May 18, 1999
1) Scrap Tire Bill Nears Passage - Help Needed
2) Clean Air Bill Stalled By Alabama House
3) Directory of Alabama Rivers and Watershed Guardians
4) AWF Seeking Land Stewardship Biologist
5) Environmental Tidbits Across the State
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1. Scrap Tire Bill Nears Passage - A bill to establish
a program to track the
flow of scrap tires in Alabama is pending final passage in the
Alabama
Senate. The bill, H-387, establishes a license procedure for all
businesses
and persons who handle scrap tires. The bill also carries a set
of severe
fines for those persons who transport or dispose of scrap tires
without a
license or outside the guidelines for proper disposal. A committee
will also
be created to develop a proposal for abating the current scrap
tire piles in
Alabama.
Illegal tire dumps are an epidemic in Alabama. Every year,
it is estimated
that more than 4.2 million tires are disposed of in Alabama. We
have no idea
where these millions of tires are going. But anyone who canoes
our rivers or
walks our forests can tell you - Alabama's rivers, forests, countrysides
and
neighborhoods are littered with these dumps.
If you care about cleaning up our state, please call your state
senator
(334-242-7800), and ask him or her to support H-387 and "help
move the bill
to the floor". Calls should especially be made to Lt. Governor
Steve Windom
(334-242-7900) and President Pro-Tem Lowell Barron (334-242-7800).
If you
have any questions about this very important legislation, e-mail
Sonny
Brasfield at sbrasfield@acca-online.org
2. Clean Air Bill Stalled - Rep. George Perdue's clean
air auto emission
testing bill H-583 was stonewalled last week (Thursday May 13)
in the House,
by Republican lawmakers from Jefferson and Shelby counties. In
a stunning
move the Republican legislators threatened to lock up the House
if the
measure was considered. In a 19-16 vote (and 66 legislators not
voting), the
House voted not to "kill" the bill for the session and
will reconsider the
legislation this coming Thursday (May 20). Every GOP legislator
in the 2
counties except for Rep. John Hawkins voted against the Clean
Air measure
despite the strong backing the legislation has received from the
business,
health and environmental communities.
Rep. Perdue stated in the Birmingham News, "that his count
shows a majority
in the House support the bill." For people interested in
seeing this
landmark Clean Air bill pass this session please call the statehouse
and tell
your legislator not to hold this bill hostage and pass it. The
number is
334-242-7600 in the House. Call the Clean Air Alliance at 205-226-7739
for
up to date information.
3. Directory of Alabama Rivers and Watershed Guardians
- This publication is
impressive. Last week, the Alabama Rivers Alliance released their
new
directory of river and watershed protection groups at their annual
meeting in
Baldwin County. The 81 page directory provides a "snapshot"
of the 55
community based watershed protection groups, 15 enviro groups,
7 paddling
clubs, 6 hunting & fishing groups, and 60 additional groups
ranging from
governmental agencies to land trusts in Alabama.
The publication is an invaluable resource for people interested
in Alabama's
rivers. For more information about this publication contact the
Alabama
Rivers Alliance at 205-322-6395 or e-mail Alabamariv@aol.com
. Copies are
limited so please contact the Alliance for details.
4. AWF Land Stewardship Position Available - In a joint
effort, the Alabama
Wildlife Federation (AWF) along with the Alabama Forestry Commission
and the
Alabama TREASURE Forest Association have created a "Land
Stewardship
Biologist" position aimed at providing wildlife management
assistance to
their constituents in an effort to further stewardship-minded
management of
Alabama's natural resources. This exciting new venture and position
will help
assist landowners and build support among biologist and landowners.
For more information about this position contact Tim Gothard,
Executive
Director of AWF at 1-800-822-Wild. The deadline for application/resume
submital is June 24th.
5. Environmental Tidbits Across the State - Here we go!
Daphne/Fairhope - Last weekend I had the pleasure to attend
a Mobile Bay
Watch fundraiser at Judge Roy Bean's in downtown Daphne. Mac MacAnnaly
(who
is from my hometown of Sheffield), a songwriter for Jimmy Buffett
provided
the entertainment. The event was enormous and fun with more than
1600
patrons (at $20 a pop) squeezing into the infamous Daphne nightspot.
To
learn more about Mobile Bay Watch, and the innovative work they
are doing in
the South end of the state (especially on sewers and Ozone), contact
their
director Casi Callaway at 334-665-1386 or e-mail her at: ccallaway@igc.org
Alabama's Next Natural Wonder: Bon Secour - On Saturday May
22nd the Alabama
Environmental Council will be dedicating Alabama's newest "Natural
Wonder"
the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge. The event will be held
at the Pine
Beach Trailhead at the Refuge just off HWY 180 between Gulf Shores
and Fort
Morgan. Live music will begin at 9:30 with the dedication ceremonies
beginning at 10:00. Bon Secour will join the Cahaba River, Talladega
Mountains, Sipsey Swamp and Monte Sano Mountain as an officially
designated
Natural Wonder. For more information about the dedication and
Natural
Wonders project contact Ken Wills at 1-800-WTCHDOG or 205-322-3126.
Cahaba Riverfest - Please join the Cahaba River Society in
Centreville,
Alabama on June 5th, 10 A.M. to 7 PM for Cahaba Riverfest. An
family
oriented event, there will be live music, great food, canoe rides,
water
games, fishing, and river ecology activities. Tickets are $5 per
person or
$10 per family. For more information and directions contact the
Society at
205-322-5326.
"I Can See For Miles" Family Bicycle Day - On Sunday
June 13th plan to attend
the biggest clean air/bicycle day in the Deep South at the McWane
Center in
Birmingham. There will be info booths, bicycle demonstrations,
and a free
showing (while tickets last) of the IMAX movie 'Blue Planet. The
event is
part of the "I Can See For Miles Campaign" which is
being carried out by the
Jefferson County Commission, Jefferson County Department of Health
and the
Southern Environmental Center. Other participants include the
area's summer
camps, B'ham Regional Planning, American Lung Association and
numerous other
groups. For more information about this event and the campaign
please contact
the SEC at 205-226-7739 or e-mail pbyingto@bsc.edu
Please share BEN with friends and fellow conservationists.
If you have any questions about BEN, contact Pat Byington at
205-226-7739 or pkbyington@aol.com
