Save The Cahaba River

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Published in The Birmingham News:Congress considers expanding Cahaba refuge MARY ORNDORFFNews Washington correspondentWASHINGTON - The federal government reaffirmed its opposition Wednesday to expanding the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge but new endorsements from Republican and Democratic congressmen indicate the proposal has broad support for becoming law.The refuge, one of 545 in the country, would double in size to about 7,400 acres and eventually encompass Bibb County land along an eight-mile stretch of the Cahaba River. The river is home to 69 rare and imperiled aquatic species, and its 131 fish species is more than any other river its size in North America. The river is one of the most biologically diverse in the country and is home to the largest known stand of the imperiled shoals spider lily, known as the Cahaba Lily."It's a wonderful part of God's creation," Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Vestavia Hills, said in a House subcommittee hearing Wednesday. Bachus sponsored the bill to expand the refuge.If Congress approves the expansion, the acreage would be bought from private land owners and become permanently protected from development and preserved for the rare plant and animal species that live there. Only land owned by people willing to sell would be purchased. The U.S. Steel Corp. and the Forest Investment Associates have agreed to sell, said Chris Oberholster, director of conservation programs with the Alabama chapter of The Nature Conservancy.Since 2002, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has purchased 3,414 acres in the Cahaba refuge for $5.6 million, and another 400 acres are expected by the end of the year, for an additional $544,000. Congress authorized the money for the land buys.But the service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Interior, routinely opposes expanding the refuges because of the extra costs of upkeep and management."Our focus has been to ensure that we take care of the acres we do have," acting Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett said in a recent interview.A senior Fish and Wildlife Service official formally testified against Bachus' bill Wednesday, but he also praised the communities in Alabama for committing to protect the region."Their love and support has gone above and beyond," said William Hartwig, chief of the National Wildlife Refuge system.Hartwig did not provide a cost estimate of the expansion, but Cahaba advocates argued it would be minimal and shared by the local volunteer groups and the state. Fish and Wildlife currently has one employee dividing his time between the Cahaba refuge and the Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge in Calhoun County.The Republican chairman of the House subcommittee of fisheries, conservation, wildlife and oceans, Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, R-Md., said he supports the Cahaba refuge expanding to 35,000 acres, which was Bachus' original proposal before he withdrew it and offered the pared down plan."If we don't save some of these areas in the next few decades, there won't be anything left to save," Gilchrest said. The ranking Democrat on the panel, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey, also supports expansion.Bachus, a conservative Republican in his seventh term, has become a leading advocate of the Cahaba River and takes his staff on regular trips to the area."I'm a conservationist," Bachus said. "I don't even mind the term environmentalist."Also Wednesday, Bachus announced that U-Haul has completed a design for its trucks and trailers featuring the Cahaba Lily and the botanical "lost world" in Bibb County. . . Contact info for Congressman Bachus:Washington, D.C. Office 442 Cannon Building Washington, D.C. 20515 202 225-4921 phone 202 225-2082 fax Birmingham Office 1900 International Park Dr. Suite 107 Birmingham, AL 35243 205 969-2296 phone 205 969-3958 fax Clanton Office 703 2nd Avenue North P.O. Box 502 Clanton, AL 35046 205 280-0704 phone 205 280-3060 fax