New Ecoscape in West Birmingham

 A new ecoscape will be built on the grounds of The Faith Apostolic Church in West Birmingham.  The church property is also home to the endangered Watercress Darter.

Check out additional ecoscapes built by the Southern Environmental Center at Birmingham Southern College at http://www.myecoscapes.org  .  Learn more about the Faith Apostolic Church and their work with the Freshwater Land Trust at http://www.freshwaterlandtrust.org

BEN - January 22, 2008 #298

1) Court of Civil Appeals Upholds Mining Permit Ruling

2) City of Birmingham Votes To Withdraw From Stormwater Authority

3) Freshwater Land Trust Secures New Conservation Easements

4) Land Trust of Huntsville and North Alabama Receives 19 Acre Donation

5) BEN Notes: Alabama Coastal Foundation Job Opening, Cahaba River Society's 20th Anniversary Meeting,  Homewood's Annual Salamander Festival, ADEM Water Conference, EEAA Conference, Legacy "State of the Environment Conference, Alabama Rivers Alliance Watershed Leadership Conference, Alabama Hiking Trail Society Conference,  Green Coast 2008,  Correction:  Tree Cities

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Check out  Thicket   - a new Alabama culture, political and entertainment magazine. 

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BEN Readers: In lieu of a subscription to BEN - we ask readers to consider making a donation to one of BEN's chosen charities.  Please check them out at http://www.BamaNews.com/donation.html  and make a contribution today!

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1. Court of Civil Appeals Upholds Mining Permit Ruling - Last month, according to the Associated Press, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals upheld an April 2006 ruling by Montgomery County Circuit Judge Truman Hobbs, Jr., had struck down the Alabama Environmental Management Commission's decision approving a pollutant discharge permit granted to Tuscaloosa Resources by ADEM.

According to the AP report, the issue, in part was whether the North Fork of Hurricane Creek in eastern Tuscaloosa County already failed state water quality standards and was off-limits to further degradation by new sources of pollution.

An administrative law judge had recommended that the commission, which oversees ADEM, overrule ADEM's decision to issue the permit, but the Commission in February 2004 voted 4 to 1 in support of ADEM's action.

Two environmental groups, the Friends of Hurricane Creek and the Alabama Rivers Alliance sued ADEM as a result of the agency's decision.

In the appeals court ruling, the court said it was compelled to agree with Hobbs' determination that the AEMC's finding was "clearly erroneous."

2. City of Birmingham Votes To Withdraw From Stormwater Authority - Earlier this month, the city of Birmingham voted to withdraw from the Storm Water Management Authority (SWMA), an agency that monitors water pollution in Jefferson County.

SWMA fulfills federal requirements for local governments to monitor and control water pollution problems, including silt and mud from construction sites.  The agency, which includes 22 participating Jefferson County municipalities, has been described as a much needed "model of regional cooperation."  Losing Birmingham's financial support will cost SWMA about $775,000 a year or about 40% of SWMA's budget.  

The Birmingham City Council made the decision after representatives from the Malcolm Pirnie environmental engineering firm presented the case for withdrawing, saying the city could save about $100,000 a year.

Birmingham still has several steps it must take before it can be completely severed from SWMA by October 1st.

3. Freshwater Land Trust Secures New Conservation Easements - Before Christmas, the Freshwater Land Trust announced a wonderful gift.  On December 17th, longtime conservationists Britt and Judy Butler signed and donated a 32 acre conservation easement of their land along the Cahaba River to the Land Trust.  The gift was made all the more special, because it adjoins another conservation easement owned by Bob and Ann Tate, another well known couple with the environmental community.  In total, 45 acres along the Cahaba River will be permanently preserved.

To date, the Birmingham based Freshwater Land Trust has conserved close to 5,000 acres protecting over 90 streamside miles in the Greater Birmingham Region.  For more information about the Land Trust and conservation easements, contact Wendy Jackson at 205-226-7900.

4. Land Trust of Huntsville and North Alabama Receives 19 Acre Donation - Here is another good news story out of Madison County.  From the Huntsville Times, Huntsville natives Jean Berry and her daughter Lynne Berry have donated 19 acres in eastern Madison County to the Land Trust of Huntsville and North Alabama.  The pristine property is located on the west side of Berry Mountain and adjoins 103 acres owned by the Land Trust.  A special place, the Berry family settled in the area in the late 1800's.

The Land Trust of Huntsville and North Alabama celebrated in 2007 their 20th Anniversary.  Almost 5,000 acres in North Alabama have been preserved by the Land Trust, along with 33 miles of public trails and three major mountain preserves.  To learn more about the Land Trust visit  - http://www.landtrust-hsv.org/

5. BEN Notes: Alabama Coastal Foundation Job Opening, Cahaba River Society's 20th Anniversary Meeting,  Homewood's Annual Salamander Festival, ADEM Water Conference, EEAA Conference, Legacy "State of the Environment" Conference, Alabama Rivers Alliance Watershed Leadership Conference, Alabama Hiking Trail Society Conference,  Green Coast 2008, Correction:  Tree Cities

Alabama Coastal Foundation Job Opening - The Alabama Coastal Foundation is seeking a full-time Programs Director.  Responsibilities include: coordinating educational and restoration projects; developing volunteer opportunities; conducting research and grant proposal writing.  Interested candidates should submit cover letter and resume to: Bethany Kraft: bkraft@joinacf.org  -  Learn more about the Alabama Coastal Foundation at http://www.joinacf.org

Cahaba River Society's 20th Anniversary Meeting - The Cahaba River Society will be celebrating its 20th year at their annual meeting, to be held on Thursday, January 24th, 5:30 at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.  For details, visit http://www.cahabariversociety.org .

Salamander Festival - This is a great way to spend a Saturday!  Join members of the Friends of Shades Creek at the Annual Salamander Festival in Homewood, this Saturday, January 26, 3:00-5:30 at the Homewood Central Park.  For more information, call 879-6866.

ADEM Water Conference - ADEM will be holding their 19th Annual Nonpoint Source Conference on January 30th in Montgomery, Alabama at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center.  To register, go to http://www.adem.alabama.gov

EEAA Conference - The 2008 Environmental Education Association of Alabama Conference will be held on January 31-February 2 at the Blue Lake United Methodist Camp near Andalusia.  To register, visit http://www.aces.edu/eeaa/main.html

Legacy "State of the Environment" Conference - Legacy will be holding their 2008 Environmental Partnership Conference on February 27-29 at the Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach. This year's topic is the "State of the Environment." To register visit - http://www.legacyenved.org  - The registration deadline is Feb.1st.

Watershed Leadership Conference - The Alabama Rivers Alliance will be holding their annual Watershed Leadership Conference  on March 14-16, in Fairhope, Alabama at Camp Beckwith on Week's Bay.  For conference details visit http://www.alabamarivers.org  .

Alabama Hiking Trail Society Conference - The Alabama Hiking Trail Society will be celebrating the linking of the Pinhoti Trail with the Appalachian Trail at their 2008 Conference to be held March 14-16 at Cheaha State Park.  For details, visit  http://www.hikealabama.org/

Green Coast 2008 - Save the Date - The GreenCoast 2008 Conference & Expo will be held at Mobile, Alabama's Arthur Outlaw Convention Center on April 9-10.  Register today at http://greencoast2008.blogspot.com/

Correction:  Tree Cities -  In the December 17th edition of Bama Environmental News, we reported that the city of Montgomery is positioned to become the 5th city in Alabama to earn a "Tree City USA 'designation from the National Arbor Day Foundation.  That statement was incorrect.  There are actually, nearly 80 Tree Cities in Alabama (the list can be found here http://www.arborday.org/programs/treecity/map.cfm). 

Aldo Leopold - From BEN Passages

Just finished reading Aldo Leopold's "The River of the Mother of God and Other Essays.

Here are some of my favorite passages:

"For twenty centuries and longer, all civilized thought has rested upon one basic premise: that it is the destiny of man to exploit and enslave the earth.

The biblical injunction to "go forth and multiply" is merely one of many dogmas which imply this attitude of philosophical imperialism.

During the past few decades, however, a new science called ecology has been unobtrusively spreading a film of doubt over this heretofore unchallenged "world view."  Ecology tells us that no animal -not even man- can be regarded as independent of his environment.  Plants, animals, men, and soil are a community of interdependent parts, an organism.  No organism can survive the decadence of a member....  It may flatter our ego to be called the sons of man, but it would be nearer the truth to call ourselves the brothers of our fields and forests." -    Aldo Leopold, Dedication Ceremony of the University of Wisconsin Arboretum - 1934

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"Conservation means harmony between men and land.

When land does well for its owner, and the owner does well by his land; when both end up better by reason of their partnership, we have conservation.  When one or the other grows poorer, we do not."  - Aldo Leopold, The Farmer as a Conservationist - 1939

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"Everyone ought to be dissatisfied with the slow spread of conservation to the land.  Our "progress" still consists largely of letterhead pieties and convention oratory.  The only progress that counts is that on the actual landscape of the back forty, and here we are still slipping two steps backward for each forward stride.

The usual answer to this dilemma is "more conservation education."  My answer is yes by all means, but are we sure that only the volume of educational effort needs stepping up?  Is something lacking in its content as well?  I think there is, and I will attempt to define it.

The basic defect is this:  we have not asked the citizen to assume any real responsibility.  We have told him that if he will vote right, obey the law, join some organizations, and practice what conservation is profitable on his own land, that everything will be lovely; the government will do the rest.

This formula is too easy to accomplish anything worthwhile.  It calls for no efforts or sacrifice; no change in our philosophy of values.  It entails little that any decent and intelligent person would not have done, of his own accord, under the late but not lamented Babbitian code.

No important change in human conduct is ever accomplished without an internal change in our intellectual emphases, our loyalties, our affections, and our convictions.  The proof that conservation has not yet touched these foundations of conduct lies in the fact that philosophy, ethics, and religion have not yet heard of it.  I need a short name for what is lacking; I call it the ecological conscience.  Ecology is the science of communities, and the ecological conscience is therefore the ethics of community life."  - Aldo Leopold, The Ecological Conscience - 1947

George Folkerts

It is with great sadness to note the passing of Dr. George Folkerts, a longtime biology professor at Auburn University.  George's passion for Alabama and its biodiversity was something very special and extraordinary.  He truly touched people with his words and witnessed to audiences the wonders of Alabama and the need to save it.  For years, I saw him give presentations to groups, from the Birmingham Audubon Society to the Alabama Conservancy.  After each presentation he gave - I saw before me - "lives changed" by his love and devotion to the natural world.  

He was that powerful.

  

He was that passionate about life and the earth.

  

And he shared it.  What an incredible gift to all of us.

Here is a slideshow of George on his website.  http://www.auburn.edu/~folkegw/zoopage.html

Take 5 with BEN - Dr. George Crozier

Below is the the first installment of "Take 5 with BEN", a question and answer series with Alabama's environmental decisionmakers.  Our first interview is with Dr. George Crozier, longtime director of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab.

Best Wishes,

Pat Byington

BEN Publisher

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"Take 5 with BEN" - Dr. George Crozier

At the end of this month, one of Alabama's most prominent and renown conservationist, Dr. George F. Crozier, Executive Director of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, will be retiring.  Dr. Crozier’s involvement with coastal Alabama began in 1968 as Assistant Director of the University of Alabama’s Marine Science Program.  In 1971, the Marine Environmental Sciences Consortium (MESC) was enacted by the Alabama Legislature as a vehicle to promote marine science in the state and to minimize duplication of programs in its consortium universities.  In 1972, the MESC moved to the former Air Force Radar Base on Dauphin Island; Crozier became its Chief Scientist, finally becoming Executive Director in 1977.

 

In the 30 years as Director, Crozier has overseen the expansion of the former military base into a thriving and internationally renowned marine science laboratory. Prominent research scientists engage in interdisciplinary fieldwork, ranging from paleoecology to biogeochemistry, in field sites from the ice shelf of Antarctica to the salt marshes of Dauphin Island.  

 

Educational programs reach kindergarten to Ph.D. students, and in the summer, the Sea Lab becomes the larges residential marine education program in the country, with college classes, workshops for educators, programs for high schools students, and much more.

 

The Estuarium, the Sea Lab’s public aquarium, is one of the Mobile area’s most visited tourist attractions.  Its focus on the Mobile Bay estuary system makes it a unique educational and enriching experience for all ages.

 

The Coastal Policy Center hosts the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program and advises developers, governmental agencies and other interested parties on the principles of sustainable development and best management practices.  As Director of the Sea Lab, Crozier was a member of the Board of Forever Wild, which purchases and preserves in perpetuity valuable natural resources in the state of Alabama.

 

Crozier has earned a flotilla of accolades in his 30 years as Director, most notably in 1999 as NOAA’s Coastal Steward of the Year and in 2000 as the recipient of the Alabama Academy of Science’s Wright A. Gardner Award.  

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How much has the Mobile/Coastal Area changed over the past 40 years?

I had the good fortune to come to Alabama late in 1968 as the positive impacts of a variety of environmental legislative actions of the early ‘60s began to be evident. The first summer I was here, a professor from the U. of Alabama bringing a class to our facility at Pt. aux Pins ran to the telephone to report a large fish kill that he had observed on the way down from Tuscaloosa.

I missed most of “the bad old days” when untreated paper mill waste was legally discharged into the Mobile River and Bay. The stories were pretty horrific but data was sketchy at best and the Alabama Water Improvement Commission was a creation of the federal Clean Water Act and already resented and resisted by the industrial community but was embraced by municipalities that benefited from the construction of wastewater treatment plants providing secondary treatment (and lots of jobs) to domestic wastewater. Alabama, as a state, provided wider municipal secondary treatment than Boston, MA, the intellectual seat of power in this country – and that may still be true at this moment.

So I have witnessed; and through DISL, documented to some degree, the partial restoration of water quality in Mobile Bay. Unfortunately, my sense of the last decade is that the rate of improvement may have diminished as a result of expanding non-point sources of contamination.

You have accomplished much at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. Are there any particular accomplishments you are most proud of? 

Survival! - of State budget cuts and hurricane impacts. Those are tangible and significant but there are also some unquantifiable achievements. The Laboratory has gradually established a data base on a variety of parameters that can be used as surrogates to approximate the “health” of the Bay. The first and only 24/7 environmental monitoring system has been established an funded through the National estuary program and the Coastal section of the Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Obviously, the growth and development of the K-12 programs at the Laboratory is a most significant accomplishment. This has genuinely become one of the premier programs in the nation and the state as a whole should be quite proud of that. The Discovery Hall program now coordinates all marine education for the Gulf of Mexico through the Gulf Alliance.

What are some of the biggest challenges facing Alabama's coastal areas? 

Poor land use planning throughout the State and watershed is a truly critical challenge. There is no real commitment to management of the land and the history of mismanagement is rooted in the deeply held property rights attitudes of the last century. We continue to convert green space into habitat for cars and low density human population, all contributing to the loss of ecological services normally contributing to and constituting healthy ecosystems.

There is a growing concern for the inputs from atmospheric sources and the ongoing sprawl in both coastal counties has the potential to wipe out the gains of the Clean Water Act and water quality progress of the past 40 years!

Are there any specific environmental initiatives that you believe are needed in the state of Alabama? 

There needs to be a movement toward ecosystem/watershed – based management. Within that context I think that the principles of so-called smart growth must be pursued. The demographics are beginning to shift back toward the cities and if transportation oriented development is fostered, we may be in a position to ameliorate the growing energy crisis while restoring an improving trend line of water quality and associated coastal living resources

What are your future plans?

I have a number of familial obligations but I have also signed on with the Bellwether Group, a public relations and environmental consulting firm in Mobile. My wife has made it clear that Wal-Mart is in my future if I don’t supplement my retirement income.

I will ask the new Executive Director to allow me to continue to try to develop the coastal policy initiative that I have been pursuing for the last several years through the Lab. The primary academic thrust is a development of a coastal design center emphasizing landscape ecology, landscape architecture, and coastal engineering and development. 

I have good intentions of writing a book on coastal zone management in Alabama and the central Gulf subtitled “How Far Can You Throw a Mullet into a Hurricane?” Whether I have the personal discipline to do that is yet to be seen.

Housing Density in the Southeast

Check out Housing Density Maps for the Southeast 1940-2030 - here 

Housing Density in Alabama - 2030

See Housing Density 1990 and 1940 Below

Alabama Housing Density - 1990

*Source: R.B. Hamner and V.C. Radeloff, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Alabama Housing Density - 1940

The Housing Density data depicted in these maps were developed by R.B. Hamner and V.C. Radeloff at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with funding from the USDA Forest Service North Central Research Station.  For information on the methodology visit their website here. 

Muscle Shoals & Tennessee River - 1927

From my friend Stuart McGregor and friends at the Geological Survey of Alabama.

A view down the Tennessee River from Wilson Dam, showing a portion of Muscle Shoals and Lauderdale County - September 1, 1927.  From the Geological Survey's Library.

Recycling in Alabama??

Monday's  Birmingham News follows up on the op-ed I wrote in October 2007 concerning  Alabama's poor recycling rates and the state's inability to implement the 1991 Solid Waste Plan concerning recycling.

Here is the op-ed.

and Monday's Birmingham News article.

Passage from Bham News - 

Advocates say the benefits of recycling offset the costs. They say it saves energy, saves landfill space, protects groundwater, provides raw materials for manufacturing and creates jobs.

"We've got to remember it's the expressed wish of the Legislature that was passed back in the early'90s to reduce our waste and recycle 25 percent of our waste," Byington said. "So we have the mandate. We have the legislative intent. We've got to make it happen."

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I do hope today's article can "light the spark" and move the state toward implementing the solid waste/ recycling planning laws we passed more than 15 years ago.

Bare Hands Gallery "Shine" Show Opens December 7th

                    Kathy Rose-Byington's Glass Stars

Bare Hands Gallery  (located on 1st Avenue South & Richard Arrington Blvd in Birmingham), a nonprofit art gallery, will be holding its Holiday Show reception on Friday, December 7th, 6:00pm to 10:oopm.   My wife, Kathy Rose- Byington, has 80 glass "stars" in the gallery's front window.

National Wildlife Refuges = Jobs & Better Environment

            Whitney Byington (age 2) in front of the St. Mark NWR Lighthouse

New Study: National Wildlife Refuges Boost Local Economies - A recent report released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service  titled  Banking on Nature 2006: The Economic Benefits to Local Communities of National Wildlife Refuge Visitation  documents economic benefits National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) provide in local communities. Nationally, according to the study, nearly 35 million people visited National Wildlife Refuges in 2006, supporting almost 27,000 private sector jobs, producing $543 million in employment income and $185.3 million in local, county, state federal tax revenue.

In Alabama, the report profiled the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge located along the Tennessee River between Huntsville and Decatur.  The 34,500 acre Wheeler NWR is considered the easternmost Refuge in the Mississippi flyway and attracts thousands of wintering waterfowl each year, including the State's largest duck population.  The  refuge is also home to 115 species of fish, 74 species of reptiles and amphibians, 47 species of mammals, and 285 species of songbirds.

According to the report, the Wheeler NWR provided the following economic benefits in 2006:

Total Visits - 590,743

Visitor Recreation Expenditures - $12 million

Fishing-related Expenditures - $5.9 million

Non-consumptive related Expenditures - $4.7 million

Total Number of Jobs - 202

Total Tax Revenue - $2.2 million

Along with Wheeler, the state of Alabama also benefits from 10 other National Wildlife Refuges.  Check out each refuge at http://www.fws.gov/refuges/refugeLocatorMaps/Alabama.html

Sen. Shelby & Environmental Education

Senator Richard Shelby is truly making his mark on Environmental Education in Alabama. Here is a list of environmental education and research centers he has championed over the last few years:

Ruffner Mountain Tree Top Visitor Center

4-H Environmental Science Education Center

Alabama Wildlife Federation Alabama Nature Center

Jacksonville State University Little River Canyon Center

Richard C. Shelby for Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management

These centers are not only providing cutting edge environmental education and research programs, but they  also plan to be state of the art eco-friendly LEED certified facilities.

Ruffner Mountain Expansion Groundbreaking

Great Day at the Ruffner Mountain Tree Top Visitor/Environmental Education Center Groundbreaking with Senator Richard Shelby.

"Kid Birding" In Birmingham

Many thanks to Birmingham Audubon's Greg Harber (2nd person from the right) for taking out the kids in my neighborhood last week for some "Kid Birding."  BTW - my "kid" (Whitney) is in the center  "looking" for birds through her binoculars.

BEN Thanksgiving Special

1) BEN's List of Chosen Charities for Thanksgiving
2) BEN's List of Alabama Gift Ideas
3) Special Quotes and Passages About Alabama and the Environment

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1. BEN's List of Chosen Charities for Thanksgiving - In lieu of BEN subscription fees, please consider making a contribution to one of the Bama Environmental News chosen charities this Thanksgiving Season. The charities include:

The Wilderness Society - c/o Frank Peterman, 112 Krog Street, Atlanta, Georgia 30307 - Make checks payable to The Wilderness Society

University of Washington Foundation/Rose Endowed Scholarship - UW Medicine Development - Attn. Donna Caliri, Campus Box 358220, Seattle, Washington 98195 (Checks Payable to UW Foundation - reference Rose Endowed Scholarship on check) or call Donna with credit card payment at 206-543-6347.

Southern Environmental Center at Birmingham Southern College - 900 Arkadelphia Road, Birmingham, Alabama 35254 - Make checks payable to Southern Environmental Center

Camp McDowell Episcopal Church Camp - 105 DeLong Road, Nauvoo, Alabama 35578 (Checks payable to Camp McDowell - reference Pat Byington Scholarship Fund on check)

Sheffield High School "Environmental Public Service Scholarship" - Sheffield Education Foundation, c/o Dr. Richard Gardner, Ed. D., 300 West Sixth Street, Sheffield, Alabama 35660 - (Checks payable to the Sheffield Education Foundation - reference Byington scholarship on the check)

Short descriptions of each Charity can be found at : http://www.BamaNews.com/donation.html

2. BEN's List of Alabama Gift Ideas - This holiday season, please consider these local Alabama eco-friendly companies and non-profits for this year's gift giving.

Sweetwater Pecan Company - A Southeast Alabama Company that provides locally grown pecans and various other gifts. The company is owned by local environmentalists and friends of BEN, Terry and Susan Bishop. Check them out at http://www.sweetwaterpc.com/

Kingfisher Editions - Check out Beth Mayor Young's (Alabama's Ansel Adams) photography at http://www.kingfishereditions.com

Higher Ground Roasters - A local Alabama coffee company that sells special "brands" on behalf of several nonprofit environmental groups including: Alabama Environmental Council, Alabama Rivers Alliance, Freshwater Land trust, Jones Valley Urban Farm and the SE. Foot Trails Coalition. Visit http://www.highergroundroasters.com

Red Rain Store - A local Alabama store in Homewood, Alabama, Red Rain is sells a wide variety of eco-friendly items at the store and online! Visit - http://www.redrainstore.com

Discovering Alabama - Want to purchase one of the 63 episodes of Doug Phillip's Discovering Alabama? Visit http://www.discoveringalabama.com/schedule.html

Wild Paths - Check out this wonderful wildlife enhancement project sponsored by the Alabama Wildlife Federation in conjunction with the Alabama Institute of the Deaf and Blind in Talladega. Go to http://www.wildpaths.org

Weeks Bay Reserve Foundation - Order the 2007 Weeks Bay Holiday ornament for $10. This year's edition features a Spotted Sea Trout with an estuary scene backdrop. Call 251-990-5504 to order.

Hummer Study Group - Check out Bob and Martha Sargent's catalog of books and hummingbird "starter kits" at the Hummer Study group site.

Alabama Environmental Organizations - Gift Items

Several Alabama environmental groups provide "online stores" to members and the general public. Here is a listing of "online stores."

Nature Conservancy Gift Store 

Alabama Wildlife Federation - http://www.alabamawildlife.org/shop_online/
Southeastern Cave Conservancy - http://www.scci.org/merchandise.html
Alabama Wildbird Conservation Association - http://www.alaweb.com/~Kenwood/saba/index.html
Wild South - http://www.wildsouth.org
Black Warrior Riverkeeper - http://www.blackwarriorriverkeeper.org
Alabama Coastal Foundation - http://www.joinacf.org/toppage2.htm

3. Special Quotes and Passages About Alabama and the Environment

Below: A passage given to me from Stuart McGregor, a biologist at the Geological Survey of Alabama. This particular passage honors my hometown region Muscle Shoals.

".....The expansion of the Tennessee River, known by the name of Muscle Shoals, is of the character I have described; it is shallow, ornamented with a number of small islands, and its bed is full of the long grass which abounds in various species of Naiades. The lover of the grand and the beautiful in natural scenery, as well as the student in science, will here find abundant sources of interest. He will be delighted with a noble river, whose beautiful and numerous islands are clothed with gigantic trees; whose high and undulating shore on the one hand is ornamented with thriving villages, and on the other spreads out an extensive alluvial, rich in all the gifts of Ceres, or rises abruptly from the river a mural escarpment of carboniferous limestone, which reflectes its blue and sombre aspect in the crystal waters at it base...." ~ Timothy Abbot Conrad, "New Freshwater Shells of the United States", Philadelphia, 1834

From David Brower, the "Archdruid"

"Allow me to offer you a short course in ecology, beginning with rot. Rot is an extraordinary important process. Rot is highly exciting. But we give it a three letter word. We say, "This tree is sick," and "This is rotten, anyway. We should get rid of it."

By removing the rotten tree from the forest, we knock out of existence all the species that were going to use that tree for a home, for their dinner, until it rotted away completely, and helped nourish the next tree, maybe 200 or more years down the line. This a very good system. Unfortunately, we've learned to interrupt it rather than to live with it. We have learned how to break the circle of life instead of respecting it.

Nature recycles everything. There isn't anything that isn't recycled. Go outside. Look at the natural systems. Study them and learn to read the Earth. You will see what it has had time to learn. You will begin to understand the life force." ~ David Brower from Let the Mountains Talk Let the Rivers Run


"Wild nature, then, has been a way to recognize God and to talk about who he is - even, as in Job, a way for God to talk about who he is. How could it be otherwise? What else is, or was, beyond human reach. In what other sphere could a deity operate freely? It is not a chance that every second hymn in the hymn book rings with the imagery of the untouched outdoors. "All thy works with joy surround thee, Earth and Heaven reflect thy rays," we sing Beethoven's "Ode to Joy." Sheep and harvests and the other common motifs of the Bible are not just metaphors; they are also the old reality of the earth, a place where people depended for both life and meaning on the nature they found around them. "We plow the fields and scatter the good seed on the land. But it is fed and watered by God's almighty hand. He sends the snow in winter, The warmth to swell the grain, The breezes and the sunshine, And soft refreshing rain. All good gifts around us Are sent from heaven above." ~ Bill McKibben from The End of Nature

Mobile Register Invasive Species Op-ed Written by Pat Byington in January 2006

"It's a bomb about to go off."

It's one of life's little ironies that hurricanes should figure so
prominently in the career of Rick Guffey, a soft-spoken man from the landlocked hills of North Alabama. He is the Director of Conservation Programs for the Nature Conservancy, Mississippi Chapter. He spoke in a serious, urgent tone.

"I don't mean to be alarmist, but we need to do something now or we will see the ecological makeup of our forests and landscapes totally changed."

The combined impact of hurricanes Ivan in 2004 and Katrina and Rita this year has created an unprecedented opportunity for invasive species to virtually wipe out acre after acre of coastal habitats and begin to encroach upon commercial forestry and agricultural resources. Two plants in particular, the Chinese tallowtree (Triadica sebifera) and Japanese cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica), are poised to create an ecological -- and economic -- tragedy.

These plants spread quickly, are resistant to drought and disease, aggressively crowding out native species. The main thing they require is an abundance of sunlight. The hurricanes of the past two years tore through great swathes of forests in southern Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, clearing a path for a second natural disaster with even longer-lasting implications.

"Many of my constituents had all their assets literally blown away by Hurricane Ivan," said Congressman Jo Bonner in a meeting last month. "We have got to find a way to help these forestowners." That hurricane alone created more than $1 billion in lost timber values.

One of Alabama's most important industries is forestry, so addressing these losses is a priority. At the same time, scientists, landowners, environmentalists, the timber industry and the public must address the rising threat of invasive species, or these timber producing regions will cease to be a valuable natural resource for our state.

"Over the last decade it has been a slow-moving but pervasive problem," Guffey says. "But the combination of these major natural disturbances with the disruptions caused by upcoming recovery efforts takes the problem to a much higher level." The Chinese tallowtree has the potential to become the dominant species in several different habitats, and once established, is very difficult to control. It has even been shown to alter soil and water chemistry.

Alabama is blessed with a remarkable biological diversity. Within a few hundred miles, the geography produces a wealth of habitats, which in their turn support the wildlife that make hunting and fishing such popular sports. Bottomland hardwood, maritime forest, pine flatwood, pine savanna, tidal marsh, beach/dune, and island habitats are now all threatened by this acceleration of invasive species. When plant life diversity is reduced, native wildlife diversity takes a corresponding blow, so the impact is spread even further. The loss of this biological diversity would have a ripple effect far beyond the forest and agricultural industries.

The Chinese tallowtree, also called a "popcorn tree," has no marketable uses. Its primary characteristic is its ability to choke out trees which do have value on the marketplace. Japanese cogongrass grows so densely that it, too, chokes out any competing native species. The grass spreads remarkably quickly, by natural means and also by getting caught up in the tires of trucks and equipment in one area, and taking a free ride to a new spot. The downed trees of the hurricanes offer both species an opportunity to spread like wildfire.

Easing the human misery of hurricanes Katrina and Rita is of primary importance. But overlooking the long-term menace of invasive species is a mistake we cannot afford to make. Bringing together all the stakeholders this winter would be a first step in finding a solution. We need to offer relief to those landowners who have suffered from the devastation. At the same time, we must discuss all the possible ways to preserve the value of our forest and landscapes; that value may be found in its biological diversity and ability to shelter wildlife, or in its use as agricultural or forestry resources.

Alabama has over 220,000 non-industrial forest landowners, most owning timberland with less than 100 acres. These people have invested in Alabama's natural resources and are counting on their ability to leave a legacy to their children and grandchildren. We need to find ways to help our fellow Alabamians succeed.

Let's get together with our neighboring states now and find out what the solution may be. There is little time to defuse that bomb. Our decisions today are shaping the world our children and grandchildren will inhabit. We can choose to leave as our legacy endless acres of monotonous alien species, the product of our apathy. Or we can choose to pass on the landscape we ourselves inherited, a landscape of beauty and biological diversity.

Written by Pat Byington, ecologist who works for the Auburn University Center for Forest Sustainability and Karyn Zweifel, author and freelance writer from Birmingham

Bham News Recycling Commentary - By Pat Byington

The question came from out of the blue: "Do people recycle in Alabama?" asked the young bakery shop clerk in Cannon Beach, Ore., where I was vacationing with my family this past summer. I've worn my University of Alabama T-shirt many a time, but it has never elicited that question before.

Curious, and caught just a bit off guard, I answered with my own question: "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, well, I visited Alabama for a few weeks earlier in the year," she began, haltingly, "and there were no recycling centers. There was nothing. Just a lot of trashy roadsides. It was kinda ugly."

"Yeah, I know," I replied through a grimace. I also knew why it was that way.

If you ever wanted to identify the longest list of abandoned policy recommendations in the history of state government, you would have to look no further than Alabama's 1991 Solid Waste Management plan concerning recycling and waste reduction.

Following a legislative mandate, the 1991 plan recommended various initiatives designed to fulfill a 25 percent recycling/waste reduction goal in our state's solid waste stream by 1997. Nearly a generation later, Alabama is nowhere close to achieving that goal.

So why can't we recycle and reduce our garbage in Alabama like so many other communities around the country? We can, except for the lack of political will.

A case in point: I have relatives in Shelby County's Brook Highland neighborhood who recently told me about an exciting new recycling program in their community initiated by a high school senior as a class project. The ambitious student is picking up people's recyclables, door to door, and charging residents a monthly fee. After living in Alabama for more than 15 years, my relatives are thrilled to finally have a curbside-recycling program. All this from a high school class project that will most likely end when the student graduates in May.

Now, I don't have a problem with the student's ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit, but shouldn't my relatives be able to expect the same service from Waste Management, the neighborhood's waste collector and one of the largest companies of its kind in North America?

Well, they should expect that service, and they would get it if they lived somewhere else. If they happened to live in a suburban Seattle neighborhood, where my wife's parents live, Waste Management would go to great lengths to help them recycle.

As my father-in-law boasts, his local government is so serious about recycling and waste reduction, it demands compliance from its waste collectors.

It requires companies such as Waste Management to provide two large recycling containers to each household -- one for recyclables and the other for yard waste -- and a small garbage bin. The tiny bin is an inducement to recycle, plain and simple.

Depending on where you live in Alabama, it costs $20 to $30 to landfill a ton of garbage. If we did achieve the 25 percent goal, Alabama would save $20 million to $30 million in landfill costs, lengthen landfill life, save energy, bolster the recycled-materials industry, develop new markets and create far more jobs than by simply burying all of our recyclables.

But it has to start with political will -- and leadership -- from the local government. Without policies that require waste collectors to create recycling incentives, none of this would happen.

Recent statistics on solid waste from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management give a compelling reason why we should recycle more in this state. Alabamians throw away approximately seven pounds of garbage per person per day, or more than a ton and a half a year. With about 4.6 million state residents, that means we toss out more than 11.5 billion pounds of garbage every year!

In contrast, Alabama's recycling rate is a meager 8.3 percent, which is far below the 25 percent goal set nearly two decades ago, according to ADEM. For comparison, the national recycling rate, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, is 32 percent, four times the current rate in Alabama. We are getting trounced by the rest of the nation when it comes to recycling.

Genuine efforts to recycle and reduce our wastes statewide will also create a new culture of environmental stewardship in Alabama, one that will find "unacceptable" the littered roadsides and streambanks, and the illegal dumps in our forests we currently tolerate.

All it takes to spark the change is political will, and a bit of prodding from the citizenry. Maybe it is time we dust off that 1991 Solid Waste Plan and start implementing it. But before we do that, perhaps it is time we all start demanding recycling in our own neighborhood, and not wait for a high school class project to tackle this urgent problem.

Ecologist Pat Byington, publisher of the Bama Environmental News (www.BamaNews.com), is a senior associate with the Wilderness Society.

ROJO Vulcans Division 2B Champs

Yes - I know this isn't Alabama environmental news related, but as publisher of BEN I wanted to brag about my soccer team's 8-1 record and winning the Central Alabama Independant Soccer League 2B Division. By the way - I'm the goalie.