1) Littering Law Enforcement Lax In Alabama
2) Vermilion Darter Added To Endangered Species List
3) New Study: Urban Sprawl May Reduce Southern Forests
4) City Of Montgomery To Conduct Study On The "Capital City" Plume
5) Clean-Up Of Weldon Creek In Tuscaloosa County Called "A Model"
6) Nature Conservancy Launches New Website And Honors Elmer Harris
7) BEN Notes : Oceana Seeking Ocean Activist Recruiter, Beth Maynor Young To Hold Open House Event

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1. Littering Law Enforcement Lax In Alabama - Alabama rarely enforces it's litter laws according to a recent Associated Press survey of statewide court records.

Last year, Alabama courts recorded only 121 cases of traffic littering and 303 cases of criminal littering, which is operating or using an illegal dump. Statewide court records show that 13 of Alabama's 67 counties didn't have a single littering case filed in the last fiscal year.

Of the 424 cases filed last year, 99 cases came from Jefferson County. Enforcement of litter laws in Jefferson County have increased since the creation of a four member unit 2 1/2 years ago in response to public demand.

2. Vermilion Darter Added To Endangered Species List - This week, the vermilion darter was placed on the endangered species list becoming Alabama's 124th entry on the federal threatened and endangered species list. The state is third in the nation for imperiled species, behind California and Hawaii.

Identified 10 years ago in the uppermost reaches of Jefferson County's Turkey Creek, about 1800 of the darters exist along a 7.2 mile stretch of the creek. According to the Federal Register, any single catastrophic event, such as a chemical spill, could wipe out the three-inch fish. To learn more about Alabama's newest addition to the endangered species list, visit the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service website at : http://endangered.fws.gov/frpubs/01fedreg.htm

3. New Study: Urban Sprawl May Reduce Southern Forests - According to a new U.S. Forest Service study, urban sprawl could reduce forests in the South by 12 million acres by 2020, affecting the habitat of a number of native plants and wildlife.

About 6% of the region's forests are likely to be lost, but the number of trees should stay about the same because large amounts of agricultural land will be converted to pine tree farms, especially in Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas. The study found four regions to be particularly vulnerable: the southern Appalachian Mountains; the Appalachian foothills that stretch from Virginia to Alabama; the coastal plains along the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico; and the Florida Panhandle.

4.City Of Montgomery To Conduct Study On The "Capital City" Plume - The city of Montgomery and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have reached an informal agreement in an attempt to keep the city off the EPA Superfund list.

The agreement says the city must conduct a feasibility study which will list options for ways to resolve the chemical pollution problem in the water beneath downtown Montgomery. The EPA has found 3 major areas of pollution in downtown Montgomery. The "plume" is made up of tetrachloroethylene (PCE), trichloroethylene (TCE) and benzene, toulene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX). The chemicals used commonly in dry cleaning, machine works and printing are suspected carcinogens. The plume, does not pose an immediate health hazard because it is not connected to any of the city drinking water wells.

Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright has stated that he wants the city to resolve the problem, ensure the "plume" does not pose a health problem for residents, and keep the "plume" area from being designated an EPA Superfund site which would discourage investors from helping in the downtown revitalization effort.

5. Clean-Up Of Weldon Creek In Tuscaloosa County Called "A Model" - A polluted creek in Tuscaloosa County will be reclaimed thanks to a cooperative effort between environmentalists and government officials.

In a joint effort, the Alabama Office of Surface Mining is working with the city of Tuscaloosa, the Attorney General's Office, the Department of Industrial Relations, Friends of Hurricane Creek and the Alabama Rivers Alliance to repair Weldon Creek, a 5 mile stream whose waters have become highly acidic after decades of coal mining in the area. Funds from the federal Abandoned Mine Fund will be used to reclaim the area.

"Alabama has more than 700 abandoned mine lands in need of reclamation, but the most of the federal money is going elsewhere," stated John Wathen, director of Friends of Hurricane Creek in a recent Tuscaloosa News article. All active mines in the U.S. must pay 35 cents to the federal government for every ton of surface coal they mine and 15 cents for every ton of underground coal. The money is used for reclamation projects. Alabama mines, which produce about 20 million tons of coal each year, pay about $2.3 million in such fees each year. The joint project in Tuscaloosa is being touted as a model program which will encourage greater use of the federal Abandoned Mine Fund in Alabama.

6. Nature Conservancy Launches New Website And Honors Elmer Harris - The Nature Conservancy of Alabama launched its new education website and honored one of its major benefactors this week at a luncheon near Montgomery.

The website - http://www.nowandforeveralabama.org is funded by a gift from Alabama Power to the Nature Conservancy's Now & Forever Alabama capital campaign. The website has a K-12 students component and can be used to explore and tour the Conservancy's 15 nature preserves scattered throughout the state.

Along with the announcement of the website, the Nature Conservancy of Alabama honored retiring Alabama Power President Elmer Harris, with a framed photograph of some of the areas it has protected since 1989. Mike Jenkins of Montgomery, and a Trustee of the Conservancy's state board, commented, "Mr. Harris and Alabama Power provided critical support to establish the Chapter and its montgomery-based science program the Alabama Natural Heritage Program. Alabama Power has remained an important corporate partner ever since."

Most recently, Mr. Harris has served as a member of the Conservancy's Capital Campaign Committee which is raising $5.5 million in order to protect 12 of Alabama's Last Great Places identified by the Conservancy as critically in need of protection. To date the campaign has raised $4.8 million.

7. BEN Notes : Oceana Seeking Ocean Activist Recruiter, Beth Maynor Young To Hold Open House Event

Oceana Seeking Ocean Activist Recruiter - Oceana, a non-profit conservation and advocacy organization is seeking candidates to work as an Ocean Activist Recruiters in Florida. To apply, email, fax or mail a cover letter and resume to: Human Resources, Oceana, 2501 M Street. N.W. Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20037, 202-833-2070 (FAX) resumes@oceana.org

Beth Maynor Young To Hold Open House Event - Alabama nature photographer Beth Maynor Young will be holding her annual Open House this weekend, December 1st (10 until 5) and 2nd (1 until 5) at the Mt. Laurel Fire Station (about 15 miles south of Birmingham off Hwy. 280). This Open House will be Beth's first since a fire destroyed her studio in downtown Birmingham a year and a half ago (makes this year's location more appropriate). Beth's portfolios of 12 river prints and her new notecards are one of a kind. In my opinion, Beth Maynor Young is the "Ansel Adams" of Alabama. For directions to the event
visit Cahaba River Publishing's website at : http://www.cahabariverpublishing.com/Beth's_Open_House.html or call
205-969-1800.

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