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Shoals Environmental Alliance
SEA is an environmental activities and watch-dog alliance established to promote the preservation of the natural resources, scenic beauty, and recreational opportunities of the Shoals area of northwest Alabama. .Our mailing address is:
Shoals Environmental Alliance
P.O. Box 699
Sheffield, AL 35660
Shoals Environmental Alliance Cypress Creek Landfill Water Testing Fund
If you want to help us stop the Florence Landfill Expansion, please consider
contributing to our Water Testing Fund. Samples have to be sent off to a
laboratory and each test costs over $200. Make checks payable to Shoals
Environmental Alliance and indicate: "For Water Testing" on the check and send checks
to the above address.
Florence Proposes New Land Fill on Cypress Creek Click here for more information.
SEA meets monthly on the last Tuesday of each month at Florence-Lauderdale Public Library, 350 N. Wood Ave., Florence, AL. 5:30-7:00pm preceded by a social at 5:00pm. Our next meeting will be Tuesday, February 23 , when our speaker will be Lauderdale County Commissioner Rhea Fulmer.
The Coal Ash Assault On Alabama.
A Travesty of Justice - Why ADEM Needs Reform Click
here for more information.
TVA Reservation Redevelopment Click
here for more information.
River Front
Development - Elk River
Click
here for more information.
Selected TVA News Items
Click here to read them.
Shoals Environmental Alliance
(SEA) discussion group. Click
here for more news and information about SEA and the projects we are working
on. To subscribe to email updates send an email to
S-E-A-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
with "subscribe" as the subject and an empty body.
2010 Fresh Air Family-Scale Back Alabama Outings
Fresh Air Family, in coordination with the Scale Back Alabama program,
is sponsoring a series of nature outings in North Alabama. Starting February 6,
there will be an outing each Saturday for ten weeks. You do not have to be a
participant in the Scale Back Alabama contest, to attend these events. They are
all offered free to the public, but registration is requested.
Scale Back Alabama, sponsored by the Alabama Department of Public Health,
is a statewide weight-loss contest that is in its fourth year. The purpose of
the 10-week contest is to encourage Alabamians to lose weight, to exercise and
to have fun while doing it. Last year's campaign drew more than 40,000 people in
almost every county with a cumulative reported weight loss of almost 200,000
pounds.
Scale Back Alabama 2010 website:
http://www.scalebackalabama.com
Here are the first two outings. Details on the other eight outings will be
forthcoming soon:
Saturday, February 6 --- Walls of Jericho Hike Led by Leon Bates.
To register (required): visit
http://www.freshairfamily.org or (in the Muscle Shoals area) call
Charles Rose (256) 366-1937.
Meet 10:00am at the Walls of Jericho’s Alabama hikers parking lot in Jackson
County, AL. For carpooling from the Muscle Shoals area, call Charles Rose
at (256) 366-1937. We will meet 7:00am at the Holiday Inn in Sheffield.
For more info, call Charles at (256) 366-1937. This trip to the Walls of
Jericho, near Hytop, AL, will provide an opportunity for families to experience
breath-taking views and a diverse natural world. This nature hike will
concentrate on connecting families with the diverse plant and animal life found
in mountainous regions of North Alabama. Participants will experience a rigorous
six-mile round trip to the Walls of Jericho with a 1,600 ft. elevation uphill
return. A flexible hike plan will accommodate those desiring a shorter, easier
hike. Comfortable shoes, hiking sticks, water, snacks and lunch are advised.
Leon Bates is a retired botanist/urban forester with more than 35 years of
experience in conservation and nature study. He is a graduate of the University
of Georgia with a B.S. in Forestry and the University of Tennessee with a M.S.
in Botany. He has been a nature hike leader for numerous organizations including
serving as hike leader for the Smoky Mountain Wildflower Pilgrimage for more
than 15 years. After retiring from TVA and the City of Florence, Leon and wife
Pat moved to the mountains of East Tennessee. Leon makes frequent presentations
and conducts hikes for numerous conservation and nature related groups. The
Bates have been active in the Alabama Wildflower Society at the state and local
level for over 35 years.
For more info about the Walls of Jericho:
http://www.outdooralabama.com/news/release.cfm?ID=322
Walls of Jericho photo gallery:
http://huntsville.about.com/od/photogallery/ig/Walls-of-Jericho/Walls-of-Jericho-1.htm
Directions: The Walls of Jericho is located in Jackson County, AL, about 25
miles northwest of Scottsboro off of AL-79. From Huntsville, AL: Go east on
US-72. Turn left on AL-79 to the Skyline/Hytop community. The Walls of Jericho
tract is just north of Hytop (about 25 miles from US-72). You will drive past
the WOJ horse parking lot (on the left) and meet at the WOJ (Alabama) hikers
parking lot (on the left). If you reach the Tennessee state line, you’re gone
too far.
Saturday, February 13 --- Caney Creek Falls Hike Led by Janice
Barrett, Outreach Coordinator for Wild South.
To register (required): visit
http://www.freshairfamily.org or (in the Muscle Shoals area) call
Charles Rose (256) 366-1937.
This hike in the Bankhead National Forest is sponsored by the Sara Lee
Foundation.
Meet 9:30am at Jack’s, Woodward Ave. in Muscle Shoals or 10:30am at the Warrior
Mountains Trading Company store in Wren, Alabama (on AL-33, at the intersection
of AL-33 & AL-36, a couple of miles south of Moulton). Park on the south end of
the building and come into the store where there will be sign-in sheets at the
tables in the back.
Rating: Moderately easy. Distance: 2 miles (maybe a little more)
Description: This hike will begin on County Road 2 in the Bankhead National
Forest. We will hike for one mile over an old road to get to the waterfall,
which is one of the most beautiful anywhere. It runs all year, even through
times of severe drought. The only potentially difficult part of this hike is the
short, steep descent down into the canyon, just before arriving at the falls,
but this is easily manageable for most. This will be a great hike for kids and
families.
Bring lunch, snacks & drinking water. Other items you may want: Walking stick,
camera, binoculars, and magnifying glass. Wear clothes layered for warmth and
comfortable for hiking. Shoes need to be sturdy hiking boots or sneakers with
good tread (slippery rocks at the falls). There is always a possibility for wet
feet!
For more info, call Janice Barrett at Wild South 256-974-6166, or in the
Shoals area, Charles Rose (256) 366-1937.
Other upcoming events (details coming soon) in this series include:
Saturday, February 20 --- Micro Safari at Bucks Pocket State Park, with Dr. Paul
Davison
Saturday, February 27 --- Nature Hike, led by Leon Bates, location TBA
Saturday, March 6 --- Little River Canyon Medicinal Plant Hike, with Darryl
Patton
Saturday, March 13 --- Wildflower Hike, Cane Creek Canyon Nature Preserve, led
by Dr. Jim Lacefield
Saturday, March 20 --- Sipsey Wilderness Nature Hike (salamanders & more!), led
by Glenn Marvin & Robin Whitekiller.
Saturday, March 27 --- Wildflower Walk, TVA Muscle Shoals Reservation, led by
Jan Midgley, author of All About Alabama Wildflowers.
Saturday, April 3 --- Wildflower Hike at Monte Sano State Park, led by Brian
Finzel
Saturday, April 10 --- Wildflower Walk & Americana Exhibits at Bull Skull
Hollow, led by Charles Rose
For more info, call Charles Rose at (256) 366-1937.
SEA is partnering with TVA and other local groups to
enhance the recreational and educational values of TVA’s Muscle
Shoals
Reservation. Our first major project is the establishment of a Native
Plant Garden, located by the handicap-accessible trail in the TVA
Nature
Trails Area. The Native Plant Garden is a cooperative effort by
TVA, Shoals Environmental Alliance, Alabama Wildflower Society of the
Shoals, Shoals Master Gardeners and Men's Garden Club of the Shoals.
Other goals of the SEA partnership with TVA include removing invasive
pest species such as privet and kudzu that crowd out native plants,
sowing wildflower seed, picking up litter, helping maintain walking
trails and producing trail maps and brochures.
SEA also works to encourage responsible economic growth that preserves
the public green spaces, recreational opportunities, and wildlife
habitat
of the Shoals area. Other SEA programs will include the monitoring of
water quality in local waterways, historic preservation, and group
outings such as bird watching, camping, canoeing, and hiking
OTHER LINKS OF INTEREST
Alabama Hiking Trails Society
http://hikealabama.org/
Alabama Outdoors of Florence
http://www.alabamaoutdoors.com
Audubon Society - Shoals
http://www.shoalsaudubon.com/
Fresh Air Family
http://www.freshairfamily.org/home.html
Land Trust of Huntsville and North Alabama
http://landtrust-hsv.org
Save Cypress Creek Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/#/group.php?gid=181446218483&ref=ts
Save Cypress Creek website:
http://savecypresscreek.com
Wildflower Society - Shoals http://home.hiwaay.net/~oliver/shoalswildflowersociety.htm
Wild South http://www.wildsouth.org/
Charles L. Rose
President
Shoals Environmental Alliance
1206 N. Montgomery Ave.
Sheffield, AL 35660
H. (256) 381-2826
C. (256) 366-1937
chuckrivers@comcast.net
Click here for a
Acrobat .pfd map
of the TVA walking trails from the Scenic Shoals page on
TheCatfishWrapper website. The page also contains photos of the Hall
Memorial Native Plant Garden at TVA, Cane Creek Canyon Nature Preserve,
and wildflowers at
Whippoorwill Hollow in Sheffield.
Click here
to visit the Shoals Chapter of the Alabama Wildflower Society.
They have some great photos of local wildflowers.
We are currently attempting to schedule our speakers and programs for
next year's SEA meetings. If you have any suggestions for speakers or
topics, or any ideas about outings or other events, please contact me.
Charles Rose
(256) 366-1937 cell
(256) 381-2826 home
(256) 381-0801 fax
Click the logo at left to visit WildSouth.org
If you are not on WildSouth’s e-mail list to receive
information about their September through May monthly hikes and would
like to be, contact
Janice at janice@wildsouth.org or 256-974-6166. For additional
information about WildSouth, please visit us at
www.wildsouth.org
Hikes: Warrior Mountains
Trading
Company in Wren, Alabama is an
excellent
source of information about trails in the Bankhead Forest and Sipsey
Wilderness. If you prefer to hike with a group, we suggest you
connect with The Nature Wanderers, another local group. Call Ted
Kuzma at 256-974-7771.
SEA Literature: SEA Membership Form Native Plant Garden General
Information Brochure
If you have any questions, wish to receive e-mail notification of
SEA activities and environmental issues, or if you would like a
membership form mailed to you, contact Charles L. Rose at chuckrivers@comcast.net or
(256) 381-2826.
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