May 28, 1999
1) Gov. Announces 47,000 + Acre Mobile Delta Purchase
2) ADEM Commission Appointments Rejected By Senate
3) New State Wildflower To Be Designated
4) Enviro. Editorials Across the State
5) Nature Conservancy Paint Rock/Annual Meeting News
6) American Lung Association Job Openings
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1. Gov. Announces 47,000 Acre + Mobile Delta Purchase
- Governor Don
Siegelman announced Thursday (May 27) the purchase of more than
47,000 acres
of land in the Mobile -Tensaw Delta, one of the most important
ecosystems in
North America. Home to 32 plant and 26 animal species that are
listed as
either endangered, threatened, or rare by the state of Alabama
and U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, the Delta has been designated by the World
Wildlife
Fund as an area of worldwide ecological importance.
Here are the details about this historic purchase:
First, the purchase of the two tracts (the Delta and Clearwater
tracts) from
Kimberly - Clark was the product of cooperation between the Department
of
Conservation, Forever Wild, and the Alabama Wildlife Federation.
The Delta
Tract (about 36,000 acres) which lies South of Interstate 65 is
being
purchased by Forever Wild. Funding for the tract came from Forever
Wild and
the Department of Conservation, a combination of federal grant
monies and
Ducks Unlimited matching funds.
The Clearwater tract (12-13,000 acres) which lies North of
Interstate 65 is
being purchased by the Alabama Wildlife Federation with the understanding
that Forever Wild will purchase the land over time.
Who do we thank for this historic event? The Department of
Conservation and
the staff of the State Lands Division (the division where the
Forever Wild
Program resides) worked tirelessly to make this a reality. The
Alabama
Wildlife Federation, who stepped in to purchase the Clearwater
Tract (which I
may add was a brave financial act for any non-profit - and what
a gift to
Alabama's environment!). And kudos go to Conservation Commissioner
Riley
Boykin Smith and the Siegelman Administration who made this whole
project an
adminstration priority and provided strong leadership.
One final note - This historic purchase would not have been
possible if we
had not passed nearly 7 years ago the Forever Wild Constitutional
Amendment
in 1992. By the end of this decade Forever Wild will be preserving
more than
60,000 acres statewide. What an incredible legacy.
2. ADEM Commission Appointments Rejected by Senate -
In a unanimous vote, the
Alabama Senate Confirmations Committee rejected two James Administration
appointments to the Alabama Environmental Management Commission,
the board
that oversees ADEM. Dr. William Sanders and Sam Wainwright only
served on the
ADEM commission for six months. The two new openings which will
now be
filled by Governor Don Siegelman, require (qualifications) a medical
doctor
and an engineer. The next ADEM Commission meeting is in early
June.
3. New State Wildflower: Oak-Leaf Hydrangea - A native
Alabama flower that
was first discovered by naturalist William Bartram almost 225
years ago, is
set to become Alabama's offical state wildflower. Last Tuesday
(May 25) the
Alabama legislature gave final approval to the bill that would
designate the
Oak-leaf hydrangea as the "state wildflower". Rep. Gerald
Willis and the
Alabama Wildflower Society had been trying for three years to
get the
legislation approved. The legislation still must be signed by
the governor,
but Rep. Willis does not expect trouble with its approval.
4) Enviro Editorials Across Alabama - Here are some
recent editorial excerpts
written by Alabama newspapers on the environment:
Vital Bills: And Fishy Smells - "Sen. Shelby says listing
the sturgeon will
make it impossible to maintain and dredge the Mobile waterway.
He also says
- get this - that designating the sturgeon will make it harder
to increase
the numbers of the rare fish. If there was ever a case of nonsense...well.
The senator persists with this blather even though the Fish and
Wildlife
Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers concluded that designating
the
fish would not impact dredging and maintenance.
....The burdensome ones should be ashamed of themselves and
that especially
includes Sen. Shelby. They should hang their heads for playing
these games,
for having a part in destroying the environment but also in endangering
these
important bills. Central American hurricane relief is one thing,
but our
operation in Kosovo is quite another. Nothing short of the nation's
security
is at stake with that bill." - Anniston Star's May 13 editorial
on Shelby's
unrelated Sturgeon rider he unsuccessfully tried to attach to
the Emergency
Budget Appropriation.
Sprawl, Growth, Progress - "We can make choices about
growth now or make more
expensive choices later.
Urban sprawl is, by definition, negative. At least its hard
to find anyone
who will say out loud they like it as a model of urban change.
There's
something about the word "sprawl" itself , probably,
that recalls lectures
from Mon and Dad in our teen-age years. "You gonna lay sprawled
up on the
couch all day, or are you gonna get something done.?"
To sprawl is to take the lazy way out. Its to slouch or spread
out in a
lazy, heedless way. Yet according to the experts in this week's
Times series
on sprawl, that's pretty much how we're growing our metropolitan
area...." -
Huntsville Times May 20th Editorial on Huntsville/Madison County
sprawl.
5. Nature Conservancy Paint Rock/Annual Meeting News
- Earlier this month
the Nature Conservancy of Alabama presented a $1000 check to the
Paint Rock
River Initiative (PRRI). The funds will be used by the PRRI to
open an
Environmental Education Center focusing on protecting the Paint
Rock River.
Home to approximately 90 species of fishes, 44 species of mussels,
and 11
species of turtles, this free-flowing tributary of the Tennessee
River which
lies within Jackson County in northeastern Alabama, is part of
the Nature
Conservancy's Freshwater Initiative. For more information about
PRRI contact
Shaun Flynn at 205-251-1155 or Billy Morrison at 256-574-1005
ext. 3.
Another Nature Conservancy note... I encourage folks to join
the Nature
Conservancy of Alabama June 4-5 in Birmingham, in celebrating
their 10th
Birthday as a chapter. A reception will be held Friday evening
at Southern
Progress Corp and the Annual meeting will be held Saturday morning
at the
Birmingham Botanical Gardens, followed by a choice of 4 field
trips. Contact
Shaun Flynn at 205-251-1155 or e-mail her at sflynn@tnc.org
for registration
info.
6. American Lung Association of Alabama Job Openings
- The American Lung
Association of Alabama (ALA) has several job openings for people
interested
in a clean and healthy environment. This group is a "class"
outfit who has
led the fight for clean air in Alabama.
Here are the positions they are seeking: Director of Development,
Grant
Writer, Annual Giving Assistant, Special Events Coordinator, Director
of
Field Services, Field Services Coordinator (2 postions), and Volunteer
Coordinator.
Please contact the ALA state office at 205-933-8821 for additional
information about these positions.
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
