The
Cahaba River Society is excited to be taking part in a National initiative to
increase citizen awareness and interest in local watershed issues.
Made possible through the Corporation for National and Community
Service and the AmeriCorps program, the Cahaba River Society is now a
sponsoring organization of an Office of Surface Mining VISTA volunteer,
Elizabeth L. Salter. Over a three year period, the Cahaba River Society will be
involved in a project that provides resources to communities that have been
heavily impacted by mining. Elizabeth
is the third of three volunteers who has developed a network of concerned
citizens, local officials, and stakeholders interested in confronting watershed
health issues in their own communities. The
goals of the project are to strengthen local watershed group capacity building,
implement watershed research such as stream monitoring programs, provide
watershed education and outreach, and engage communities in sustaining local
revitalization efforts. Through the
project, the Cahaba River Society, VISTA volunteers, and Office of
Surface Mining hope to work together to create lasting partnerships.
It is our vision that those newly founded partnerships have the ability
to face local watershed issues that affect everyday quality of life for those
living in communities that enjoy the services provided by the Cahaba River.
Please feel free to contact Elizabeth if you have any questions, comments, or ideas regarding the watershed in your area, or visit her websites documenting her work in Bibb County here:
http://www.bibbcounty.blogspot.com/
http://www.mcrcc.osmre.gov/Birmingham/coke_ovens.htm
OSM/VISTA: Elizabeth L. Salter
Supervisor: Dr. Randall Haddock
Sponsoring Organizations: Cahaba River Society, Town of West Blocton,
Cahaba River Authority, Bibb County Wildflower BCCW
Address: 2717 7th Avenue S. Suite 205, Birmingham, AL 35233
Phone: (205) 322-5326
Fax: (205) 324-8346
E-Mail: lizs@cahabariversociety.org,
lizalt@gmail.com,
randyh@cahabariversociety.org
Website: http://www.cahabariversociety.org
U.S. Congressional Districts: 4th, 6th, 7th
Counties: Jefferson, St. Clair and Bibb
You may ask, as small communities, how can we clean up
such a large problem as abandoned mine drainage?
Unfortunately, the Office of Surface Mining does not have
enough financial or human resources to reclaim all abandoned coal mine areas.
The good news, however, is that citizens all around the country have
taken the initiative to implement local acid mine drainage remediation projects
themselves. Not only do these projects provide a personal sense of
accomplishment to small communities, but also CREATE a sense of community that
can be enjoyed by everyone. The OSM
VISTA volunteer project can help facilitate these community-based
grassroots restoration projects by helping to implement water monitoring
programs, develop watershed education curriculum for local schools, and help
find the funds to support restoration of abandoned mine lands.
In Alabama, untapped funding sources DO exist to support grassroots
efforts in cleaning-up their parts of the watersheds.
We invite you all to join Cahaba River Society’s effort
to create sustainable watershed groups that share a vision of clean drinking
water, biologically rich creeks and rivers, and a greater sense of community.
We are currently searching for concerned citizens who are interested in
forming small watershed associations in their own communities.
If you are interested in learning more about your watershed and how
mining has impacted the health of the Cahaba River, please contact CRS!
The
CRS would like to greatly thank Birmingham Southern College for providing
housing for our first AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer.
AmeriCorps volunteers generally dedicate a year or more of their time to
serve the Country while supported by a modest government living allowance.
It is through gracious institutions such as Birmingham Southern College
that the AmeriCorps program can continue to make a difference in communities
around the Country.