Cheaha Mountain View
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a view from atop Mount Cheaha, the highest point in Alabama at 2,407 feet above sea level. If a plan goes forward to lease virtually all of the land in this view to a mining company like Halliburton for natural gas drilling, this public land set aside for future generations to enjoy as a tourism destination could be ruined forever by hydraulic fracking. We are still waiting on the numbers from the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to complete a major story and video on the potential environmental and human health harm that could come if this plan goes through. We are also still waiting on the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service to announce when and where they plan to hold a “public meeting” to discuss this plan in light of our objections to the leases in the absence of public transparency and the Southern Environmental Law Center’s intent to sue to stop fracking in the national forest if the federal government tried to go forward with selling the leases on this land to the highest bidder. While a forest management plan agreed to by the Bush administration in 2004 allows for leasing all this land to developers for natural gas drilling, it is our contention that such a move would would be a violation of the original intent of setting aside the land in the first place. It would also be a crime against nature, considering all the information that has come to light about the problems associated with fracking. We will have much more to say about this in the new year. But for now, enjoy the views of the area from nature photographer Kenny Walters. Here’s hoping these views will not be spoiled by the cheap development of this forest for a few bucks for the national treasury at the expense of far more tourism dollars if the land were to be preserved rather than developed.
Water Fall One
Chinnabee Waterfall Two
Chinnabee Waterfall Three
Chinnabee Waterfall Four
Fall Moon by Lake Cheaha
Fall Leaf Lake Chinnabee
Fall Leaf Lake Chinnabee
Fall Leaves Fall Lake Chinnabee
Fall Leaves Fall Lake Chinnabee
Fall Leaves Five
Wood Duck House
All photos copyright Kenny Walters
© 2012, Glynn Wilson. All rights reserved. The Locust Fork News-Journal, LocustFork.Net
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“It would also be a crime against nature” — frackers are perverts?
Something like that…
If these pix were B&W they would be Ansel Adamsish.
They look too good in color to run them black and white.
Thank you for all you are doing to keep the fight to stop fracking in our forest! I own land just a few miles from the Shoal Creek sight and am very concerned that my home will become a waste land.This property has been owned by my family for 66 years and has sheltered,fed,and nurtured five generations. I will not give up my home,without a fight!
My father’s family was from Shoal Creek Valley in St. Clair County, but there is more than one Shoal Creek in Alabama, including the one that got famous because of the golf course.
Wait until you see the final story and video I’ve been working on for the past seven months. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources finally replied to my e-mails today and claim they are sending me the data I’ve been asking for these past few months on Thursday. Once I have the tourism data, I can complete the economic analysis.