For immediate release

Contact: Janice Barrett 256-974-6166 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

January 5, 2010

Bankhead National Forest, Alabama - The Honourable Bob Carr, former Premier of New South Wales, Australia, and his wife, Helena Carr, paid a visit to the Wild South office on December 18, 2009. While in Alabama, the Carrs were hosted by Alabama Director of Tourism, Lee Sentell. Sentell met Mr. Carr in 2008 when he was in Sydney, Australia promoting tourism in Alabama. Mr. Carr held the office of Premier from 1995 to 2005 and during that time designated three hundred new parks in New South Wales. He is now a journalist and is active in conservation, environmentalism and tourism.

With an interest in preserving wild places, visiting the Bankhead National Forest and Sipsey Wilderness was a priority for Mr. Carr while in Alabama. The group that hiked to Caney Creek Falls and Kinlock Falls included Mr. Carr and Lee Sentell; Jim Felder, Executive Director of Alabama Scenic River Trail, and granddaughter, Bella Glossup; Jay Grantland, Project Manager for Alabama Mountains, Rivers, Valleys RC&D Council; Charles Seifried, photographer; Janice Barrett, Outreach Coordinator for Wild South.

From right to left: Bob Carr, Jay Grantland, Bella Glossup, Jim Felder, Janice Barrett at Caney Creek Falls, Bankhead National Forest. Photo by Charles Seifried.