Black Warrior Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke Honored
March 2nd, 2010Alabama Rivers Alliance Names River Hero of the Year
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Nelson Brooke, the staff Riverkeeper at Black Warrior Riverkeeper, received the 2010 River Hero Award Monday night at the Alabama Rivers Alliance’s Watershed Leadership Conference in the state capitol.
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| Glynn Wilson |
| Nelson Brooke |
Brooke patrols and photographs the river and its tributaries, looks for pollution problems, responds to citizen complaints, researches and analyzes polluters’ permits, collects pollution samples for laboratory analysis when necessary, educates the public about the beauty of the river and threats to it, advocates compliance with environmental laws, and is a spokesman for the Black Warrior River watershed.
In the past year, Brooke and his group have seen a lawsuit settled against the Birmingham airport for erosion and sediment controls, advocated for conservation restrictions on land along the Locust Fork, the final step in a two-decade long fight to stop the Birmingham Water Works from damming this one wild and free-flowing river.
Black Warrior Riverkeeper is part of a coalition of Alabama environmental organizations petitioning the EPA to take over Alabama’s water pollution permitting program.
The group is also challenging two coal mine permits on the Black Warrior River’s Mulberry and Locust Forks.
