 Ted Kuzma is recognized as Wild South's premier volunteer in Alabama at the volunteer appreciation picnic in November 2009. To every Wild South member who donated to our fundraising appeals, renewed a membership, purchased gift memberships, and volunteered... Thank you!
From the Alabama Office
In 2009, 62 Alabama volunteers logged a total of 1119 hours working to protect our forests. Projects included garbage dump clean-ups, trail maintenance, glade restoration, office work, mailings, tree-planting, canyon mapping, radio announcements, invasive plant inventory, hike leading, signage, photography, CPR/First Aid training, benefit yoga class, and restoration monitoring.
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 Stewarding Our National Forests
Wild South reviews and comments on project proposals put forth by the USFS on behalf of our members and the public at large to ensure that the agency complies with environmental laws, protects ecological functions, and acts in the best interest of the public.
Bankhead Canyon Preservation
This marked the fourth year of this project, which directly protects hundreds of acres of rare canyon communities in the Bankhead National Forests in AL through a special Canyon Prescription that gives a level of protection exceeded only by the Wilderness Prescription. In 2009 our walking surveys covered 130 miles of streams and 30,780 acres of the Forest, resulting in 360.5 acres proposed for canyon prescription. Two interns from Duke University and Warren Wilson College teamed up over the summer to help conduct fieldwork, create maps and produce summaries for each watershed surveyed.
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from Tracy Davids – Executive Director
Over the past year, Americans have become more aware of how fragile things like our economy and the environment really are. We’ve also realized how the seemingly small actions of a few can have large and lasting effects on the many. This same reality is faced year after year on our nation’s public lands. During these uneasy times, it’s important to revisit Wild South’s hopeful vision of the future.
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Veteran public lands advocates announced the launch of the New National Parks Project (NNPP), a DC-based initiative that will wage a national campaign to expand America’s National Park System. The New National Parks Project will help bring together national park advocates so they can speak with a united voice that will be heard in Washington.
“We need more national parks. Everyone deserves to have a park nearby,” said Susan Tixier, Director of the Project’s Southwest Office. “Everyone needs the chance to experience the adventure of the out-of-doors, where the unpredictable can happen — where there are bears and eagles, wild rivers and avalanches, crashing thunder and blissful silence, butterflies and blinding sunlight. This is the America our ancestors experienced — it’s a vital part of our national heritage.”
Proposals for new or expanded parks include the Maine Woods, West Virginia’s Blackwater Canyon, Washington’s Mount St. Helens, Oregon’s Mount Hood, California’s Giant Sequoia, Pinnacles, Los Padres, and Tejon Ranch, New Mexico’s Valles Caldera, and Utah’s Glen Canyon.
The New National Parks Project comes at a time of renewed interest in national parks. The Ken Burns PBS documentary, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea is receiving an enthusiastic public response. With the approaching National Park Service centennial celebration in 2016, the Obama administration is showing a level of interest in protecting and expanding national parks that has not been seen in decades. |
 The Alabama Mountain Lakes Association (AMLA) recently honored Wild South’s Janice Barrett with its 2009 Northern Star Award. The award is among 11 that comprise the PEAK Awards that were presented on September 24 during the AMLA annual meeting in Hartselle, Alabama.
The PEAK Awards, the highest achievement in North Alabama tourism, honor individuals and organizations that have had a major impact on tourism in North Alabama. History tells us that tourism really began with navigation by the stars. The Northern Star Award is presented to an individual, such as a ranger or guide who is a front-line employee, who has gone “above and beyond” expectations.
Janice was nominated for the Northern Star Award by Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce president, Kim Hood. In her role as Outreach Coordinator for Wild South, Janice’s promotion of hikes, educational and volunteer opportunities for adults and children in the Bankhead National Forest and Sipsey Wilderness bring many people from all over Alabama and from surrounding states into North Alabama. |
 from Tracy Davids – Executive Director
The fall winds have blown me back to Wild South from a glorious three-month sabbatical. I want to thank our board of directors for giving me an extended break to rest and rejuvenate after a challenging, yet rewarding, eleven years with the organization, eight of those at the helm.
I also want to thank our dedicated, hardworking staff who took on additional responsibilities, worked long hours, and made personal sacrifices to ensure that we didn’t skip a beat. Under the leadership of Ben Prater, Wild South staff advanced our work in a significant way.
It will take an equal amount of passion, dedication, sacrifice, courage, time, and money donated by many individuals to finally realize our vision of empowered communities, healthy intact ecosystems and wilderness in the Southeast. The Ken Burns documentary, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, recently drove this point home for me.
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By Ben Prater- Interim Executive Director
For those of you expecting to see Tracy’s smiling face on this page do not be alarmed. Tracy is still with us but is currently taking a much needed break from her decade of service to Wild South. Tracy was given the opportunity this summer to take a well-deserved three-month sabbatical. In the meantime, I have “taken the wheel” here at Wild South and have been enjoying the ride.
One of the things I have learned as Director is that relationships are the key to building grassroots support, raising funds, strengthening alliances, and understanding your impact. To further my relationship with all of you I would like to share my story.
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Wild South Quarterly
