October 27, 2005

#252

1) Rare Fish, Mussels and Snails to Benefit From New State Conservation Program
2) Nature Conservancy Facilitates Ecological Restoration Agreement
3) State Environmentalist Honored by the Southern Environmental Law Center
4) New: Important New Websites and Articles to Bookmark
5) BEN Notes: Organic Horticulture: "Toward Revitalization of Our Urban Landscape", The Olmstead Vision - Parks for Birmingham, "Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker", "The Mobile Tensaw Delta and the Alabama Red-bellied Turtle", Alabamian Featured in Sierra Club Publication, Pecans For The Holidays

Thursday, October 27th, 6:00, the Final Upper Cahaba Watershed Study Public Meeting will be held at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. To learn more about this meeting, go to - http://www.cahabastudy.com

Tuesday, November 1st, 6:00 - the Alabama Environmental Management Commission will be holding its final of 7 strategic planning public meetings in Spanish Fort, Alabama at The Gathering Place, 6530 Spanish Fort Blvd

1. Rare Fish, Mussels and Snails to Benefit From New State Conservation Program

According to the Montgomery Advertiser, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is setting up a program that will try to recover more than 60 species of fish, mussels and snails into waterways within the Mobile River Basin. The project's goals are to clean waterways as well as repopulate endangered and imperiled species.

The Department has hired one of the nation's most qualified malacologists, Paul Johnson, former director of the Tennessee Aquarium Research Institute. He will be based at the Marion State Fish Hatchery in Perry County.

"This is an effort by the state to do some recovery work to keep many of these animals off the endangered species list," Johnson said in the October 11th Advertiser article. "These (freshwater) ecosystems in the Southeast are particularly rich, but the extinction rate we've seen over the last 100 years is estimated to be the second highest of any ecosystem on the planet. Tropical rainforests are No. 1, but guess who's No. 2?"

In Alabama, there have been 175 species of mussels - 32 of which are extinct and 40 endangered, stated Johnson.

2. Nature Conservancy Facilitates Ecological Restoration Agreement

Through its Alabama National Forests Partnership, the Nature Conservancy of Alabama has facilitated an agreement between scientists from Auburn University and the USFS Talladega National Forest to begin vegetation monitoring on several management units targeted by the U.S. Forest Service for ecological restoration under its Healthy Forest and Restoration Initiative.

The information established by this vegetation assessment and monitoring will provide valuable baseline and treatment data for understanding the effects of various management tools including prescribed fire applications, midstory elimination and canopy density reductions, on plant communities and is intended to guide the progress of subsequent restoration planning.

For more information about this important project, contact the Nature Conservancy's David Borland at 205-251-1155 ex. 113.

3. State Environmentalist Honored by the Southern Environmental Law Center

This week, the Southern Environmental Law Center announced Wendy Allen Jackson, director of the Black Warrior-Cahaba Rivers Land Trust as the 2005 James S. Dockery, Jr. Southern Environmental Leadership Award winner. This recognition is given to an individual whose exceptional commitment to the environment is helping to conserve natural resources and promote public awareness in the South.

For the past decade Wendy has through The Nature Conservancy and the Land Trust spearheaded the protection of special areas in Alabama including the creation of the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge. Currently, she working with U.S. Steel on a project to create a 1,108 acre historic tract in Birmingham known as Red Mountain Park. The U. S. Steel charitable contribution will be the largest in the company's 100 year history amounting to over $10.5 million in discounted land and an outright monetary contribution.

To learn more about this prestigious award go to http://www.southernenvironment.org

4. New: Important New Websites and Articles to Bookmark

Below are some informative websites and articles that have been brought to the Bama Environmental News' attention over the past month.

http://www.redmountainpark.org - Want to get "involved" in the creation of one of our nation's largest urban parks? Here is your chance. Check out this website and they will show you how to help.

http://www.alearn.info - This website provides Alabama citizens with useful, timely and interesting information about Alabama waters and plants and animals that inhabit them.

http://www.commutesmarter.org - Tired of high gas prices? Try Commute Smart. You can register online or call 1-800-826-RIDE.

http://www.wastetrade.org - The Waste Reduction and Technology Transfer (WRATT) Foundation out of Sheffield, Alabama has created an innovative trading and reuse program for companies.

http://www.coastaltraining-al.com - The Coastal Training Program has a new website to market its training events. Check out their continually updated "scheduled classes" section.

http://www.projectalabama.com - Found this group at the Kentuck Arts Festival - a remarkable program where hand crafted dresses are produced in Florence, Alabama.

http://www.keepingitwild.org - I know this project is in Georgia, but I was fortunate to attend the kickoff event earlier this month in Atlanta. At the Atlanta University event, Troy, Alabama native and civil rights leader, Congressman John Lewis gave a very inspiring speech on the importance of protecting our environment and "Keeping it Wild."

http://www.tnhomeandfarm.com/current/feature2.htm - This is an excellent article that appeared in a Tennessee Farm Bureau magazine about conservation easements and their use as a tool to protect the family farm.

5. BEN Notes: Organic Horticulture: "Toward Revitalization of Our Urban Landscape", The Olmstead Vision - Parks for Birmingham, "Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker", "The Mobile Tensaw Delta and the Alabama Red-bellied Turtle", Alabamian Featured in Sierra Club Publication, Pecans for the Holidays

Organic Horticulture: "Toward Revitalization of Our Urban Landscape" - Want to learn how to restore the ecological health of a distressed urban landscape? Check out "Organic Horticulture; Toward the Revitalization of Our Urban Landscape" seminar, to be held November 5th, 9:00 A.M. to Noon at the Springdale Farms in Huntsville. The seminar is $50. Call or write MicheleSneed@aol.com or 256-858-9696 for more info or to reserve a space.

The Olmstead Vision - Parks for Birmingham - Check out this extraordinary exhibit that details Olmstead (the brothers who crafted plans for Central Park, Biltmore Estates, U.S. Capitol Grounds and the Boston Park System) - inspired plans for the Birmingham area. See historic drawings, plans, photos and important glimpses into the past and future of Birmingham's park vision. An opening reception will be held at the Birmingham Public Library, Library Gallery November 6th, 3-5 P.M. The exhibition will be up at the library from November 6th to December 31st.

"Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker" - Join the Land Trust of North Alabama in welcoming an evening with Bobby Harrison, co-rediscoverer of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. The event will be held at the Trinity United Methodist Church on Airport Road, November 8th at 7:00 P.M. Admission is $5 for Land Trust members and $10 for the public.

"The Mobile Tensaw Delta and the Alabama Red-bellied Turtle" - Dr. David Nelson, Professor of Biology at the University of South Alabama will be giving a lecture on November 8th, 7:30 P.M. at the Faulkner State Community College, Fairhope Campus on the "Alabama Red-bellied Turtle."

Alabamian Featured in Sierra Club Publication - Rev. Mark Johnston, longtime Alabama environmental advocate and leader was featured this month in the national Sierra Club newspaper "The Planet." To check out the story go to http://www.sierraclub.com/planet/200505/whoweare.asp#johnston

Pecans for the Holidays - Check out Louisville, Alabama residents Terry and Susan Bishop's "Sweetwater Pecan Company" website at http://www.sweetwaterpc.com. They are longtime conservationists in the Southeast Alabama region.