1) Cahaba River National Wildlife Purchase Approved
2) Alabama To Receive Increase in Land and Water Funds
3) ADEM Fines Top $2 Million
4) Mobile Register Calls For Quick Action on Mercury
5) BEN Notes : Forever Wild's Wehle Nature Center Schedule, Cool Communities, Smith Lake's "State of the Lake Address", Jim Hightower to Speak at Tennessee Clean Water Conference

1. Cahaba River National Wildlife Purchase Approved - The creation of a 3500 acre National Wildlife Refuge along the Cahaba River is fast becoming a reality. Last week, the U.S. House and Senate approved the Interior Department's budget for fiscal year 2002.

Within the Interior Department appropriation, Congress allocated $2.5 million in federal funding for the purpose of purchasing land for the establishment of Alabama's newest refuge along a 3.5 mile stretch of the river in Bibb County. In a October 17th press release, The Nature Conservancy of Alabama (TNC) praised and thanked several members of the Alabama Congressional
delegation for their leadership and persistence during the appropriation process. TNC specifically recognized Senators Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby, and Congressmen Spencer Bachus and Bob Riley. Funding for the land purchase in the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge was made possible through the use of proceeds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

For more information about Alabama's newest refuge, contact the Nature Conservancy at 205-251-1155.

2. Alabama To Receive Increase in Land and Water Funds - More good news on the "conservation front!" Along with Congress's federal land acquisition appropriations for the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge ($2.5 million) and Bon Secor ($1 million), the state of Alabama will receive an increase in stateside Land and Water Conservation (LWCF) funding.

Last year, Alabama received approximately $1.6 million from the state LWCF grant program. According to the latest analysis of this year's appropriation, the state of Alabama should receive an allocation of $2,248,756. Most of these monies/grants will be spent on land acquisition, open space and recreation projects. Since the LWCF program was founded in the mid 1960's more than 400 LWCF projects have been funded in Alabama, including Little River Canyon National Preserve, Joe Wheeler State Park,
Ruffner Mountain Nature Center and countless local parks throughout the state. For more information about the Land and Water Conservation Fund, visit the Americans for Our Heritage and Recreation website at http://www.ahrinfo.org

3. ADEM Fines Top $2 Million - Penalties issued by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management increased by more than 10% in Alabama during the past year, topping the $2 million mark for the first time in its history.

During the 2000-2001 fiscal year, ADEM issued 225 enforcement orders (nearly one each working day) resulting in $2,048,760 of penalties being assessed. The following is a breakdown of the penalties:

Air - Orders Issued 31 Penalties Assessed $389,210
Land - Orders Issued 33 Penalties Assessed $984,000
Water - Orders Issued 164 Penalties Assessed $675,550

Placing inspectors in field offices around the state and gains in efficiency was cited in the Birmingham News by Jim Warr, director of ADEM, as a reason for the increase in penalties assessed.

4. Mobile Register Calls For Quick Action on Mercury - Asking the question, "WHERE ARE Alabama's congressmen?" the Mobile Register editorial staff called for federal action concerning the strong probability that some fish species most popular with diners are contaminated with methylmercury, a toxic compound that can cause severe neurological and cardiovascular problems as well as birth defects.

Small scaled tests sponsored by the Register suggests that not only fish species such as amberjack and redfish may be contaminated but southern Alabama residents may be subject to high levels of contamination. For example, in a recent Register study 3 of the 18 people whose hair samples were tested showed mercury concentrations of 5.96 parts per million (PPM), which is 6 times the 1 PPM considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency.

To read the Mobile Register editorial visit their website at (the link might break - you may need to copy and paste it together) <A
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5. BEN Notes - Forever Wild's Wehle Nature Center Schedule, Cool Communities, Smith Lake's "State of the Lake Address", Jim Hightower to Speak at Tennessee Clean Water Conference

Forever Wild's Wehle Nature Center Schedule - The Wehle Nature Center in Bullock County, Alabama will be holding some exciting conservation programs this fall. Located 5 miles southeast of Midway off Hwy 82, the Wehle Nature Center is open Saturdays from 10:00 until 4:00. On the schedule in the coming weeks: Oct. 27th Primitive Animal Profiles - Alligator Snapping
Turtles and Paddlefish, November 3rd Soil and Water Conservation, November 17th Plants and Animals of Mobile -Tensaw Delta Wetlands.

For more info about the Wehle Nature Center contact the Department of Conservation at 1-800-LAND-ALA.

Cool Communities - Want to learn about 3 new and innovative strategies to keep our cities cooler, improve air and water quality and lower energy cost? Check out the "Cool Communities" website at http://www.coolcommunities.org

Smith Lake's "State of the Lake Address" - On Saturday, November 3rd, the Smith Lake Environmental Preservation Committee will be hosting their annual "State of the Lake Address." To be held at the Brushy Pond Restaurant at 9:00, Dr. Bill Deutsch, program director for Alabama Water Watch will be the speaker. For direction to this important meeting, contact Debbie Berry at 205-823-0015.

Jim Hightower to Speak at Tennessee Clean Water Conference - This may be in Tennessee, but it should be worth the trip! The Tennessee Clean Water Network and the Tennessee Environmental Council will be hosting "Clean Water and Sprawl in Tennessee - How to Make a Difference," on November 10-11 at the Lakeside Resort in Smithville, Tennessee (about 40 mile east of Nashville). Well known political humorist, author and straight talking Jim Hightower will be the featured speaker. To register for the conference visit the following website at http://www.tcwn.org

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 To receive back issues of BEN, please go to our website at: http://www.BamaNews.com