1) Alabama Congressional Delegation Receives Poor Marks From LCV
2) Black Bear Killed by Poacher In North Mobile County
3) Alabama Announces Creation of Statewide Bass Trail
4) Mobile to Hold Household Hazardous Waste Cleanup Day
5) BEN Notes - Southern Rivers Portfolio Available Online, Cahaba River
Society Honored, In Memory of Patrick Clancy, BEN Fundraising Update

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1. Alabama Congressional Delegation Receives Poor Marks From LCV - Once again, the Alabama Congressional Delegation has scored poorly on the annual League of Conservation Voters scorecard.

The environmental ratings for the 106th Congress show that for the sixth consecutive year Congressional environmental scores averaged below 50 percent nationally -- 43 percent in the Senate and 47 percent in the House. Alabama's House average for 2000 is 19%, while our two senators scored zeros on the scorecard.

The votes tabulated in the 2000 National Environmental Scorecard are based on the consensus recommendation of experts from 25 nonpartisan environmental, conservation and sportsmen's groups. The votes in the House included the following issues: (please log onto http://www.lcv.org/scorecards for detailed descriptions) Land Conservation Funding, National Monuments, Utah Wilderness, Columbia Basin Land Management, Timber Sale Subsidies, Wild Predator Control, Clean Water, Air Right to Know, Superfund Exemption, Nuclear Waste, Delaware River Dredging, Takings, International Family Planning and Global Climate Change. In the Senate, scores were determined on votes concerning, Drilling in the Arctic, National Monuments, Hardrock Mining, Grazing, Timber Sale Subsidies, Nuclear Waste and Missouri River Water Control.

The following are the Alabama Congressional scores for 2000 and the 106th (2 year tally) Congress.

Rep. Sonny Callahan - 7% (2000) 3% (106th), Rep. Terry Everett - 7% (2000) 7% (106th), Rep. Bob Riley - 7% (2000) 3% (106th), Rep. Robert Aderholt - 7% (2000), 3% (106th), Rep. Bud Cramer - 36% (2000) 30% (106th), Rep. Spencer
Bachus - 14% (2000) 7% (106th), Rep. Earl Hilliard - 57% (2000) 63% (106th). Alabama Senators Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby scored zeros for the 106th Congress.

Despite these low national scores, the Alabama delegation did accomplish several local Alabama environmental priorities during the 106th Congress including the passage of the Dugger Mountain Wilderness (Sen. Sessions & Rep. Riley sponsored) and the Cahaba River Wildlife Refuge (Sen. Sessions & Rep. Bachus). Senator Sessions also championed the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA) which was not taken up by the full Senate for a vote.

For additional information about the LCV and the scorecard, please visit their website at http://www.lcv.org

2. Black Bear Killed by Poacher In North Mobile County - The Alabama Wildlife Federation, through its Operation GameWatch Program, announced this week the offering of a $5,000 reward for information resulting in the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the illegal shooting of a bear being monitored in the Alabama Black Bear Alliance's (ABBA) research project and conservation initiative.

On October 9th, a 220 pound male black bear (bear #11) fitted with a telemetry collar as part of the ABBA effort, was found dead in north Mobile County from multiple gunshot wounds. At this time, investigations are ongoing to apprehend and prosecute the person(s) responsible for this criminal act.

The Operation GameWatch hotline is 1-800-272-GAME. To learn more about AWF's efforts to protect the black bear visit their website at http://www.alawild.org

3. Alabama Announces Creation of Statewide Bass Trail - Move over Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Alabama has launched the nation's first "Bass Trail."

At various press conferences across the state this week, Gov. Don Siegelman and Conservation Commissioner Riley Boykin Smith announced the creation of the Alabama Bass Trail. The trail's five stops begin at Joe Wheeler State Park in North Alabama and finish at Tensaw Delta in Mobile. Four of the stops on the trail are at state parks. The state will be implementing
numerous improvements at trail sites, to prepare the locations for major fishing tournaments and the increased number of visitors the trail will bring. The first five trail sites include: Joe Wheeler State Park in Rogersville, Guntersville State Park in Guntersville, Windcreek at Lake Martin, Lake Point State Park in Eufaula and Tensaw Delta in Mobile.

For more information about the new Alabama Bass Trail contact the Department of Conservation at 334-242-3471.

4. Mobile to Hold Household Hazardous Waste Cleanup Day - Mobile County, the city of Mobile, the Alabama Coastal Foundation and other groups are sponsoring a free Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day, Saturday, October 28th. Residents of Mobile County can drop off products at the old Wal-Mart at Tilmans Corner from 8:00 am to Noon.

It is estimated that each year, households in the United States alone generate more than 1.8 million tons of hazardous waste. List of items accepted at the event include paints, car batteries, motor oil, thinners, herbicides, insecticides, pool chemicals, flea collars & sprays, drain cleaners, photo chemicals and much more! (please do not bring commercial waste, explosives or items that are unknown)

If you have any questions about the program please call the Alabama Coastal Foundation at 334-990-6002.

5. BEN Notes: Southern Rivers Portfolio Available Online, Cahaba River Society Honored, In Memory of Patrick Clancy, BEN Fundraising Update

Southern Rivers Portfolio Available Online - With the holiday season approaching (yes, I know its still October - but you can't miss this), BEN has found the perfect gift. Beth Maynor Young's "In the Presence of Light: A Portfolio of Southern Rivers" limited edition portfolio of 12 art quality prints in an 11x14 format is on sale to the public. You can preview the prints by logging on to : http://www.cahabariverpublishing.com/portfolio_poster2.html A portion of the proceeds benefit river conservation in the South. This is a beautiful gift that will last a lifetime. When you order, please tell them BEN sent you.

Cahaba River Society Honored - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 honored last week recipients of its inaugural Environmental Merit Award at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The awards were presented to creative and productive groups who are utilizing innovative strategies and techniques in addressing environmental problems and needs. Forty-seven winners were selected from more than 250 nominations. Alabama's own Cahaba River Society (CRS) was honored in the not for profit category for their work on protecting the Cahaba River.

Congrats to CRS for this well deserved award. For more information about this honor, contact Carl Terry at 404-562-8325.

In Memory of Patrick Clancy - With great sorrow, BEN is saddened to report the death of Patrick Clancy, husband of Maggie Clancy. Maggie was the former Director of the Ruffner Mountain Nature Center and is now a leader in the conservation movement in North Carolina for the Trust for Public Land. Patrick loved the outdoors and touched many lives here in Alabama. We will miss him.

In memory of Patrick, you can make a donation to: The Peregrine Falcon Fund - Condor Recovery Program 566 west Flying Hawk Lane, Boise ID. 83709 or Bat Conservation International P.O. Box 162603, Austin TX. 78716. You can reach Maggie at 16 Kirkpatrick Lane, Fairview, NC. 28730.

BEN Fundraising Campaign Update - In lieu of subscriptions to BEN, we are asking readers to donate to the following organizations: Southern Environmental Center at Birmingham Southern College (http://www.bsc.edu/sec), Camp McDowell Episcopal Church Camp's Environmental Programs/Pat Byington Scholarship (http://www.campmcdowell.com) and the American Lung Association of Alabama (http://www.alabamalung.org). Last week, eight readers made contributions amounting to $800. The BEN Fundraising Campaign will end in late November. Please support these very worthy organizations.

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