June 14, 1999
1) Alabama Water Watch Report - Impressive Progress
2) Tensaw River Receives Greater Protection
3) TVA Watershed Groups Forming
4) Clean Water Network Opens New Website
5) Alabama Rivers Alliance Seeking Watershed Specialist
6) Terrapin Creek Festival Opens June 19th
***************************************
Note from BEN's Publisher:
Last week, my wife Kathy and I were on vacation in Washington
D.C. While we
were there, we made a special visit to the National Cathedral.
The "National
Church", which is the 6th largest in the world, took nearly
a century to
build. At the entrance of this awe-inspiring and spiritual building,
beneath
our feet, were the "State Seals" of each state engraved
in the stone
flooring. Even though I see it almost daily, I had never quite
noticed the
rivers... the watersheds... that crisscross Alabama's Great Seal.
Alabama's rivers bind us together... our natural world, our communties
and
our spirit. While most state's recognize industry, pioneers, founders
and
buildings on their Great Seals. We celebrate our watersheds.
Deep inside the National Cathedral we also made another discovery.
In one of
the rooms, there were 50 guestbooks books for each state. On the
back of
these books the "national prayer" for each state is
inscribed. Let me share
with you the surprising last paragraph to Alabama's prayer.
"... Praise Thee, wondurous God for the blessed watershed
that is Alabama,
pliant to man's needs, gracious to his questing spirit. May her
sons and
daughters not forget Thy bounty, nor fail to deserve Thy benediction
through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen" - Alabama's Prayer at the National
Cathedral
My wife and I left the Cathedral truly moved by the "symbols"
of Alabama that
were represented in that glorious place .
Alabama's Great Seal and Alabama's Prayer.
Both symbols now remind and inspire us to preserve and protect
this sacred
land we call Alabama. I hope they will have the same effect upon
you. -
Pat Byington, Publisher of BEN
*********************************************
1. Alabama Water Watch: Impressive Progress - "Say
you want a revolution..."
- The Beatles
In Alabama there is a growing citizen movement and revolution
to protect our
watersheds. Nowhere is it more evident than at Alabama Water Watch
(AWW).
AWW, Alabama's volunteer citizen water monitoring organization,
held it's
Annual Meeting in Auburn this weekend (June 12) in front of more
than 100
citizen monitors and activists. Led by Dr. Bill Deutsch AWW's
Director and
Allison Newell, AWW's President, this group has experienced explosive
growth
in just 6 short years. Check out these numbers.
Alabama Water Watch trains and certifies citizens to monitor
their own local
rivers, streams and lakes. Three different indicators are taught
- water
chemistry, bio assessment and bacteria.
Since 1993 more than 4000 citizens have been trained by AWW
to monitor
Alabama's watersheds. In 1998-99 between 900-1000 people were
actively
monitoring Alabama's waters.
Since 1993 over 800 sites on more than 500 Alabama water bodies
have been
monitored. This year 400 sites were monitored on 250 water bodies.
Last year there were 45 citizen monitoring groups in Alabama.
This year, that
number has increased by 30 groups to 75 grassroots citizen monitoring
groups.
Want to join the revolution? Contact Alabama Water Watch at
1-888-844-4785 or
visit their website at http://www.auburn.edu/aww
(their website also has
some incredible watershed data and graphics) for more information.
2. Tensaw River Receives Greater Protection - Last week
(June 8) , the
Alabama Environmental Management Commission (AEMC) approved rules
to classify
2/3 of the Tensaw River as an Outstanding Alabama Water (OAW).
This
designation enables the river to receive the state's strongest
water quality
standards. It provides for tighter restrictions on industry and
sewage
discharges than state regulations normally allow. Before the Tensaw
designation, only 2 rivers had received the seldom used OAW status.
Those
rivers are the Little Cahaba River and portions of the Cahaba
River.
3. TVA Watershed Groups Forming - The Tennessee Valley
Authority has
announced the formation of 11 new Watershed Teams across the Tennessee
Valley
watershed. The new multi-disciplinary Watershed Teams replace
and combine
the functions of TVA's former Land Management Offices and River
Action Teams.
The new group's activities will include stabilizing shorelines,
improving
water quality and helping local community groups protect and restore
their
watersheds. If you live in the Tennessee Valley and care about
your
watershed, this is a great way to effectively make a difference
in your
community. The following list are the "Alabama Watershed
Team" contacts.
Guntersville Watershed Team: Guntersville and Sequatchie River,
Team Manager:
Joel Williams, For information call 256-571-4280.
Wheeler Watershed Team: Great Falls Lake, Normandy Lake, Tims
Ford lake,
Wheeler Lake and Elk River, Team Manager: David Schmidt, For more
info call
256-386-2560.
Pickwick Watershed Team : Bear Creek Project, Pickwick Lake,
and Wilson Lake,
Team Manager: Buff Crosby, For more info call 256-386-2228.
For additional information visit TVA's website at: http://www.tva.gov
4. Clean Water Network Opens New Website - The Clean
Water Network (CWN) has
opened a new and improved website for activists interested in
the latest
"tools" for water quality protection. The network's
website contains the
latest CWN action alerts, special reports and press releases.
If you want to
learn more about protecting clean water, this site is highly recommended.
The
website is: http://www.cwn.org
5. Alabama Rivers Alliance Seeking Watershed Specialist
- The Alabama Rivers
Alliance is looking for someone to become their Watershed Resoration
Specialist. This exciting new staff position will be the fourth
created at
the Alliance and will be responsible for developing and implementing
programs
in order to restore water quality and biological integrity of
degraded
watersheds. For more information about the position please contact
the
Alliance at 205-322-6395 or send a resume, cover letter, and three
references
to the Alabama Rivers Alliance, 700 28th Street South, Suite 202-G
Birmingham, Al. 35233.
6. Terrapin Creek Festival - Saturday June 19th the
Friends of Terrapin Creek
will be holding their 2nd Annual Creek Festival. There will be
Native
American entertainment, food and fun for the whole family. Please
call
Michael Smith at 256-447-7143 or e-mail him at rsmith2075@aol.com
for more
details.
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
