October 19, 1999
1) Water War Heats Up As Deadline Nears: Citizen Groups Want
Action
2) Clinton's Forest Order Potentially Protects 55,000 Acres in
Bama
3) Mobile Bay Watch Joins National Water Keeper Alliance
4) Awards and Transitions - Sea Lab's George Crozier Honored,
Changes at the Alabama Environmental Council, New Chair at the
Alabama Environmental
Management Commission
*********************************************************************
1) Water War Heats Up As Deadline Nears: Citizen Groups Want Action - The battle for the future of the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin (ACT) heated up last week (Oct.14) when the Tri-State Conservation Coalition held a press conference in Montgomery calling for six (6) priority positions to be adopted by Alabama and Georgia before the October 29th water compact agreement deadline. The Coalition which includes the Alabama Rivers Alliance, Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Southern Environmental Law Center, Alabama League of Environmental Action Voters and dozens of local lake and river groups made their statements in front of Southeast media outlets on the steps of the Alabama State Capitol.
The following are the priorities developed by the Coalition:
1. Water Allocation Formula - The formula must protect an adequate level of inter-annual and intra annual natural flow variability. 2. Water Quality - Water quality must be protected as a part of the allocation formula through the inclusion of strong water quality lanquage. 3. Drought Plan - An adequate framework for drought management planning must be included and should provide incentives for making aggressive use of water conservation. 4. Adaptive Management - The agreement must preserve some method for applying the principles of "adaptive management". In other words, there should be a mechanism for altering the agreement in the event of substantial and unforeseen harm to public trust resources as a result of the agreement. 5. Monitoring - An adequate monitoring plan should be established to gauge the response of the basin to the implementation of the allocation formula and to provide for its enforcement. 6. ACT Committee - Additional nonvoting members should be added to the ACT Committee.
The coalition also called on the states of Alabama and Georgia to extend the ACT Compact negotiations an additional six months considering it is highly unlikely these priorities will be met within the 15 remaining days.
The environmental future for the ACT Basin will decided by these negotiations. Please call the Alabama Rivers Alliance at 205-322-6395 or the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper 404-352-9828 ext.19 for more information.
2) Clinton's Forest Order Potentially Protects 55,000 Acres in Bama - In a stunning and historic move, last week the Clinton Administration ordered the U.S. Forest Service to prepare a protection plan for more than 40 million roadless acres of national forest land. The directive could potentially protect approximately 55,000 acres of roadless areas on Alabama's National Forests.
According Forest Service spokesperson Tony Dixon in a Mobile Register interview, the Bankhead National Forest has a roadless inventory of 29,725 acres, while the Talledega National Forest has 19,874 acres. An additional 4,928 acres of roadless areas are scattered across the Alabama National Forest System.
The plan which is being hailed by conservationists, protects roadless areas that in most cases have been left alone (hence are roadless) by timber operations between 30-60 years. In most cases the roadless areas have remained so because they have been too difficult to reach to pull out (harvest) timber or they are important watersheds and viewsheds. For more information about this historic action visit the Wilderness Society's website at: http://www.tws.org
3) Mobile Bay Watch Joins National Water Keeper Alliance - Mobile Bay Watch's BayKeeper program has been officially accepted as the 37th member organization into the national Water Keeper Alliance.
The Water Keeper Alliance is one of the fastest growing grassroots movements in the country. It is a program that helps citizen advocates respond to citizen complaints, advocate for the compliance of environmental laws, identify problems which affects a body of water and devise appropriate remedies, serve as a living witness to the condition of the ecosystem, and be an advocate for the public's right to protect and defend the environment. Some of the Mobile BayKeeper campaigns will include:
* Advocating adoption of the natural flow regime in the Alabama-Georgia water allocation dispute over the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa Basin.
* Participating and providing leadership in the local initiative for the replacement of the earthen Causeway, U.S. Hwy 90, with bridges to reestablish the Delta-Bay hydrologic interface.
* Supporting independent testing and analysis of water quality to promote and assist EPA identification of water quality impaired waters in the Mobile Bay watershed.
* Fostering citizen representation in the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program. Ensure that impacts of industrial sources are fully accounted for in the development of its Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan.
For more information about Mobile Bay Watch's BayKeeper Campaign
and Water Keeper, please contact them at: 334-665-1385 or e-mail
Callaway@Mobile
BayWatch.org
4) Awards and Transitions - Sea Lab's George Crozier Honored, Changes at the Alabama Environmental Council (AEC), New Chair at the Alabama Environmental Management Commission
Sea Lab's George Crozier Honored - Longtime Dauphin Island
Sea Lab Director George Crozier has received the prestigious Walter
B. Jones Award "Coastal Steward of the Year" from the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This is
a well deserved honor for a tireless and passionate
environmental advocate. Congrats George!
Changes at the AEC - Earlier this month, AEC Executive Director
Diane Scanland left the Council to start up a nonprofit management/fundraising
consulting group and an antique business with her husband. Diane's
efforts on behalf of AEC and the environment will be missed. If
you would like to learn more about both of Diane's new ventures,
contact her at 205-595-0637.
AEC Watchdog Coordinator Kirsten Bryant has been named the Alabama Environmental Council's new Executive Director. Kirsten has been active with the AEC since 1991. In 8 years Kirsten has held almost every position you can within AEC. She has been a member, President of the Tuscaloosa Chapter, AEC Board Member, Chair of the Green Tie Affair, Watchdog Coordinator and now Executive Director. Please welcome Kirsten to her new position!!! She can be reached at 205-322-3126 or e-mailed - watchdog@alenvironmentalcouncil.org
AEMC Names New Chair - The Alabama Environmental Management Commission (AEMC) has named Dr. Richard Thigpen as Chair of the AEMC. Dr. Thigpen is a law professor-emeritus at the University of Alabama, and served briefly from 1975-1977 as President of the University of Alabama. He replaces Dr. Charlotte Carter, a biologist from Stillman College, as chair of the Commission.
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
