Birmingham Water Works Seeks Quick Sale

Forever Wild Board Says Wait

by Glynn Wilson

The Birmingham Water Works Board is rushing to sell 3,200 acres of land along the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River and forestalling a move to acquire the property to preserve it by the state Forever Wild board.

Glynn Wilson

Donna Schultz and Friends of the Locust Fork president Sam Howell on a recent outing on the river…

The Black Warrior Riverkeeper non-profit group is opposing this move and asking that citizens immediately contact the Birmingham Water Works Board to oppose the action.

“It is a shame that the (Birmingham Water Works Board) has chosen to abruptly shun Forever Wild and sell to the highest bidder. It seems that the rush to sell is unfounded, as they have held this property for more than a decade,” said Nelson Brooke, executive director of the group.

The property has been appraised at $3.2 Million, according to the water board. At the last Forever Wild board meeting on June 11, that board voted to seek their own appraisal of the property, a first step toward buying the land to preserve it and protect it from development forever.

The water board, however, voted in their board meeting on June 30 to open up a bid process to accept offers on the property through Friday, July 31.

“This unfortunate move effectively cuts Forever Wild out of the running for the property, as the earliest Forever Wild could make a decision would be at their September board meeting,” Brooke said. “I have been unable to meet with their realtor Stan Smith this month to figure out why they are doing this and how the process will work, despite repeated attempts and promises.”

Brooke encouraged the public to contact the board and urge them not to do this. You can learn how on its Website at BirminghamWaterWorks.com.

“This is it folks,” Brooke said. “If they choose to sell to the highest bidder after tomorrow, then the public option is off.”

“It is very disappointing,” said Pat Byington, one of the original environmental activists who pushed for the creation of the Forever Wild program. He is now the Southeast coordinator of the Wilderness Society.

The Forever Wild Program was established in 1992, by constitutional amendment, to provide for the purchase of public recreational lands. Since its inception, the program has purchased lands for general recreation, nature preserves, additions to Wildlife Management Areas and state parks. Currently, the board is focusing on acquisitions in central Alabama. Sixty-seven tracts totaling 139,844 acres located throughout the state have been acquired.

The Forever Wild board was made aware of the sales timetable, water board Chairman Anthony Barnes told The Birmingham News.

The board bought the Blount County property in the early 1990s for $2.7 million. The plan was to dam the river for a drinking water reservoir. Serious opposition to the dam kept that plan shelved for years, however, until the water board recently gave up and took the dam off the list of options for a future water supply for the Birmingham area.

The board has decided to pursue a different new water source, Barnes said, so it’s time to sell the property and apply the money to other projects.

“I think it would be unfair to our ratepayers if we didn’t take the highest offer that comes in,” Barnes told the News. But that’s a ridiculous statement, according to Brooke.

“Why does the board not want to work with the state on a sale that could benefit thousands of citizens annually, the local Blount County tourism economy, and water quality and wildlife habitat? Seems like a win for the public (ratepayers and citizens alike) and for the water supply (watershed protection is the best investment a water provider can make),” he said. “Something smells fishy.”

Businessman George Barber, a member of the Forever Wild Board, told the News he would like to acquire the property for Forever Wild, but he said it will take time to get an appraisal for the property and a vote to buy it, according to Forever Wild’s procedures. He said the board can’t act as quickly as individuals.

The water board contracted with real estate agent Stan Smith to help market the property. When contacted on Thursday, Smith said one offer has been received, although he would not reveal the bidder. He indicated some local Blount County natives, who sold their property rather than risk eminent domain, may now come back and bid to buy their family farms back.

Fay Holcolmb, whose family sold about 170 acres of land to the water board back when under a threat of eminent domain, said she was told at the time that local owners would have the first option on buying their land back — if the water board ever gave up on the dam idea.

“I was told that if something happened and they didn’t build the dam that we could get our land back,” she said. “But when I tried to get in touch with them, they never would answer or call me back. They told us so many lies…”

She said the decision by the water board to sell the land all at once so quickly “is really disturbing. You don’t want a bunch of houses built right next to you.”

Glynn Wilson

Lee Isaacs runs the shoals in the Locust Fork…

The Locust Fork is one of the last free-flowing rivers in the American South. It is home to crayfish and snails and critical habitat for five unique species of endangered freshwater mussels, as well as the rare Cahaba shiner and the Locust Fork darter, the flattened musk turtle and a large salamander called the Black Warrior water dog.

It also is a major recreational destination for fisherman and boaters, especially canoeists and kayakers, who flock to the area for the white water — when the water is high.

Public access is limited since most of the land along the river is in private hands. If the property were purchased as part of the Forever Wild program, additional public access points would be provided.

For more information, check out this newsletter article on Forever Wild nomination.

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Tags: Birmingham Water Works Seeks Quick Sale, Forever Wild Board Says Wait, Opposition Mounts to Locust Fork Land Sale

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 30th, 2009 at 12:41 pm and is filed under Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Environment News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.