topics that can be accessed from the Home page (see links above on menu).

For the 2003 Conference, Dr. Boyd commissioned a poll on the attitudes of Alabamans towards land, land use and land value. The results should serve as useful background information for the conference. The results can be found on the poll page, accessed through the button at left.

Some information and comments on Land Value Issues can be found in a page devoted to those issues that can be accessed from here through the button to the left. Some information will be duplicated in the pages on Agriculture, the Environment, and Land, but we will try to minimize the duplication.

The Final Report Page contains abstracts and the visuals from nearly all the speakers at the conference.