BEN - October 27, 2006 #270

1) Success Stories: Red-cockaded Woodpeckers and Longleaf
2) Habitat For Endangered Beach Mice
3) Found! Mimic Glass Lizard in the Conecuh National Forest
4) Hunters Feed the Hungry Program Tops 57,000 Pounds Donated
5) BEN Notes: CRS Activities, Birmingham Historical Society Celebrates Olmstead, ALEEC Fall Conference - Climate Change and Alabama, Moss Rock Festival, Weeks Bay Christmas Ornaments, 13th Annual Wiese Lecture Series - Dr. Daniel Pauly, AUFA Annual Meeting, American Chestnut Foundation Annual Meeting

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Readers have requested where to send donations in memory of Shane Hulsey . Three groups have been chosen by the family, the Cahaba River Society, Nature Conservancy and American Whitewater. Please visit http://www.cahabariversociety.org to access the links.

You can also read a wonderful tribute by Birmingham News columnist John Archibald here.

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1. Success Stories: Red-cockaded Woodpeckers and Longleaf - Last week, I was fortunate to witness the "relocation" of a pair of red-cockaded woodpeckers in the Talladega National Forest. It was a wonderful and moving experience.

The woodpecker relocation project was just one of the many public/private partnerships described during a morning media tour organized by Southern Company and its many partners, including the Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Quail Unlimited. The following is a few of Southern Company's most recent conservation accomplishments:

* Four projects regionally have been funded, including restoration of 1,200 acres of red-cockaded woodpecker habitat on Alabama's Talladega National Forest, doubling from 20 to 40 the number of juvenile birds being moved annually to jump-start the growth of new populations.

* The Tuckabatchee Area Council, Boy Scouts of America, received $13,750 to convert 42 acres of clearcut and pine beetle loblolly plantations to longleaf in central Alabama using 21,000 seedlings; this planting compliments 440 acres of adjacent longleaf. One beneficiary is the endangered canebrake pitcher plant.

* In the South, since the "Power of Flight" partnership's inception in 2002, 32 projects have been funded, committing $1.5 million in Southern Company/National Fish and Wildlife funds, with a total grant impact of $4.3 million. More than 113,600 acres of private lands have been enrolled in bird habitat conservation programs and 37,000 acres of habitat has been enhanced through management.

* The Longleaf Legacy program has funded 16 projects region-wide committing $1.2 million in Southern Company/National Fish and Wildlife Foundation funds, with a total grant impact of $2.6 million. More than 4,847 acres have been replanted with approximately 2.4 million longleaf seedlings.To learn more about Southern Company's environmental programs and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's programs visit:
http://www.southerncompany.com/planetpower
http://www.nfwf.org

2. Habitat For Endangered Beach Mice - According to the Mobile Register, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a final ruling that will designate nearly 6,200 acres along the Alabama and Florida Panhandle beaches as critical habitat for three endangered beach mouse species. Of the 3 species, only the Perdido Key beach mouse lives in Alabama.

In Alabama, 147 acres will become critical habitat in Orange Beach and 114 acres within Gulf State Park property. Along with public land, 33 acres of private land has been been identified in Alabama as critical habitat. In total, 1,300 acres are now designated as critical habitat for the Perdido Key beach mouse, most of which is in Florida's Escambia County.

For more info about this new designation, visit http://www.fws.gov/panamacity/hottopics/BeachMice.html

3. Found! Mimic Glass Lizard in the Conecuh National Forest - According to a recent report, earlier this year (May 21, 2006), Auburn University and Conservation Southeast scientists captured a Mimic Glass Lizard in the Conecuh National Forest. Not seen in Alabama since 1976, only three previous specimens had been documented in the state. The species is strongly associated with the longleaf pine wiregrass ecosystem and is distributed across the lower Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains from North Carolina to Mississippi.

To see a picture of the new-found Mimic Glass Lizard, visit Conservation Southeast's website at:http://www.conservationsoutheast.com/mimicus.htm

4. Hunters Feed the Hungry Program Tops 57,000 Pounds Donated - Since 1999, hunters have been donating venison to Alabama's food banks statewide. Last year, according to the Department of Conservation, 57,000 pounds of venison was donated. More than 319,000 pounds of venison have been donated since the program's inception.

The Hunters Helping the Hungry began as a joint effort of the Governor's Office, the Department of Conservation, the National Rifle Association and the Phillip Morris Company. Today, the program is sustained by annual fundraiser quail hunts hosted by the Governor.

As the 2006-2007 deer season approaches, hunters are encouraged to participate in this worthwhile program. For additional information go to:http://www.outdooralabama.com/news/release.cfm?ID=451

5. BEN Notes: CRS Activities, Birmingham Historical Society Celebrates Olmstead, ALEEC Fall Conference - Climate Change and Alabama, Moss Rock Festival, Weeks Bay Christmas Ornaments, 13th Annual Wiese Lecture Series - Dr. Daniel Pauly, AUFA Annual Meeting, American Chestnut Foundation Annual Meeting

CRS Activities - The Beth Young Photography Workshop - Please make your reservations today, to learn photography - THIS WEEKEND - from Alabama's "Ansel Adams" - Beth Young. Learn more about this special workshop by going to http://www.cahabariversociety.org/BMYworkshop.htm or call today at 205-32-CLEAN and ask for Kim Adams.

Also.

Do not forget that on November 3rd at the Southern Progress Corporation (on Lakeshore Drive in Homewood, Alabama) the Cahaba River Society presents Tim Palmer, award winning author and photographer. There will be a reception, silent auction and slideshow. For additional details go to http://www.cahabariversociety.org/TIMPALMER.htm

Birmingham Historical Society Celebrates Olmstead - The Birmingham Historical Society has a special exhibit showing from October 9-31 and December 1-30 at the Birmingham Central Public Library. Titled The Olmstead Vision-Parks for Birmingham, the exhibit compliments a beautiful and information filled 72 page publication that is available for $20 at the Birmingham Library and at local bookstores.

ALEEC Fall Conference - Climate Change and Alabama - The Alabama Environmental Education Consortium (ALEEC) Fall Conference will be held November 4th, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the Christenberry Planetarium on the campus of Samford University. The topic of the day-long conference is Climate Change and Alabama. For more info call 205-726-4246.

Moss Rock Festival - Check out the Moss Rock Festival (in Hoover, Alabama) November 4-5, 10:00 AM-5:00 PM. This group probably has the coolest website I've also seen in a while. Go visit http://www.mossrockfestival.com for additional details.

Weeks Bay Christmas Ornaments - Start your Christmas shopping early by checking out the Weeks Bay Reserve Foundation's new 20th Anniversary Christmas ornament. Call 251-990-5004 for details or visit http://www.weeksbay.org/newsletter/Fall_2006/Pg2_2.htm to see a picture of the design.

13th Annual Wiese Lecture Series - Dr. Daniel Pauly - World-renowned fisheries scientist Dr. Daniel Pauly will be giving a lecture on "Global Trends in World Fisheries" on November 1st, 7:00 PM at the University of South Alabama Mitchell Center in Mobile. For more information call 251-460-7136 or visit http://www.disl.org

AUFA Annual Meeting - The Alabama Urban Forestry Association will be holding it's annual meeting in Montgomery, November 3rd. For more information visit their website at http://www.aufa.com .

American Chestnut Foundation Annual Meeting - The Alabama Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation will be meeting November 4th, 9:00 to 3:00 PM in Huntsville at the Alabama A&M Agricultural Research Center Auditorium. For more info about the meeting call Wayne Boldin at 205-915-2863

Bham New's John Archibald Writes About Shane Hulsey

A wonderful tribute by John Archibald at the News. Read it here.

BEN Special Passages - Honoring Shane Hulsey

Dear BEN Readers:

Last Friday, Alabama's environmental community lost one of our most passionate advocates, Shane Hulsey. An environmentalist, paddler, husband, and friend, Shane died Friday in a boating accident on the Little River.

As a dear friend of Shane's, Rachel Reinhart wrote to me - "Shane worked to protect and preserve the Cahaba River as Education Director of the Cahaba River Society, reaching thousands of children and teachers with knowledge, skills and boundless enthusiasm. He was a great lover of wild lands and especially of wild rivers. When he wasn't working on rivers, he was playing on rivers across the southeast, an excellent paddler, advocate and friend."

Last night, I stood in line at the Walker Chapel Funeral Home to say good bye to Shane. While I entered the Chapel, there were pictures of Shane lined up in a pew. They were wonderful photos. A couple of pictures showed Shane smiling (and what an infectious smile), walking hand in hand with his wife Alison in a park. There was a funny picture with him dressed up in a costume at what looked like some kind of party. And of course there were pictures of him out on rivers.

River Hero

Among all the photographs, there was one item that caught my eye, that simply summed up my feelings about Shane. It was an award that was given to him by the Alabama Rivers Alliance in 2005 - it was titled "River Hero."

Everyday, Shane revealed and shared to so many of us, the gift of wonder, the gift of our waters and the gift of nature.

He especially shared that gift with children.

Our future.

That is a heroic gift.

That is what made him a River Hero to me and to so many people.

He shared his love of the world. And he did it with great joy.

Thank you Shane.

Best Wishes, Pat Byington BEN Publisher

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The Cahaba River Society has a wonderful tribute to Shane on their website. Funeral details and memorial information can also be found at the site.http://www.cahabariversociety.org

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To help reflect and honor the many gifts Shane gave us, below is a special edition of BEN Special Passages.

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"Now I see the secret of the making of the best persons, It is to grow in the open air, and to eat and sleep with the earth." - Walt Whitman


"But the care of the earth is our most ancient and most worthy and after all, our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it, and to foster its renewal, is our only legitimate hope." - Wendell Berry, The Unsettling of America


"If a flower blooms once, it goes on blooming somewhere forever. It blooms on for whoever has seen it blooming." - William Armstrong, Sounder


"But wildness is a hard walk. It is a walk up mountains that makes you hungry and thirsty. There are stones that cut your knees and you fall. There are lions that are real with claws. And they can kill you with little effort. But the air is clean and cool and you can see a long way from those peaks into Tomorrow and back to Yesterday. And Now sits like a butterfly on your outstretched hand." - Teresa tsimmu Martino, from the Wolf, the Woman, the Wilderness


Have you ever noticedClouds can look like fluffy pillows?
Have you ever counted all the stars up in the sky?
Have you ever watched the birds fly by?
Take a look above you.

Squirrels scurry up an oak tree.
See that yellow circle?
That's the sun who gives us light.
Way up high, I think I see a kite.

I wonder 'bout the world above Up there.
No matter where you go, it's everywhere.
Now the sun is setting.
Getting ready for tomorrow.

Soon the moon'll be glowing.
Showing off the moonlight.
Take a look above you.
Discover the view.
If you haven't noticed.
Please do. Please do. Please do.

- Kermit the Frog, It's Not Easy Being Green


"... Praise Thee, wondrous God for the blessed watershed that is Alabama, pliant to man's needs, gracious to his questing spirit. May her sons and daughters not forget Thy bounty, nor fail to deserve Thy benediction through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen" - Alabama's Prayer at the National Cathedral

Bama Environmental News - October 12, 2006 #269

1) Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge Expanded
2) New Mercury Reduction Rules Adopted
3) A New Alabama Sanctuary for Gopher Tortoises
4) BEN Notes: WWF Southeastern Rivers and Stream Support Fund, ACF Seeking Assistant Program Director, 3rd Annual Invasive Plant Symposium, Smith Lake Environmental Preservation Committee's "State of the Lake", Alabama Coastal BirdFest, Alabama Rivers Alliance "River Revival", Black Warrior Riverkeeper Party in Tuscaloosa, 13th Annual Wiese Lecture Series - Dr. Daniel Pauly, AUFA Annual Meeting, American Chestnut Foundation Annual Meeting

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1. Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge Expanded - Last week, the U.S. Congress gave final approval to the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act. Authored by Birmingham Congressman Spencer Bachus, the bill authorizes the expansion of the Refuge from 3500 acres to 7100 acres.
"Keeping the Refuge pristine for future generations has been one of my top priorities. The creation and expansion of the Refuge are important steps in what needs to be a comprehensive effort to preserve and restore the Cahaba River, " stated Bachus.

In the Senate, Senator Jeff Sessions championed the cause for expansion, securing Senate passage in the waning hours before the end of the Senate session.

2. New Mercury Reduction Rules Adopted - According to the Birmingham News, under new environmental regulations adopted by the Alabama Environmental Management Commission, Alabama's power plants will have to cut mercury emissions from their coal-fired power plants by 20% within the next four years and 70% by 2018.

Mercury is a toxic metal that is released when coal is burned. One in six American babies is at risk from mercury exposure because their mothers have unsafe levels in their bodies, the U.S. EPA found in 2004. Children exposed to mercury before birth can suffer from mental retardation, developmental delays and learning disorders.

U.S. utilities pour about 48 tons of mercury into the air each year. Alabama Power Co. is responsible for about 2.6 tons a year, according to company spokesman Michael Sznajderman. The company does expect to meet the new regulatory deadlines. In fact, one of the plants, the Miller power plant in western Jefferson County, hopes to reduce mercury by 80% by 2010.

3. A New Alabama Sanctuary for Gopher Tortoises - In an effort to stem the declining population of gopher tortoises in Alabama, the Department of Conservation has relocated 10 gopher tortoises to the Wehle Forever Wild Tract, located in Bullock County.

The innovative program helps private landowners relocate tortoises to protected habitat, where state biologists and wildlife experts can monitor and assist in the repopulating effort. The population of gophers continues to decrease in Alabama due to habitat destruction, illegal hunting, predators, disease, forest mismanagement, starvation, road mortality and poisoning.

The use of Forever Wild lands for gopher tortoise habitat and repopulation is another way the Forever Wild program benefits the state of Alabama. To learn more about gopher tortoises contact Eric Soehren at 334-834-4519 or visit http://www.gophertortoisecouncil.org/

4. BEN Notes: WWF Southeastern Rivers and Stream Support Fund, ACF Seeking Assistant Program Director, 3rd Annual Invasive Plant Symposium, Smith Lake Environmental Preservation Committee's "State of the Lake", Alabama Coastal BirdFest, Alabama Rivers Alliance "River Revival", Black Warrior Riverkeeper Party in Tuscaloosa, 13th Annual Wiese Lecture Series - Dr. Daniel Pauly, AUFA Annual Meeting, American Chestnut Foundation Annual Meeting

WWF Southeastern Rivers and Stream Support Fund - The World Wildlife Fund is now accepting applications for it's Southeastern Rivers and Streams Support Fund Grants. The grants range from $3,000 to $5,000. The deadline for submission is October 27, 5PM central time. To receive the full details about the grants, contact Judy Takats at 615-279-1814 or judy.takats@wwfus.org .

ACF Seeking Assistant Program Director - The Alabama Coastal Foundation is seeking a Assistant Program Director. Details about this position can be found at http://www.joinacf.org or contact Cathy Barnette at cathy@joinacf.org

3rd Annual Invasive Plant Symposium - The Land Trust of Huntsville and North Alabama and the Alabama Invasive Plant Council will be hosting their 3rd Annual Invasive Plant Symposium, Friday, October 13th 6:30 to 8 PM at Monte Sano State Park and October 14th, 9:00 to Noon at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens. Both events are free to the public, but please call 256-534-5263 for reservations.

Smith Lake Environmental Preservation Committee's "State of the Lake" - The Smith Lake Environmental Preservation Committee will be holding their Annual Meeting and State of the Lake on October 21st, 9:00 AM at the Bethany Baptist Church on Cullman County Road 201. For more info call Deb Berry at 205-915-8830.

Alabama Coastal BirdFest - Check out one of the nation's largest events celebrating our "friend in the air" - the Alabama Coastal BirdFest , October 19-21. For all the details visit, http://www.alabamacoastalbirdfest.com .

Alabama Rivers Alliance "River Revival" - The Alabama Rivers Alliance will be holding "River Revival" October 22nd from 1:00PM to 6:00PM at King's Bend on the banks of the Locust Fork River. Tickets are $20 in advance, $60 for a car full - and they can be purchased at Deep South Fly Shop, Alabama Outdoors or at http://www.alabamarivers.org . For additional info call Jennifer Rupe at 205-322-6395 ext. 104.

Black Warrior Riverkeeper Party in Tuscaloosa - The Black Warrior Riverkeeper will be holding a benefit on October 26th, 6-8 PM at the Matt Jones Gallery in Tuscaloosa (2320 University Blvd). Tickets are $10. For more info call Charles Scribner 205-458-0095.

13th Annual Wiese Lecture Series - Dr. Daniel Pauly - World-renowned fisheries scientist Dr. Daniel Pauly will be giving a lecture on "Global Trends in World Fisheries" on November 1st, 7:00 PM at the University of South Alabama Mitchell Center in Mobile. For more information call 251-460-7136 or visit http://www.disl.org

AUFA Annual Meeting - The Alabama Urban Forestry Association will be holding it's annual meeting in Montgomery, November 3rd. For more information visit their website at http://www.aufa.com .

American Chestnut Foundation Annual Meeting - The Alabama Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation will be meeting November 4th, 9:00 to 3:00 PM in Huntsville at the Alabama A&M Agricultural Research Center Auditorium. For more info about the meeting call Wayne Boldin at 205-915-2863.

EPA's Strategic Plan

Want to know what EPA's priorities are for the next 5 years? Check out their Strategic Plan at http://www.epa.gov/ocfo/plan/plan.htm

Bham News Op-ed : Cancer Risk and the Environment

Below is an Op-ed I wrote for the Birmingham News. It appeared on October 1, 2006.

ADEM Strategic Plan Means Less Cancer Risk

By: Pat Byington

When I first met Stevie some 13 years ago, he was about as old as my 3-year-old daughter Whitney is today. He was like all of Whitney's little friends - full of joy, wonder and mischief.

About five years later, I saw Stevie again, this time at Children's Hospital in Birmingham. The doctors had saved his life from cancer, but not his leg.

A few years later, I invited Stevie and his mother to the Southern Environmental Center at Birmingham-Southern College. We were waiting for him to slide down the hands-on museum's famous "toilet slide" when we were startled by a clanging noise rolling down from the top of the slide. It was Stevie's artificial leg! Stevie soon followed it down the slide with a broad, infectious smile on his face. He thought it was funny.

Unlike smiles, cancers aren't infectious, but because of an Alabama policy decision, a person is more likely to get cancer here than in many of our neighboring states. There's nothing funny about that.

In 1991, the Alabama Environmental Management Commission adopted a cancer-risk level for rivers and streams in Alabama. The commission was asked to make a simple, but far-reaching, life-or-death policy decision: How many people will the state allow to get cancer as a result of the toxic pollution that industries discharge in the water under permits issued by Alabama Department of Environmental Management? Should we choose 1 cancer in 100,000 people or 1 cancer in 1 million people? One boy like Stevie or 10?

Despite being given the opportunity by the Environmental Protection Agency to adopt a more stringent risk level, the commission, with the support of the Alabama Department of Public Health, adopted a cancer-risk level that was the least stringent. Today, Alabama still has the same 1-in-100,000 cancer-risk level it adopted 15 years ago. Mississippi, Florida and Georgia have all adopted the 1-in-a-million level.

Common sense tells us we should not stand by and let this continue. To better understand these policies, I met with Dr. Jeffrey Roseman, UAB professor emeritus in epidemiology. Roseman taught risk assessment for 20 years and served on the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry's Board of Scientific Counselors, a federal agency that studies the health effects of pollution. We discussed cancer and pollution, to which he reminded me that along with Alabama's cancer-risk level, many of our environmental and health standards do not address sufficiently chronic diseases, such as birth defects, asthma, and diabetes. They also do not adequately take into account the cumulative health impacts of toxic pollution.

Last July, in response to this issue and many others, the Environmental Management Commission's Strategic Planning Committee unanimously recommended a new draft environmental management strategic plan for the state. One of the cornerstone goals within the plan is to "ensure regulatory standards are most protective of health and environment in the nation based on science and ecological conditions." This goal was developed by commission committee members Dr. Kathleen Felker, a radiologist and a passionate advocate for breast cancer awareness; and Ken Hairston, general counsel for Alabama A&M University, who has been a champion within the commission on behalf of environmental justice.

This Friday, the Environmental Management Commission has an opportunity to move forward the strategic plan and the "most protective" goal, to set into motion a re-evaluation of Alabama's health-based environmental policies, standards and regulations. If adopted, the result will be fewer cancers; cleaner air, land, water; and, most importantly, overall healthier Alabamians.

Now, that would be something Stevie, Whitney and all of us could smile about.