Presented on behalf of:

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Presented on behalf of
Forever Wild Land Trust Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources
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F
orever Wild
A State Government program to purchase land for
use as
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A State Government program to purchase land for
use as Nature Preserves
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A State Government program to purchase land for
use as Nature Preserves Recreation Areas
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A State Government program to purchase land for
use as Nature Preserves Recreation Areas
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A State Government program to purchase land for
use as Nature Preserves Recreation
Areas State Parks
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A State Government program to purchase land for
use as Nature Preserves Recreation
Areas State Parks
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A State Government program to purchase land for
use as Nature Preserves Recreation
Areas State Parks Wildlife Management Areas
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Background
Voted in as Alabama Constitutional Amendment 543
in 1992
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Background
Voted in as Alabama Constitutional Amendment 543
in 1992 Passed by 83 of the votes
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Background
Voted in as Alabama Constitutional Amendment 543
in 1992 Passed by 83 of the votes Program
Funding Life 1992-2012
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Funding

10 (not to exceed 15 million/year)
Land Acquisitions become a component of the
Alabama Trust Fund




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Funding
Sunset clause ends Funding in 2012
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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

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

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Partners

• The Nature Conservancy of Alabama
• Ducks Unlimited
• Alabama Lands Trusts
• The Alabama Wildlife Federation
• The Attorney Generals 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
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Acquisitions

• 72 Acquisitions (fee simple long term
  recreation leases)
• 23 Counties
• 209,874 acres
• 126.8 Million in property values (at time of
  purchase)

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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
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Management Policy

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

hiking, fishing, nature study, outdoor education,
bird watching, hunting, photography, camping...
Mobile Tensaw Delta
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Management Policy

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

hiking, fishing, nature study, outdoor education,
bird watching, hunting, photography, camping...
Grand Bay Savanna Tract
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Land Stewardship
Habitat Restoration
Prescribed fire Invasive species control Native
species reintroduction
The Wehle Tract
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Land Stewardship
Habitat Restoration
Prescribed fire Invasive species control Native
species reintroduction Hydrology restoration
The State Cattle Ranch
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Land Stewardship
Habitat Restoration
Prescribed fire Invasive species control Native
species reintroduction Hydrology restoration
Mobile Tensaw Delta
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Land Stewardship
Habitat Restoration
Prescribed fire Invasive species control Native
species reintroduction Hydrology restoration
Grand Bay Savanna
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Land Stewardship
Resource Protection Law Enforcement
Land Stewardship Officer Brandon Honeycutt
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Land Stewardship
Timber management
Coosa WMA Tract
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Educational Opportunities
Field Trips Graduate Research Projects
Mobile Tensaw Delta Auburn University Student
Keith Gauldin
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Educational Opportunities
Field Trips Graduate Research Projects
Mobile Tensaw Delta Auburn University Student
Jeremy Doss
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Educational Opportunities
Field Trips Graduate Research Projects
Jacinto Port Tract University of South Alabama
Graduate Students
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Educational Opportunities
Field Trips Graduate Research Projects
Walls of Jericho Tract University of Alabama
Huntsville Students
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Acquisitions

• 72 Acquisitions (fee simple long term
  recreation leases)
• 23 Counties
• 209,874 acres
• 126.8 Million in property values (at time of
  purchase)

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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
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The Wehle Tract
Procyon lotor- Raccoon

• Recreation Wildlife Management Area
• 1,505 acres
• Forever Wild Tract 2
• Bullock County
• October 28, 1994

Gopherus polyphemus Gopher Tortoise
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• Coon Creek

• 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

Terrapene carolina Eastern Box Turtle
Argiope aurantia Banded Garden Spider
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Grand Bay Savanna

• 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

Cambarus sp. Crayfish
Sarracenia sp. Pitcher Plant
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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
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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
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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

Wood Thrush nest
Opuntia humifusa Prickly Pear Cactus
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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

Heliconius charithonia Zebra Butterfly
Bubo virginianus- Great Horned Owl
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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

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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 Salamander
Trillium stamineum Twisted Trillium
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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
Pityopsis sp.- Golden-aster
Symphyotrichum sp. Purple Aster
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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

Pinus taeda Loblolly Pine
Pseudacris crucifer Spring Peeper
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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
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Mobile Tensaw Delta
Thamnophis sauritus Eastern Ribbonsnake

• 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 Alabamas State
  Champion Bald Cypress tree

Alligator mississipiensis American Alligator
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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
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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-wills-widow
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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 Stokes Aster with Tumbling
Flower Beetles
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Shoal Creek Preserve
Carphophis amoenus Eastern Wormsnake
Lasiurus borealis- Eastern Red Bat

• 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

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Lillian Swamp

• Nature Preserve Recreation
• 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
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Splinter Hill Bog
Hyla femoralis Pine Woods Treefrog

• Nature Preserve Recreation
• 363 acres 265 acres
• Forever Wild Tract 30 40
• Baldwin County
• September 24, 2003 September 24, 2004
• Adjacent 731 acres CIAP 750 acres TNC

Sarracenia leucophylla White-top Pitcher Plant
Platanthera ciliaris Yellow Fringed Orchid
Veratrum virginicum Virginia Bunchflower
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Ambystoma maculatum Spotted Salamander
Walls of Jericho

• 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

Lithobates palustris Pickerel Frog
Trichostema setaceum Blue Curls
Etheostoma rufilineatum Redline Darter
Villosa taeniata Painted Creekshell
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Knotty Pine

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

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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
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Perdido
Farancia erytrogramma erytrogramma Rainbow Snake

• Nature Preserve, Recreation, Wildlife
  Management Area
• 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

Asclepias longifolia- Longleaf Milkweed
Gopherus polyphemus Gopher Tortoise
Lilium iridollae Panhandle Lily
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Coosa WMA Tract

• Nature Preserve, Recreation, Wildlife
  Management Area
• 9,746 acres
• Tract 57
• Coosa County
• October 25, 2007
• Hosts one of the last remaining populations of
  red-cockaded woodpeckers outside of Alabamas
  National Forest system

Picoides borealis- Red-cockaded Woodpecker
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Cathedral Caverns-Kirkland

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

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State Cattle Ranch
Asclepias asperula Antelope Horn Milkweed

• 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

Mycteria americana- Wood Stork
Papilio glaucus-Tiger Swallowtail
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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,
  Alabamas first state capital site

Ratibida pinnata- Gray Head Coneflower
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Mulberry Fork WMA
Necturus alabamensis Black Warrior River Water dog

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

Lepomis megalotis Longear Sunfish
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Cahaba River WMA

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

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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

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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.
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Funding
2012