Alabama Rivers Alliance
The Alabama Rivers Alliance (originally the Alabama State Rivers Coalition) is a non-profit organization created in 1993 to help protect and restore Alabama's rivers. The group advocates for water quality and quantity and assists in physical planning, organizing and education efforts. It became an independent non-profit in 1997 and currently serves as a statewide network of 100 partner groups working on a range of initiatives aimed at empowering citizens and advocating for sound water policy and enforcement of environmental regulations.
The Alabama Rivers Alliance's offices are located at 2014 6th Avenue North. It moved from 2027 2nd Avenue North in July 2013. The group's executive director is Cindy Lowry and its program director is Mitch Reid.
The partners in forming the original 1993 coalition were the Cahaba River Society, Alabama Chapter of the Sierra Club, Lake Watch of Lake Martin, Alabama Citizen Action, Friends of the Locust Fork River, and the Alabama Environmental Council. Its policy programs were organized under the auspices of the Cahaba River Society until the group established its own board of directors in September 1996. It continued to operate under the sponsorship of the Cahaba River Society until the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1997. Through private donations, the Alliance continues to independently with an annual operating budget of $300,000.
The Alabama Rivers Alliance has produced reports on watershed health for several waterways, worked to recognize ecologically-significant streams through its "Outstanding Alabama Waters" designation, hosted an annual Watershed Leadership Conference, participated in the Tristate Conservation Coalition to advocate for water quality concerns in interstate resource negotiations, participated in legal challenges to projects that threaten waterways, and supported reclamation projects.
The Alliance publishes the bi-annual newsletter River Ties and took the lead in producing the Alabama Water Agenda.
External links
- Alabama Rivers Alliance website
- Partner organizations list at alabamarivers.org