Freshwater Land Trust
The Freshwater Land Trust is a non-profit conservation agency that was established under a 1996 consent decree against Jefferson County's repeated violations of the federal Clean Water Act. Since then the trust has grown through private donations to pursue other open-space projects.
The Land Trust's executive director is Wendy Jackson, assisted by Brian Rushing, the Director of Land Conservation, and Libba Vaughan, Director of Development. The agency is overseen by a Board chaired by Temple Tutwiler, and an Advisory Council headed by George Barber. The Land Trusts offices are in the 2121 Building at 2121 8th Avenue North in Birmingham.
History
After a federal judge found Jefferson County guilty of allowing untreated and partially-treated sewage to overflow into area streams, the Black Warrior-Cahaba Rivers Land Trust was established to manage the $30 million in fines which would otherwise have been paid to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Under the Jefferson County Greenways Program, those funds were used to purchase 3,500 acres, primarily along Five Mile Creek, Village Creek, Valley Creek, Shades Creek, Turkey Creek and the Cahaba River. Once purchased, the land became County property under permanent protection. The Land Trust kept a maintenance fund for use in securing, inspecting, and maintaining the condition of the protected areas.
At the same time, the Land Trust has been working on other privately-funded projects, such as helping the Red Mountain Greenway and Recreational Area Commission acquire the property for the proposed 1,108-acre Red Mountain Park along the western end of Red Mountain. The Trust also oversees land restoration projects, such as the eradication of invasive foreign plants and replanting of native species. It has made progress toward removing Japanese privet from along Shades Creek in Bessemer.
In 2003 the Freshwater Land Trust was named the Governor's Conservation Organization of the Year by Bob Riley. The Alabama Association of Fundraising Professionals named it their Outstanding Charitable Organization for 2005.
The court-ordered program expired in 2006 and the Jefferson County Commission voted 3-1 to dissolve their relationship with the Land Trust, which had recently switched to its new, shorter name. The county plans to turn over 4,500 acres to the Trust's custodianship, along with $4.2 million accrued in a maintenance fund which will be used as an endowment.
References
- Wright, Barnett (November 18, 2006) "4,500 acres in Jeffco conveyed to land trust." Birmingham News.
- Wright, Barnett (November 8, 2006) "Jeffco commission votes to cut ties with Freshwater Land Trust." Birmingham News.
External links
- Freshwater Land Trust website