Alabama forestry - Alabama

Free property consults for wildfire prevention - WTVY

16.04.09

The heavy rains in Southeast Alabama have helped to significantly reduce this springs' wildfire threat, but quickly drying brush can turn into a threat faster than you may think.

Currently Bay Minette, Alabama is the only city in the state nationally recognized as a 'Fire Wise USA' Community.

While Southeast Alabama has been spared from any catastrophic wildfires, the environment here is similar to many areas across the country that had significant wildfires. This is why the forestry department is working to educate the public in wildfire prevention.

"With low humidities and sunshine we can have a wildfire within 24 hours of a heavy rain" said Todd Taggart, a forestry specialist.

The Alabama Forestry Commission is offering free consultation on fire prevention to people living outside the Dothan city limits. Southern Junction is working to become a fire wise community.

"With our Wildland Urban Interface and Fire Wise Program is to take folks that have moved out into the forest land and help them to understand and educate them on how to make their yard a defensible space to make their property to where the fire won't spread into it" says Taggart.

Source: WTVY, AL

Is it really called a popcorn tree?

Feb 12, 2008 by Werroden | Posted in Garden & Landscape

If you are from the South, you might recognize that name. Most people see them as a nuisance because they grow like weeds. Alabama Forestry has sent letters to land owners offering $75.00 an acre to clear their land of them because they grow so much faster than any hardwood and they are taking over.

I live in Florida where they run rampant....have 2 in my yard, and the Florida department of agriculture are trying to have all popcorn trees eliminated..they have a program as well for them..

The Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants and the St. Johns River Water Management District are jointly surveying the spread of, as well as determining the cost of eliminating, Chinese tallow from District-owned lands, where it is quickly invading some of Florida's few remaining virgin forests and wetlands. District workers have already begun to kill individual trees with herbicides. Here is more information about this joint project.

http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/sapium.html

http://www.talgov.com/you/electric/tallow.cfm

pcbeachrat | Feb 12, 2008

Oak Mountain State Park Outdoor Activities

The hands-on, family-friendly Outdoor Alabama Expo returns to Oak Mountain State Park on Saturday, May 2, with outdoor-related activities for youngsters and adults alike.

The Expo will be open to the public and the admission fee to the park, located just south of Birmingham near Pelham, will be waived for that day. A wide array of activities are planned â€" fishing, shooting sports, boating, nature trails, just to name a few, as well as a wide variety of exhibits and demonstrations.

"We hope to expose people to outdoors activities that they may not have been able to participate in before," said Kim Nix, Director of Information and Education with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR). "We had Expos in 2003 and 2006. They were successful, but we believe this one will be bigger and better because we have more vendors, more activities and better advertising. We're expecting several thousand people."

Nix said Oak Mountain State Park makes an ideal venue because of its location and proximity to the Birmingham area with its urban audience.

"A lot of times, people who live in the city may not have the opportunity to experience things like archery, shooting, boating and those types of activities," she said. "We especially want to focus on the kids. We're looking at this as a family event. We hope the entire family will come because there is something for everybody."

Activities come in numerous categories with the focus on hands-on and individual attention.

"For shooting, everyone goes through a short safety orientation before they do any shooting," Nix said. "It's one-on-one instruction to make sure everything is very safe. We'll have archery, rifles, pellet guns, and shotguns.

"For fishing, youth under 16 are actually going to be able to fish in the lake near the office. They are going to net off an area and stock it with fish so the kids are pretty much assured of catching something. That's...

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