October 27, 1999
1) Forever Wild Update: Seven Years After the 1992 Election
2) Jefferson County Ozone Action Poll/Survey Released
3) B'ham News "Outdoor Heritage At Risk" Special
4) Enviro. Editorials Across the State
5) Green Events Across Alabama: Bankhead Natural Wonder Dedication
and State
of Smith Lake Meeting
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"Life is a daring adventure or nothing." - Alabamian Helen Keller
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1. Forever Wild Update: Seven Years After the 1992 Election - Election Day November 1992, the people of Alabama passed the Forever Wild Constitutional Amendment by an overwhelming 84% popular vote. In seven years, Forever Wild has purchased and helped preserve more than 60,000 acres statewide. Here is an update/listing of all the properties that have been acquired since this highly successful program was founded.
Forever Wild Program Acquisitions
Monsanto Tract - 209 acres in Marshall County: Special Feature - Bald eagle nesting habitat.
Wehle Tract - 1505 acres in Bullock County: Special Feature - Adjacent to the Barbour County Wildlife Management Area. A Educational Center has also been created.
Coon Creek Tract - 320 acres in Tallapoosa County: Special Feature - Public recreational site and nature preserve.
Grand Bay Savanna Tract - 2734 acres in Mobile County: Special Feature - Important coastal wetland and scientific research.
Riggins Tract - 624 acres in Lowndes County: Special Feature - Addition to the Lowndes Wildlife Management Area.
Fort Toulouse Tract - 254 acres in Elmore County: Special Feature - Historic preservation and research
Indian Mountain Tract - 514 acres in Cherokee County: Special Feature - Connects the Pinhoti Trail with the Appalachian Trail.
Blakeley Addition Tract - 420 acres in Baldwin County: Special Feature - Nature preserve home to prehistoric Indian societies and a Civil War battle.
Blowing Springs Cave - 67 acres in Lauderdale County: Special Feature - Contri butes to the recovery of the grey bat in Southeastern United States.
Big Cats Creek Tract - 197 acres in Madison County: Special Feature - Addition to Monte Sano State Park in Huntsville.
Coldwater Mountain (Doug Ghee Nature Preserve) Tract - 3924 acres in Calhoun County: Special Feature - Overlooks the cities of Oxford and Anniston.
Pike County Pocosin Tract - 190 acres in Pike County: Special Feature - Preserves Alabama's unique "pocosin" ecosystem.
Eagle Roost View - 17 acres in Marshall County: Special Feature - Provides 2000 feet of frontage for watching eagles across Town Creek Canyon.
Sipsey Sullivan Tract - 2998 acres in Tuscaloosa County: Special Feature - Important wetland and undeveloped recreational/educational area.
Delta Tract - 23,930 acres in Mobile and Baldwin Counties (An additional 11,621 acres will be purchased through Game and Fish bringing the total to 35,551 acres): Special Feature - One of the most important ecosystems in North America.
Clearwater Tract - 11,865 acres in Mobile and Baldwin Counties to be purchased from the Alabama Wildlife Federation this fall: Special Feature - Important ecosystem and recreational area.
More than $30 million has been spent on tracts, since 1994
(í94 was when the first purchase was made). Forever Wild
has also placed 15% of the purchase price of the properties into
a stewardship fund. A total of 61,389 acres have been preserved
and protected as a result of the Forever Wild Program. This program
is truly something worth celebrating in Alabama! Happy 7th Birthday
Forever Wild!! If you have any questions about the Forever Wild
Program please contact State Lands at 334-242-3484 or Pat Byington
(Board member) at 205-254-8805 or pkbyington@aol.com
2. Jefferson County Ozone Action Poll/Survey Released In July
1999, in the middle of the "ozone season", New South
Research conducted telephone surveys on behalf of the Jefferson
County Department of Health. The purpose of the poll was to quantify
awareness and actions related to the ground level ozone pollution
problem in the Birmingham Metro area. New South interviewed 250
residents of Jefferson and North Shelby counties. The poll has
a 95% confidence level. Here are some of the surprising findings.
Respondents were asked, without aid from the interviewer, to name environmental concerns facing the Birmingham area. The environmental concern first mentioned was: Air Pollution (61% of the respondents), Ozone Problems (18%) and Water Pollution (5%)
In all the problems mentioned by the respondents ñ Air Pollution (68%), Ozone Problems (29%) and Water Pollution (27%)
When all 250 of the respondents were asked how concerned they were about the ground-level ozone issue facing the Birmingham Metro area:
44% said they were somewhat concerned 43% said they were very concerned 13% said they were either somewhat or very unconcerned
The respondents were asked if, during the summer, they had seen any forecast of the ground-level ozone concentrations in the community. 71% said they had seen a forecast.
Among those who had seen a forecast, 62% said that they had made changes in their daily routine as a result of a red forecast.
3. B'ham News "Outdoor Heritage At Risk" Special - Here are some interesting figures that were included in Outdoor writer Mike Boltonís comprehensive two - part series that appeared in the Sunday October 24th Birmingham News, entitled "Alabama Outdoors: Guarding the Treasure".
"Alabama, with the fourth highest number of endangered animal and aquatic species in the United States, spends less than one-tenth as much as neighboring states to protect those species."
"Alabama has less hunting land than any neighboring state. Many hunters say they canít afford to hunt on expensive private land. For that reason and others, the number of licensed hunters in Alabama has dropped from 325,000 in the 1979-80 season to 270,000 in 1997-98, according to the U.S. Department of Interior."
"Alabama has fewer marine police per acre of water than neighboring states. Boating fatalities continue to rise."
"Alabamaís park system, once a model for the nation, has lost its largest funding source and continues o deteriorate."
This series is "must read" for anyone who cares about Alabamaís natural heritage. It contains articles and evidence on Alabamaís woeful public support of our natural resource agencies. A copy of the series can be accessed on the web at: http://www.al.com/sports/birmingham/Oct1999/24-e272720b.html
4. Enviro. Editorials Across the State ñ Sprawl and Overpopulation were the topics on the minds of editorial writers in Birmingham and Decatur. Here is a sampling of what they had to say.
The contrast is breathtaking.
From Denver through Broomfield, subdivisions stack up against each other. Every errand requires a road trip on crowded streets and highways. At the crossroads known as Interlocken, a massive shopping mall is under construction, surrounded by office developments. No one will live there; everyone will drive in from surrounding suburbs on a soon to-be-built beltway. That will spur even more sprawl.
But come over the rise toward Boulder and a spectacular horizon spreads out before you. Below the city of 100,000 lies nestled inside a protective ring of open space and mountain ridges.
In some ways, Alabama is where Boulder was 30 years ago. Here, thereís still plenty of beautiful and relatively unspoiled land and pretty little towns. But thereís also increasing development pressure , much of it ugly, uncoordinated and unplanned.
Through careful thought, and wise investments Boulder is preserving its special character. Can Alabama do the same?"
Excerpts from "Can State Preserve Its Character"
by Michael Szajderman, Montgomery Bureau Chief for the Birmingham
News. The complete column is on the web at - http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/Oct1999/24-e272776b.html
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"Nobody knows for sure, of course, if today was when world population registered 6 billion. The United Nations "Day of 6 Billion" may be off by a day, or a year, for accuracy purposes. The important thing is we recognize that some parts of the world are overpopulated and that this growth has more serious implications than simply having more mouths to feed.
The United Nations estimates that just to stay even with current living conditions, the world must provide for 78 million more people every year for the next generation, because of the 1 billion people now entering their reproductive years. That yearly growth equals adding the number of people living in New York City and Great Britain. It amounts to adding a city the size of San Francisco every three days.
Children deserve a chance to grow up and be well fed and educated. Adults deserve to live secure lives, free from the constant threat of death from a curable illness. Family planning ñ birth control ñ is an absolute must if our standard of living is to be maintained and improved in Third World countries."
Excerpts from "Todayís the Day - Earth Has 6 Billion
People" ñ Decatur Daily Editorial October 12, 1999.
You can access the full editorial at:
http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/opinion/editorials/991012a.shtml
5. Green Events Across Alabama: Bankhead Natural Wonders Dedication and State of Smith Lake Meeting - Next Saturday, November 6th, folks have two special events to choose from in North Alabama.
Bankhead Natural Wonders Dedication ñ The Alabama Environmental Council along with Wild Alabama and a local coalition of civic groups will be dedicating the Bankhead National Forest as a Natural Wonder, Saturday November 6th at 10:00 A.M. If you are interested in participating in this "wonderful" event contact Ken Wills for more details and directions at: 1-800-982-4364 or e-mail naturalwonders@alenvironmentalcouncil.org
State of Smith Lake Address ñ The Smith Lake Environmental Preservation Committee will be presenting their annual "State of the Lake Address" November 6th at the Brushy Pond Restaurant in Cullman County at 9:00 A.M. For more information about this major report, and directions to Brushy Pond, contact Debbie Berry at 205-823-0015 or Becky Gray at 256-747-6262.
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
