September 6, 1999
1) State of Alabama's Beaches - Nature Lost
2) Outside Magazine Profiles the Bankhead & Talladega Forests
3) 12th Annual Coastal Cleanup Planned
4) Additional Websites (AlaLeavs & Geological Survey)
5) Alabama Environmental Authors
6) Another Environmentalist is Born!
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"God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also
on trees, and in the
flowers and clouds and stars." - Martin Luther (1483-1546)
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State of Alabama's Beaches... Nature Lost - This Labor
Day weekend, I was
reading "State of the Beaches of Alabama - 1998" which
was produced by Drs.
Scott Douglass, Bradley Pickels and Brian Greathouse at the University
of
South Alabama's Department of Civil Engineering. If you care about
Alabama's
beaches, this report is a remarkable and provocative document,
which I highly
recommend people to read. You can access the document at: http://www.southalabama.edu/cesrp/albeach.htm
I wanted to share one figure from the report that is quite
stunning.
According to the report the percentage of Gulf front lots containing
Condos
and Hotels has risen from 3% in 1970 to 22% in 1996. The unabated
march
toward developing all our beaches does not stop there. As you
can see in the
following lists, the percentage of single homes has also increased
dramatically. Check out the change that has occurred in the last
30 years.
In 1970
72% of Alabama Gulf front lots were undeveloped
25% - Single House lots
3% - Condos/Hotels
In 1983
57% - Undeveloped
33% - Single House
10% - Condo/Hotels
In 1996
39% - Undeveloped
39% - Single Lot
22% - Hotel/Condo
Nature lost...? Within a generation we have seen much of Alabama's
wild and
natural coastline be turned into a sterile concrete jungle. The
rush is
truly "on" for the last 39%. Just ask groups such as
the Nature Conservancy
of Alabama. who want to buy and preserve these lands. According
to TNC and
residents on the coast, the costs of these few remaining areas
are
skyrocketing. That is because they are quickly becoming precious
and rare. -PB
2. Outside Magazine Profiles Bankhead and Talladega
Forests - Outside
Magazine, with a national circulation over 600,000, named 16,000
acres along
the Sipsey River within the Bankhead National Forest, as one of
its "Wild
Bunch", 12 areas around the country that deserve wilderness
designation and
protection. This proposed wilderness area borders the 25,000 acre
Sipsey
Wilderness. The Sipsey is only the third proposal east of the
Mississippi
River to make the "original 12 Wild Bunch" list.
Also making Outside Magazine's "Wild Bunch, Cont."
(their 2nd tiered list)
was the Talladega National Forest. It is great to see Alabama's
National
Forests recognized for their ecological and scenic significance.
To learn
more about Outside Magazine's "Wild Bunch" proposals,
check out their
September edition, which is currently on local newsstands or website
at http://www.outsidemag.com.
For more information about the Sipsey proposal contact WildLaw
at 334-265-6529.
3. 12th Annual Coastal Cleanup Planned - The 12th Annual
Alabama Coastal
Cleanup will be held on Saturday, September 18. Refreshments,
hot dogs, and
T-shirts will be given to participants. This cleanup is considered
one of the
most successful in the country.
For information on how to participate, contact Cathy Barnette
at (334)
626-0042.
4. Additional Websites (AlaLeavs & Geological Survey)
- Here are two more
additional websites that should have been included in last week's
BEN Website
Special.
Alabama League of Environmental Action Voters (AlaLeavs) -
A great site,
especially if you are interested in getting politically active.
- http://www.alaleavs.org
Geological Survey of Alabama - Our friends at the Survey just
changed their
site address. Here is their new address - http://www.gsa.tuscaloosa.al.us
5. Alabama Environmental Authors - Ever wanted to find
environmentally
related books written by Alabama authors? Visit the Alabama Environmental
Council's website -
http://www.alenvironment
alcouncil.org/book.htm</A> and you will be able to order
books from E.O.
Wilson, Blanche Dean, Ed Passerini, Larry Crenshaw, Ray Vaughan,
Jennifer
Greer and Bob Mount. You can also search Amazon.com from that
site for other
Alabama books.
6. Another Environmentalist is Born! - Congrats to Southern
Environmental
Center's director Roald Hazelhoff and his wife Brigitte for the
birth of
their daughter Emma last week. Emma weighs almost 7 pounds and
has a full
head of hair. If you would like to email the family - they can
be reached at
rhazelho@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
