Presented on behalf of: Forever Wild Land Trust Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Presented on behalf of:

Forever Wild Land Trust

Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

A State Government program to purchase land for use as…

Forever Wild


Nature Preserves


Nature PreservesRecreation Areas


Nature PreservesRecreation AreasState Parks


Nature PreservesRecreation AreasState ParksWildlife Management Areas

Background

Voted in as Alabama Constitutional Amendment 543 in 1992


Passed by 83% of the votes

Background


Passed by 83% of the votes

Program Funding Life: 1992-2012

Background

Revenue generated from royalties of

offshore gas operations in Alabama waters

Alabama TrustFundInterest earned

from the Alabama Trust Fund

General Fund

Funding10%

(not to exceed $15 million/year)

90%

$

$

$

$

$

Land Acquisitions become a component of the Alabama Trust Fund

$ $

Sunset clause ends Funding in

2012

Funding

Forever Wild Board of Trustees

15 voting members • One member shall be the Commissioner of the Department

[ADCNR] who shall also serve as Chairman of the Board.• One member shall be the State Forester.• One member shall be the Executive Director of the Marine

Environmental Sciences Consortium.• Three members which shall be appointed by the Alabama

Commission on Higher Education from Departments of Biology, Zoology, Environmental Sciences and Wildlife Science from eligible four-year institutions of higher education in Alabama.

• Nine members from each of the three geographical regions of the State nominated by three groups representing different interests and to serve 6 year terms

Land to be purchased from willing sellers, at a price not to exceed Fair Market Value

Partners

• The Nature Conservancy of Alabama• Ducks Unlimited• Alabama Lands Trusts• The Alabama Wildlife Federation• The Attorney General’s Office

– Environmental Section• North American Wetlands Conservation Act:

USFWS• National Coastal Wetlands Program: USFWS-

Forest Legacy Program: USFS-• Coastal Impact Assistance Program: NOAA

Coastal Estuarine Land Conservation Program: NOAA

Thamnophis s. sirtalis – Eastern Gartersnake

Acquisitions

• 72 Acquisitions (fee simple & long term recreation leases)

• 23 Counties• 209,874 acres• $126.8 Million in

property values (at time of purchase)

Management Policy

Multiple Use Philosophy– Nature Preserve– Recreation Area– State Park– Wildlife Management

hiking, fishing, nature study, outdoor education, bird watching, hunting, photography, camping...

Walls of Jericho Tract


Mobile Tensaw Delta


Management Policy


Grand Bay Savanna Tract


Management Policy

Land Stewardship

Habitat RestorationPrescribed fire

Invasive species controlNative species reintroduction

The Wehle Tract

The State Cattle Ranch

Land Stewardship

Habitat Restoration

Prescribed fireInvasive species controlNative species reintroductionHydrology restoration

Mobile Tensaw Delta

Land Stewardship

Habitat RestorationPrescribed fire

Invasive species controlNative species reintroductionHydrology restoration

Grand Bay Savanna

Land Stewardship

Habitat Restoration

Prescribed fireInvasive species controlNative species reintroductionHydrology restoration

Land Stewardship

Resource Protection & Law Enforcement

Land Stewardship Officer Brandon

Honeycutt

Land Stewardship

Timber management

Coosa WMA Tract

Educational Opportunities

Mobile Tensaw DeltaAuburn University Student & Keith

Gauldin

Field Trips & Graduate Research Projects

Educational Opportunities

Mobile Tensaw DeltaAuburn University Student &

Jeremy Doss

Field Trips & Graduate Research Projects

Jacinto Port TractUniversity of South Alabama Graduate

Students

Educational OpportunitiesField Trips &

Graduate Research Projects

Walls of Jericho TractUniversity of Alabama Huntsville Students

Educational OpportunitiesField Trips &

Graduate Research Projects

Acquisitions

• 72 Acquisitions (fee simple & long term recreation leases)

• 23 Counties• 209,874 acres• $126.8 Million in

property values (at time of purchase)

Guntersville State Park Additions

Monsanto• Nature Preserve & Recreation• Nesting Habitat for Growing Population of Bald

Eagles• 209 acres• Forever Wild Tract #1• Located on Lake Guntersville in Marshall County• September 13, 1994

Eagle Roost View• Secured Public View of Bald Eagle Roost Habitat • 17 acres• Forever Wild Tract #13• February 4, 1999

Haliaeetus leucocephalus-

Bald Eagle

The Wehle Tract

• Recreation & Wildlife Management Area

• 1,505 acres• Forever Wild Tract #2• Bullock County• October 28, 1994

Gopherus polyphemus

Gopher Tortoise

Procyon lotor- Raccoon

Coon Creek

Terrapene carolina Eastern Box Turtle

• Recreation & Nature Preserve• 320 acres• Forever Wild Tract #3• Located on Yates Lake in Tallapoosa County• February 1, 1995• Environmental Education Study Area• Flora published 2008, 503 species

Argiope aurantia

Banded Garden Spider

• Nature Preserve• Extensive habitat restoration

through CIAP• $2 million in Federal grants• 5,151 acres• Forever Wild Tract #4, 24, 38, &

56• Located onshore of the Gulf of

Mexico in Mobile County• May 7, 1996, November 18, 2002,

June 30, 2004, & December 20, 2006

Grand Bay Savanna

Cambarus sp.

Crayfish

Sarracenia sp.

Pitcher Plant

Lowndes WMA- Additions

The Riggins & Big Swamp Creek Tracts

• Wildlife Management Area

• 624 acres & 1,343 acres• Forever Wild Tract #5 &

69• Lowndes County• September 26, 1996 &

August 21, 2009

Ardea herodias- Great Blue Heron

Hibiscus moschuetos

Crimson eyed

Rosemallow

Actias luna- Luna Moth

Fort Toulouse• Recreation

• 254 acres• Forever Wild Tract #6• Located along the Alabama

River in Elmore County• May 27, 1997• Historic Preservation and

Research Opportunities in the development of Native American cultures, the interaction between Indian and European cultures and the development of the State of Alabama

Thryothorus ludovicianus

Carolina Wren

Archilochus colubris- Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Indian Mountain • Nature Preserve &

Recreation • 594 acres• Forever Wild Tract #7 &

18• Cherokee County• September 18, 1997 &

December 3, 2001• Facilitates long-distance

hiking through the connection of the Pinhoti Trail in the Talledega National Forest of Alabama with the Appalachian Trail in Georgia

Opuntia humifusa

Prickly Pear Cactus

Wood Thrush nest

Blakeley Addition • State Park

• 420 acres• Forever Wild Tract #8• Located on the edge of the

Mobile Delta marshlands in Baldwin County

• January 28, 1998• Historic Preservation of tract used

by prehistoric Indian societies, European pioneers, early American settlers, Civil War soldiers and generations of farmers

Bubo virginianus- Great Horned Owl

Heliconius charithonia

Zebra Butterfly

Blowing Springs Cave

• Habitat Conservation & Nature Preserve

• Cave Habitat vital to the Conservation & Protection of the Threatened Gray Bat

• 60 acres• Forever Wild Tract #9• Lauderdale County• April 15, 1998

Monte Sano State Park & Huntsville Trail System Additions

• Recreation & Nature Preserve• 197 acres, 40 acres, 340 acres, & 154

acres• Forever Wild Tract #10, 35, 53, & 59• Madison County• September 4, 1998, February 20,

2004, July 23, 2006, & February 6, 2008

• Big Cats Creek & Periwinkle Spring supports a small population of federally listed wildflowers

• Certain Tract has one of the only permanent springs in that portion of the mountain, and also supports a small population of rare plants

• MSP-North Slope Addition hosts the Mountain Mist Trail which winds it way around Monte Sano Mountain

Eurycea lucifuga –

Cave SalamanderTrillium stamineum – Twisted Trillium

Coldwater Mountain

• Nature Preserve & Recreation • 3,924 acres, 280 acres, & 20

acres• Forever Wild Tract #11, 32,

& 50• Calhoun County• October 2, 1998, December

3, 2003, & March 2, 2006• Protection of local watershed

for Coldwater Spring, a unique ecological environment and source of drinking water for local municipalities

Mimosa microphylla- Sensitive Brier

Symphyotrichum sp.

Purple Aster

Pityopsis sp.- Golden-aster

Pike County Pocosin

• Nature Preserve• 190 acres• Forever Wild Tract #12• Pike County• January 20,1999• Supports two unique plant

communities: an uncommon scrub-hardwood/longleaf pine/reindeer moss vegetation type and an unusual evergreen plant community

Pseudacris crucifer Spring Peeper

Pinus taeda

Loblolly Pine

Sipsey River

Swamp• Nature Preserve & Recreation• 2,998 acres, 280 acres, &153

acres• Forever Wild Tract #14, 22, &

28• Located along the floodplains

of the Sipsey River inTuscaloosa County

• June 14, 1999, August 29, 2002, & April 4, 2003

• The Sipsey Randolph Tract was purchased, in-part, through a $60,000 conservation award from Ducks Unlimited, Inc.

Chryemys picta dorsalis- Southern Painted Turtle

Mobile Tensaw DeltaThamnophis

sauritus –

Eastern Ribbonsnake

Alligator mississipiensis – American Alligator

• 130,000 acres• 14 acquisitions• June 12,1999 through

December 30, 2008• $11.6 million in Federal

grants• Extensive Survey work• Unique habitats essential for

avian conservation, as well as several rare species of plants and animals

• MTD-Bayou Jessamine home of Alabama’s State Champion Bald Cypress tree

Ruffner Mountain Addition

• Nature Preserve & Recreation

• 227 acres• Forever Wild Tract #16• Adjacent to the Ruffner

Mountain Nature Center in Jefferson County

• June 13, 2000• Environmental Education

opportunities

Myiarchus crinitus

Great Crested Flycatcher

Lauderdale and Freedom Hills WMA

• Wildlife Management Area• 35,711 acres• Forever Wild Tract #20, 43,

45, 46, 58, & 66• Multiple locations south &

north of the Tennessee River in Colbert & Lauderdale Counties

• December 28, 2001, March 17, 2005, June 27, 2005, July 20, 2005, December 4, 2007, & December 17, 2008

Caprimulgus carolinensis

Chuck-will’s-widow

Weeks Bay NERR Additions

• Nature Preserve• 110 acres, 113 acres, 11 acres,

& 40 acres• Forever Wild Tract #23, 33, 41,

& 68• Baldwin County• September 26, 2002, January

14, 2004, September 27, 2004, & May 27, 2009

• Acquired with financial support of USFWS through a $1 million National Coastal Wetlands grant

Stokesia laevis

Stoke’s Aster with Tumbling Flower Beetles

Shoal Creek

Preserve• Nature Preserve & Recreation

• 298 acres• Forever Wild Tract #26• Lauderdale County• February 26, 2003• Purchased, in-part, through a

$100,000 Land & Water Conservation Fund grant as well as contributions from the City of Florence & Lauderdale County

Carphophis amoenus Eastern Wormsnake

Lasiurus borealis- Eastern Red Bat

Lillian Swamp


• 238 acres, 320 acres, & 894 acres

• Forever Wild Tracts #29, #31, & 54

• Baldwin County• August 19, 2003,

November 8, 2003, & September 12, 2006

• Adjacent 406 acres CIAP, 640 acres DOT, & 438acres Mental Health Trust Land

Celithemis elisa-

Calico Pennant Dragonfly

Splinter Hill Bog


• 363 acres & 265 acres

• Forever Wild Tract #30 & 40

• Baldwin County• September 24, 2003

& September 24, 2004

• Adjacent 731 acres CIAP & 750 acres TNC

Hyla femoralis – Pine Woods Treefrog

Sarracenia leucophylla White-top Pitcher Plant

Platanthera ciliaris

Yellow Fringed Orchid

Veratrum virginicum

Virginia Bunchflower

Walls of

JerichoLithobates

palustris Pickerel Frog

Ambystoma maculatum Spotted

Salamander

• Nature Preserve, Recreation, & Wildlife Management Area

• 15,827 acres• Forever Wild Tract #34, 36,

52, & 60• Jackson County• February 5, 2004, February

26, 2004, May 16, 2006, & February 28, 2008

• $2.4 million in Federal grants

Trichostema setaceum Blue

Curls

Etheostoma rufilineatum

Redline DarterVillosa taeniata

Painted Creekshell

Knotty Pine

• State Park Addition• 45 acres• Forever Wild Tract #39• Dekalb County• July 16, 2004

Turkey Creek

• Nature Preserve & Recreation• 462 acres & 48 acres• Forever Wild Tract #42 & 47• Jefferson County• December 15, 2004 & September 28,

2005• Cooperatively managed with the Black

Warrior Cahaba Rivers Land Trust, the City of Pinson, and local citizens groups supporting the conservation of the Turkey Creek Watershed

• $800,000 grant from State Wildlife Grant Program

Toxostoma rufum

Brown Thrasher

Perdido


• 18,000 acres• Forever Wild Tract #48 &

55• Baldwin County• January 18, 2006 &

December 20, 2006• Partners TNC, CIAP, FLP,

SLD, CELCP • $7.5 million in Federal

grants

Farancia erytrogramma erytrogramma

Rainbow Snake

Asclepias longifolia- Longleaf Milkweed

Gopherus polyphemus

Gopher Tortoise

Lilium iridollae

Panhandle Lily


• 9,746 acres• Tract #57• Coosa County• October 25, 2007• Hosts one of the last remaining

populations of red-cockaded woodpeckers outside of Alabama’s National Forest system

Coosa WMA Tract

Picoides borealis- Red-cockaded Woodpecker

• State Park addition• 20 acres• Tract #62• Marshall County• April 11, 2008

Cathedral Caverns-Kirkland

State Cattle Ranch

• Recreation & Nature Preserve• 2,031 acres & 1,311 acres• Forever Wild Tract #63 & 65• Located between drainages of

Big German Creek in Hale County

• April 23, 2008 & August 22, 2008

• SLD 646 acres• Numerous Recreation

opportunities that include field trial sites and handicap hunting stations

Papilio glaucus-Tiger Swallowtail

Mycteria americana- Wood Stork

Asclepias asperula Antelope Horn

Milkweed

Old Cahawba Prairie

• Nature Preserve & Recreation??

• 3,007 acres• Forever Wild Tract #70• Located between drainages of

the Cahaba River and Big Swamp Creek in Dallas County

• August 29, 2009

• Adjoins the historic grounds of Old Cahawba, Alabama’s first

state capital site Ratibida pinnata- Gray Head Coneflower

Mulberry Fork WMA

• Wildlife Management Area• 33,280 acres• Forever Wild Tract #71• Walker & Tuscaloosa Counties• October 15, 2009• 94 year recreation lease

Necturus alabamensis

Black Warrior River Water dog

Lepomis megalotis

Longear Sunfish

Cahaba River WMA

• Wildlife Management Area• 27,894 acres• Forever Wild Tract #72• Shelby & Bibb Counties• October 15, 2009• 94 year Recreation lease

Photographers

• John Trent• Garth Crow• Nick Sharp• Mark Bailey• Patrick Thompson• Keith Gauldin• Jeremy Doss• Eric Soehren• Jo Lewis• David Lewis• Ashley Peters• Wayne Barger• Brian Holt• Courtney Graydon• Greg Lein• Jody Thompson• Other Friends and

Partners

http://www.facebook.com/people/Ashley-Peters/1128145905

You can help purchase and manage land that will remain Forever Wild by buying an

attractive Forever Wild tag for your vehicle(s). Tags are available at all county

courthouses and annexes and you can personalize your tag at no additional cost.

2012

Funding

Presented on behalf of: Forever Wild Land Trust Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Documents

Transcript of Presented on behalf of: Forever Wild Land Trust Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.