1) Urban Sprawl: Alabama Ranks 13th In Rural Land Lost to Development
2) Water War Negotiators Call for 120 Day Extension
3) Triennial Review Water Quality Comments Sought
4) Websites Identify Free Flowing Rivers, and Local Ordinances to Protect Them
5) American Lung Association of Alabama (ALAA) Job Opening
6) Zogby Poll: Republicans Prefer Green GOP Candidates

* Worldwide about 75 percent of mammals and 12.5 percent of plant species are threatened by forest decline.

** One out of every eight plant species is now at risk of extinction.

*** More than one-third of threatened and endangered species live in wetlands.

- Figures from the Winter 2000 Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Amicus Journal

1. Urban Sprawl: Alabama Ranks 13th In Rural Land Lost to Development - Is urban sprawl and development out of control in Alabama? You be the judge.

According to the National Resources Inventory, a project of the Department of Agriculture, Alabama ranked 13th among states in the amount of rural land that was converted to urban uses between 1992 to 1997. During that 5 year span (92-97) 445,300 acres were converted at an average annual rate of 89,060 acres per year.

The latest rate of forests and farmland conversion is double the amount of land that was being urbanized over the previous 10 year span. Between 1982 to 1992 the National Resources Inventory documented 320,900 acres of additional land that was urbanized in Alabama, or approximately 32,090 acres developed a year.

To learn more about the inventory and the effects urban sprawl is having on agriculture, forestry and wildlife nationwide, please access the National Resources Inventory webpage at: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov

2. Water War Negotiators Call for 120 Day Extension - With the Tri-state water talks nearing a December 31st deadline, Alabama and Georgia negotiators have asked for more time to work out a deal for sharing the waters of the Tallapoosa and Coosa rivers or ACT basin. On December 28th the governors of Alabama and Georgia will decide whether to accept a four month extension.

Before recommending the extension, the negotiators received a letter from members of the Georgia and Florida (no one from the Alabama delegation signed the letter) congressional delegations appealing to the three governors to keep the talks alive, saying the alternative - a drawn out legal battle ending up in the U.S. Supreme Court - would be expensive and adversarial.

3. Triennial Review Water Quality Comments Sought - The Clean Water Act requires the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) to review its water quality standards at least once every three years. At a minimum, the agency is required to hold a public hearing and accept comments on it's Clean Water Act water quality standards. This process is called the Triennial Review of Water Quality Standards.

This review process can open up the door to substantial strengthening or weakening of water quality standards. For example, comments received from environmental interests during the last Triennial Review comment period helped ADEM identify and upgrade several rivers which were classified as "Agricultural and Industrial Water Supply" to the stronger "Fish and Wildlife" classification. Your comments can make a difference.

If you are interested in participating in the Triennial Review process please contact the Alabama Rivers Alliance at alabamariv@aol.com or 205-322-6395. They will walk you through the process. You can also attend the Triennial Review Public Hearing in Montgomery, Monday December 13th at 10:00 a.m. or send in comments (there is a January 12th deadline) to the Water Quality Section, ADEM, 1400 Coliseum Blvd., Montgomery, Alabama 36110-2059. Please also send a copy of your letter to Governor Don Siegelman at Alabama State Capitol, Room N-104, 600 Dexter Avenue Montgomery, Alabama 36130.

4. Websites Identify Free Flowing Rivers, and Local Ordinances to Protect Them - Keeping with the "water theme", this past week, BEN received information on two useful websites for people who care about rivers and water quality. Please visit the following sites.

Nationwide Rivers Inventory - http://www.ncrc.nps.gov/rtca/nri/ - Developed by the National Parks Service, this site identifies and catalogues the segments of our nation's free flowing rivers. It is a great site to find Alabama's last remaining free flowing rivers, along with their description and location.

U.S. EPA Office of Water Non-Point Source Control Branch - EPA has created a website aimed at assisting local officials and communities in their efforts to develop local ordinances to protect water quality. Some of the topics include: aquatic buffers, erosion and sediment control, open space development, stormwater control and post construction runoff control. This is
truly a great site for clean water advocates and local officials. You can access the site at: http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/ordinance/
5. American Lung Association of Alabama (ALAA) Job Opening - The ALAA is seeking a Receptionist/Secretary to provide administrative support in their Birmingham office. The office hours are Mon-Fri 8:30-4:30, the position has great benefits and the applicant must be a nonsmoker. To apply send your resume to Ron Pearsall, American Lung Association of Alabama, 900 South 18th Street, Birmingham, Alabama 35216.

6. Zogby Poll: Republicans Prefer Green GOP Candidates - Thought the following information might interest BEN readers.

This past week I received the Fall 1999 copy of the "Green Elephant" the newsletter of REP America or Republicans for Environmental Protection. In their "Eye on Washington" section, REP reported about a recent Zogby poll on the environment. Here is an excerpt from that article.

"Late in the summer came still more evidence that GOP voters are just like others when it comes to wanting strong governmental efforts to protect the environment.

Zogby International interviewed 1,000 likely GOP primary voters in Iowa, California, New Hampshire, New York and South Carolina. The focus was on two imaginary candidates whose positions on traditional GOP issues like tax cuts were identical. The only difference between them was that "A is a strong supporter of government involvement on behalf of the environment" and "B opposes government involvement on behalf of the environment."

According Zogby International, the likely GOP primary voter backed Candidate A over Candidate B by 64% to 29%. Other results are equally telling:

* Half the GOP voters identified themselves as "environmentalists."

** The GOP voters ranked the environment equally important as family values and more important than cutting taxes or restricting abortion."

For more information about REP America, visit their website at: http://www.repamerica.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 We also encourage readers to visit our website at : http://www.BamaNews.com