Sierra Club, North Alabama Group

04/02/2024

First, imagine the neighborhood your family has lived in for more than 150 years being turned into a deteriorating flood zone...

Now imagine the flooding was caused by the state. That is what is happening to the people of Elba, Alabama, and the historic Black community of Shiloh.

More in Sierra Club executive director Ben Jealous' latest column: https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/highway-robbery-and-environmental-injustice-alabama

02/19/2021

Lyme disease is much more common in the northeast than it is in the southeast. This article explains why.

The reptiles make poor hosts for transmitting the infection

06/17/2019

Heads up! Coosa Riverkeeper will be speaking to Gadsden City Council about coal ash tomorrow.

Tomorrow our Executive Director is speaking to City of Gadsden's City Council to talk about the impacts of groundwater contamination from the coal ash pond on the banks of Lake Neely Henry on the Coosa River. If you have time to come express your concern about this issue, please come to City Hall (4th floor) at 9 AM for the Recreation & Education sub-committee or pre-council meeting at 10 AM.

04/18/2019

House Bill 346, the plastic bag bill, is on the House calendar for TODAY.

Let your legislators hear from you before they convene at 10am!

https://secure.everyaction.com/bp-N5sKkh0as5E2-7ikCZw2

House Bill 346, the plastic bag bill, is on the House calendar for TODAY.

Let your legislators hear from you before they convene at 10am!

https://secure.everyaction.com/bp-N5sKkh0as5E2-7ikCZw2

09/14/2018

We have completed review of the "Mobile Harbor Draft Integrated General Reevaluation Report/Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (Draft GRR/SEIS)". The project will deepen the ship channel 5 additional feet (to 50 feet in Mobile Bay and 52 feet in the Gulf) and will increase annual dredging q...

02/28/2018

HB 416 would require the state to protect the flow in 132,000 miles of Alabama waterways and the people that depend on them, while planning for droughts and water shortages.

02/23/2018

House Bill 362, which calls for a constitutional amendment to tax the properties held by the Forever Wild Land Trust, will be on the next House Special Order calendar.

After a week’s reprieve, House Bill 362, which calls for a constitutional amendment to tax the properties held by the Forever Wild Land Trust, will be on the next House Special Order calendar…

02/09/2018

On Wednesday, the House State Government Committee passed a revised version of HB 362. This bill calls for a constitutional amendment to require the Forever Wild Land Trust to pay property taxes on…

02/03/2018

With the introduction of House Bill 362, our state's public lands are at once again at risk. Ask the House State Government Committee to vote NO on HB 362.

HB 362 proposes a constitutional amendment that would require the Forever Wild Land Trust to pay counties for any lost property taxes on lands purchased through the program. HB 362 starts the clock on the end of future Forever Wild purchases. With each additional acquisition, more taxes are owed, and less funding is available to purchase additional lands for public hunting, fishing and recreation. This is the same bill that was introduced in 2017 and, with your help, defeated.

There is a misconception that Forever Wild has a special provision exempting it from property taxes. All state-owned lands—from the Governor’s Mansion and State House, to lands in the state-owned university system—are exempt from property taxes. This bill unfairly targets a program that provides valuable economic benefits to our state. (A recent Return on Investment study shows that for every $1 invested to purchase lands, $5 is returned to the state in goods and services.)

Forever Wild was overwhelming supported when introduced in 1992 with 83% of the vote and reauthorized in 2012 by 75% of voters. The people of Alabama have spoken out again and again in favor of this program. How many times do we have to send the message to our elected officials that the voters of Alabama support public lands for recreation and hunting?

Please tell your elected officials: Vote NO on HB 362!

http://www.congressweb.com/ca/14/

Find your legislators at: http://www.legislature.state.al.us/aliswww/ISD/House/ALRepresentatives.aspx

Photos © Beth Maynor Finch

02/01/2018

Rep. Mark Tuggle (R-Alexander City) just introduced HB 362 - the same bill we defeated last year that would tax Forever Wild. Please take a minute to ask the House State Government Committee to vote NO on HB 362! Thanks for standing up for Alabama's public lands! http://www.congressweb.com/ca/14/

In 2012, Alabama's Forever Wild Land Trust program was renewed for another 20 years by an overwhelming majority - 75% of the vote. Forever Wild purchases and maintains public lands so that all Alabamians can hunt, hike, and enjoy the pristine, undeveloped natural beauty of our state. A recent Return...

08/08/2017

National Drive Electric Week will be in Huntsville September 16. See https://driveelectricweek.org/event.php?eventid=882