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1) Mobile Register Poll: Do Not Lease State Park
Lands to Developers * Remember: Back issues of BEN can be found at: http://www.BamaNews.com 1. Mobile Register Poll: Do Not Lease State Park Lands to Developers - According to a Mobile Register/University of South Alabama poll released January 10th, Alabama residents strongly oppose leasing state park land to private developers to raise money for park improvements. The poll which was conducted statewide with 408 Alabama residents between January 3-7, 2000, has a margin of error, plus or minus 5%. The questions focused on State Park funding and funding mechanisms for Gulf State Park on the coast. Here are some of the finding from the survey. Do you think Alabama state government spends too much, too little or about the right amount of money on the upkeep of state parks? Too little - 39% About the right amount -37% Too much - 3% Don't know -21% It has also been suggested that lands at the park be leased to private developers to raise money for park improvements. Would you favor or oppose leasing park lands to developers? Oppose - 58% Favor - 33% Neither favor or Oppose - 5% DK/NA - 4% Another option would be to close less popular parks to divert money to Gulf State Park for improvements. Would you favor or oppose this option? Oppose - 72% Favor - 21% Neither Favor or Oppose - 3% DK/NA - 4% To access and read the complete Mobile Register article, hit the following link: http://www.al.com/news/mobile/Jan2000/9-a318906a.html 2. Corky Pugh Named New Alabama Wildlife Chief - Conservation Commissioner Riley Boykin Smith recently announced the appointment of M.N. "Corky" Pugh to head the Conservation Department's Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, formerly known as the Game and Fish Division. The name change was initiated by the passage of a legislative act in the 1999 Special Session. Pugh has been Assistant Director of the Game and Fish Division since 1993. He replaces longtime director Charles D. Kelley who retired in March of 1999 after more than 35 years of distinguished service. The Wildlife and Freshwater Division which is totally funded by hunting and fishing licenses and related monies, has a $24.5 million annual budget and employs 315 people statewide. The division is not only responsible for game management, hunting and fishing, but also for the nongame program, conservation education and outreach programs. 3. Decatur Holds Successful ChemiCollection Day - Here is a story about a successful environmental program in Decatur, Alabama. In the early 90's the city of Decatur held Alabama's first household chemical waste collection day. As a result of the program's overwhelming popularity, today Decatur has expanded it's ChemiCollection Day to once a month. The program is achieving incredible results. Since 1997, when collection days became a monthly endeavor, the program has averaged more than 130 donors and collects more than 3,400 pounds of dangerous chemicals per month. In August of 1999, for example, 175 donors dropped off 5,030 pounds of chemicals, 51 batteries and 140 gallons of used motor oil. Imagine the amount of toxic waste that could be removed from Alabama's environment if Decatur's program was modeled statewide? For more information about Decatur's program contact Emily Johnson, Recycling Coordinator at 256-351-7760. 4. Environmental Stewardship: Religious Communities Unite on the Environment - It shouldn't be surprising that several religious communities are getting involved with environmental issues. During a recent search on the Internet, I found several websites that not only provided me with information on numerous religious denominations and their environmental activities, but some very moving and spiritual passages on why we should be good stewards of the earth. Please check out these inspirational websites. National Religious Partnership for the Environment - http://www.nrpe.org Earth Ministry - http://earthministry.org Web of Creation - http://www.webofcreation.org Center for Respect Life and Environment - http://www.crle.org/index.html Earthkeeping News - http://www.nacce.org 5. EDF Chooses This Century's Wildlife Winners and Losers - The Environmental Defense Fund recently announced their "America's Wildlife Winners and Losers of the 20th Century." Some of the winners include, the Bald Eagle, White-tailed Deer, Gray Wolf, Gray Whale and the Whooping Crane. Some of the wildlife losers of the century included the Passenger Pigeon, Black-tailed Prarie Dog and Longleaf Pine. Find out the rest of the winners and losers by accessing - http://www.edf.org/pubs/reports/winners99/index.html - The article documents the wildlife progress and the mistakes we made this century. Please share BEN with friends and fellow conservationists. If you have any questions or comments about this publication, contact Pat Byington, the author and publisher of BEN at 205-226-7739 or pkbyington@aol.com We also encourage readers to visit our website at : http://www.BamaNews.com |
