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The Freshwater Land Trust announced its largest-ever land acquisition, an international $1 million grant to protect an endangered fish species and the official name of the Red Rock Trail System’s future 36-mile connected loop during its 30th anniversary gala Friday night.
The trust recently acquired about 2,115 acres through a conservation easement — a voluntary, legally binding agreement — on land near Blount Springs in the Locust Fork watershed, said Rusha Smith, the trust’s executive director.
The property contains forests, streams and caves in an area supporting rare fish, mussel and snail species, including some that are federally listed as endangered or considered imperiled in Alabama. Preserving the property also will protect water quality in the Locust Fork and Mulberry Fork watersheds, Smith added.
The acquisition represents a significant addition to Freshwater Land Trust’s conservation footprint in Central Alabama, boosting its total number of protected acres to more than 15,000 in 14 counties, the organization noted. It also marks progress on the trust’s goal to reach 50,000 acres conserved across Central Alabama, Smith said.
“Tonight, we just took a giant step in that direction,” she said.
$1 million to protect vermillion darter
The trust also received a $1 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund to support efforts to protect the vermilion darter, an endangered fish found only in the Turkey Creek Watershed in Pinson, Smith said.
The Bezos Earth Fund is part of a partnership with Leonardo DiCaprio’s Rewild Organization that announced the $200 million Phoenix Species Project to identify 100 species across the world that are most endangered. The grant to lead a five-year recovery initiative for the vermilion darter is one of only nine awarded in North America, Smith noted.
“This investment from the Bezos Earth Fund is huge for our conservation efforts here in Jefferson County,” Sam McCoy, the trust’s land stewardship director, said in a separate announcement. “We’ve been doing the right and needed things for the vermilion darter for many years through our past restoration projects in the Turkey Creek watershed, but this gives us a leg-up to do much more to ensure the long-term survival of this special species.”
B-1 on the Red Rock Trail System
The official name for the planned 36-mile loop for the Red Rock Trail System, a 36-mile route connecting six cities and the three largest green spaces in the region — Red Mountain, Railroad and Ruffner Mountain parks — was announced.
Leaders from the six municipalities — Birmingham, Fairfield, Homewood, Irondale, Midfield and Mountain Brook — held placards that when turned revealed the name B-1.
The name reflects a transit system to link the geographic location to the “oneness” that the system creates, according to a trust announcement.
The organization’s goal is for a trail or greenspace to be within one mile of every Jefferson County resident’s home.
The Freshwater Land Trust has contributed significantly to environmental and species protection since it was founded out of a 1996 consent decree following litigation against Jefferson County for large-scale wastewater pollution in local waterways.
In the early 1990s, Jefferson County’s aging sewer system was discharging raw sewage and wastewater into the Cahaba and Black Warrior rivers, which are the primary sources of drinking water for much of Central Alabama.
Since then, the trust has worked to protect environmentally significant land and connect people to the outdoors.
