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BEN comments I want to thank the many readers of BEN for their heartfelt letters and responses to the BEN letter I sent out earlier this week about Ron Casey and Paul Hartfield. As promised, the following are phone numbers and addresses for readers who may be interested in sending a memorial (for Ron) or money/donations (for Paul). Ron Casey Memorial - According to the Birmingham News, the family has asked that memorials be sent to Family and Child Services of Birmingham. There were several addresses listed, so I recommend people to call this organization at 205-510-2600. Paul and Libby Hartfield Donations - I talked to people at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science - where Libby Hartfield works - and they informed me that Paul and Libby are doing well. If you are interested in helping them get "up on their feet" (from their fire), send a donation to the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, attention: Elizabeth Hartfield Make sure to write checks to Elizabeth and Paul Hartfield. Gift certificates are also appreciated. Again, thank you for your support. Pat Byington 1. State Parks Win Historic State Supreme Court Ruling - The state's $110 million plan to remodel and expand its state parks system scored a huge victory February 11th, when the Alabama State Supreme Court ruled in favor of the tax plan that is supposed to pay for the improvements. The Supreme Court in a 6-2 decision, reversed a lower court order that held the tax plan unconstitutional. The tax plan, which was being challenged by 234 of Alabama's largest retailers (WalMart, Bruno's, KMart and Sears), reduced the subsidy/reimbursement that businesses received for collecting state sales taxes. The changes in this process was supposed to raise $12 million a year for the state, with most of the monies going to park improvements. In November 1998, Alabama voters approved selling $110 million in bonds for park improvements. The new funding source should enable the Alabama legislature to pass legislation to sell the bonds this year. Siding with the majority decision on the State Parks bond issue were justices, Perry Hooper Sr., Gorman Houston, Hugh Maddox, Jean Brown, Douglas Johnstone and John England. Dissenting were Justices Harold See and Champ Lyons. 2. Vehicle Emission Testing Bill Passes First Legislative Hurdle - On a 9 to 4 vote the Alabama House Government Committee passed favorably House Bill 486, a bill that would create a vehicle emission testing program for the state of Alabama. The bill would automatically set up a vehicle emission testing program for Jefferson and Shelby counties as a result of their designation by the EPA as a nonattainment area. Areas are classified "nonattainment" when they have reached dangerous and unhealthy ozone pollution levels. The bill, which is sponsored by Rep. George Perdue of Birmingham, calls for motorists in nonattainment counties to have their vehicles tested every two years, at a cost not to exceed $25 per inspection. The tests would be done at a state-approved vehicle testing facility. Several nonattainment communities throughout the South who have enacted an inspection program, have subsequently come into compliance. Those cities include Louisville and Charlotte. Groups such as the American Lung Association of Alabama, the Birmingham Area Chamber of Commerce and several environmental groups have joined forces in support of the bill. For more information about HB 486, contact Pat Byington at pkbyington@aol.com. A good newspaper article that describes the legislation was written by Huntsville Times reporter John Peck. The article can be accessed at: http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/Feb2000/17-e6738.html 3. Feds Unveil Plan To Save the Alabama Sturgeon - An agreement seeking to rebuild the population of the once-plentiful Alabama sturgeon without placing it on the endangered species list was signed on February 9th by federal and state agencies and business groups that have opposed listing the sturgeon as an endangered species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be receiving public comments on the agreement, which was published in the Federal Record, through March 17th. The agreement has been hailed by government agencies and the business coalition as a positive step forward. "Everybody came to the table on this one" stated Riley Boykin Smith, state Conservation Commissioner in an Associated Press report. The agreement expands the scope of an expedition to find more sturgeon for breeding and will intensify collection efforts three to five times over what it was in the past. The business Rivers Coalition, along with state and federal agencies also committed to fund efforts to save the fish. According to a February 17th Birmingham News article, the agreement has come under fire from Ned Mudd, president of the board of directors at the Biodiversity Legal Foundation, who has threatened to sue if the government uses a new Alabama sturgeon conservation plan to justify not placing the fish on the federal list of endangered species. Several years ago, the foundation sued trying to force the federal government to list the Alabama sturgeon as endangered. But the group dropped the suit last year after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it would propose adding the fish to the endangered list. Mudd also stated in the article that his group was not invited to join in discussions that led to the voluntary agreement designed to protect the sturgeon. 4. It's Unanimous! : Entire Alabama Delegation Sponsoring LWCF/Wildlife Bill - Here is some good news. As of last week the entire Alabama Congressional House delegation has cosponsored the bipartisan Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA) H-701. CARA legislation, which is its common nickname, is being pushed by the most unlikely pair of legislators in Congress, Rep. Don Young (R) of Alaska (chair of the House Resources Committee who is often on the opposite side of enviro community) and Rep. George Miller (D) of California (the ranking Democrat on the House Resources Committee and longtime environmental champion). As of last week CARA has garnered more than 300 sponsors in the House. If CARA becomes law, Alabama would receive annually more than $53 million for conservation programs. For example, Alabama would receive more than $8,410,416 from the Land Water and Conservation Fund (LWCF), $5,765,950 for Wildlife Conservation & Restoration, $2,440.264 for Conservation Easement & Species Recovery, $1,881,336 for Historic Preservation and $32,138.707 for Coastal Impact Assistance and Coastal Conservation projects. For more information about CARA and initiatives to fully and permanently fund LWCF visit the Americans for Our Heritage and Recreation (AHR) website at : http://www.ahrinfo.org 5. Report: PIRG's Release "Poisoning Our Water" National Study - The United States Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG) released this week "Poisoning Our Water - How Government Permits Pollution." This annual report found that nearly 30% of the nation's largest industrial, municipal, and federal facilities were in serious violation of the Clean Water Act at least once during a recent 15 month period. The report also documents nearly 270 million pounds of toxic pollution that was released into U.S. waters in 1997. The report has some interesting figures on Alabama's record. To read "Poisoning Our Waters" visit the USPIRG website at: http://www.pirg.org 6. Dugger Mountain Wilderness Dedication
Celebration Scheduled - On April 1st (no fooling) at 10:00
A.M., the Dugger Mountain Wilderness Dedication Ceremony Committee
will host a celebration in honor of the recent legislation protecting
9,200 acres of Dugger Mountain. The event will feature Dugger's
legislative sponsors Senator Jeff Sessions and Congressman Bob
Riley. Also featured will be some of the nation's best bluegrass
music, Native American drumming, live wildlife demonstrations,
art work, wilderness tours and food. "Be a Dugger Hugger"
and join this celebration. For location information call Jacksonville
State University's Environmental Information and Policy Center
(EPIC) at 256-782-8010. 8) Vulcan Trails Cleanup Date is Set - If you live in Birmingham, I can't think of a more productive way to spend a Saturday. Folks are invited to "roll up their sleeves" and join together with neighbors in cleaning up the Vulcan Trail on Birmingham's Southside. The event is scheduled from 8 A.M. to noon on Saturday, March 4th. A shuttle van will run from Glen Iris Elementary School (1115 11th St. S.) to the site throughout the day. Volunteers are asked to bring rakes, shovels and a healthy dose of moral outrage, as we beat back the forces of environmental contempt and bag a little garbage. For more info call Community South at 205-588-8736. 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 |
