Pete Conroy is the Director of Jacksonville State University's Environmental Policy and Information Center (EPIC). Trained as a biologist, Mr. Conroy moved from Athens, Georgia to Alabama in 1985 where he worked as the curator of the Anniston Museum of Natural History and became President of the Alabama Conservancy.
Since then, he has received assignments and appointments from five Alabama Governors and others from Capitol Hill including White House appointments by the Pentagon as well as others by President Bill Clinton in 1999 to serve as a Federal Commissioner of the Tri-State Water Compacts.

Pete leads a number of projects related to conservation, sustainability and economic development.  Examples include the establishment of a National Park unit, a National Wilderness Area and a National Wildlife Refuge.  He has led in the establishment of the Little River Canyon Center, the reuse of former Fort McClellan, the Chief Ladiga Rail-Trail, Music at McClellan, and other initiatives promoting smart growth, green construction, education, civil rights, arts, technology, health, and ecotourism.

Topic for Green Building Focus

Green prototypes in a large scale landscape

More About the Topic

As an Alabama case study this is the creation of a large scale landscape project that stretches nearly 100 miles from Alabama's "deepest canyon to its highest mountain." It contains a National Park, two National Wilderness Areas, a national Wildlife Refuge, the beginning of a 2,504 mile walking trail and a 95 mile paved pedestrian pathway.  The corridor also contains the nation’s most successful military base reuse project, the nation's only dedicated frog park, and one of Alabama’s greenest buildings which includes the state's largest geothermal heating and cooling system. The corridor represents a rare combination promoting ecotourism, heritage tourism, and cultural tourism - all centered around sound economic development principals.  Discussed will be the formation of this corridor as well as its success and potential to inspire similar projects in other areas.