Alabama's Forever Wild board adjusts to uncertain future on land preservation

Meeting Thursday in Birmingham, the board that oversees Alabama's Forever Wild program found itself operating in a new world, one in which its future may not be forever.

During its just-finished regular session, the Legislature did not pass a measure that would have extended the life of the state program that purchases and preserves public land. The bill faced opposition from the Alabama Farmer's Federation and legislative allies who questioned whether the program still was necessary.

The Legislature did pass a proposed constitutional amendment to allow voters statewide to decide whether to reauthorize the program for another 20 years. That amendment will be voted on in the November 2012 general election.

While supporters are confident voters will approve re-authorization, the board now has to adjust to the possibility that the land-buying money that flows to the program from the state's oil and gas trust fund will halt in September 2012. Each month, Forever Wild gets 10 percent of the interest earnings off the oil and gas trust fund. That ranges from $700,000 to $1 million a month.

"We've operated in the past under the assumption that the money was going to be there," said Greg Lein, assistant director at the Department of Conservation's state lands division. "It is a very new environment we are in."

Lein told the board it currently had a cash balance of $4.9 million to spend on future acquisitions. Lein said the board may end up having enough money to purchase many of the properties already in the pipeline, but those entering the early phases of evaluation face a more uncertain future in light of the possibility the program could end.

Investigating, appraising and negotiating the purchase of a parcel of land can be a long, drawn-out process. Forever Wild's rules require two rounds of appraisals. Purchases often are made only if federal grants can be obtained to help toward the purchase. That helps to stretch Forever Wild's money but often results in long waits.

There are currently 44 properties nominated to the board for consideration and 18 have made the program's short list after an evaluation by the state lands division.

The properties are ranked in terms of their value in protecting unique natural features, for their recreational value, their value as hunting land and their value as an addition to an existing state park.

The properties on the shortlist include coastal marshes and estuaries, the north Alabama habitat of a rare glow-in-the-dark insect larvae, additional hunting lands, a tract of land along the Locust Fork River that could provide boaters needed access to the river, and additions to Cheaha, Lake Lurleen, and Rickwood Caverns state parks.

The board voted to proceed on an initial investigation of a nominated tract of 762 acres in and around Flagg Mountain adjacent to Weogufka State Forest. The purchase of that property from The Conservation Fund would allow an extension of the Pinhoti Trail, an Alabama-originating connection to the Appalachian Trail.

Starting at Coosa County's Flagg Mountain, the southernmost Appalachian mountain, a hiker could follow a trail all the way to Maine.

The board was also briefed on a proposal in the works that would involve Forever Wild partnering with the Trust for Public Land and Baldwin County to secure a 621-acre property called Live Oak Landing. That property would give boaters a much-needed boat launch for access to the 100,000 acres of public land in the Mobile Tensaw Delta. Dan Dumont, the Alabama Forest Legacy program coordinator, said the acquisition could pave the way for the return of fishing tournaments to the Delta and would potentially provide an economic impact of $9 million to 12 million annually.

It remains to be seen whether there will be money available to make those purchases.

Chris Oberholster, director of the Alabama Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, said uncertainty over the future of funding creates increased risk for groups such as his.

Nonprofit conservation organizations such as the Nature Conservancy raise money to buy ecologically important properties for preservation. Those groups, which can often move faster than Forever Wild, can secure properties of interest to Forever Wild. If Forever Wild eventually decides to purchase them, the nonprofits can then use the money for new conservation purchases. But in a world without Forever Wild, The Nature Conservancy would have little chance of selling. The current situation keeps them from embarking on long-term projects.

"There is sort of a cooling effect," he said.

Oberholster said between now and the vote, the coalition of Forever Wild supporters will be trying to convince state voters that Forever Wild has much work left to do.

Though Alabama is one of the richest states in terms of species diversity, it has among the lowest percentage of protected public lands. About 4.1 percent of the state is currently in protected ownership, and if Forever Wild were reauthorized for another 20 years and continued buying land at the same pace it did in its first 20 years, the state's percentage of protected public lands would rise to just 4.2 percent of the state.

Alabama would still rank last among Southeastern states by that measure, but it would at least continue advances in making land available to the public for recreation and protecting unique natural assets, Oberholster said.

"This in an opportunity for the people of Alabama to weigh in on continuing a highly successful program," he said.

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