Reviewed by: Grace Howard
Conserving Alabama’s beauty + why it matters
Reading time: 6 minutes
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The state of Alabama has many points of pride: its food, its friendly people—and, sure, its football—but one that can sometimes go overlooked is its extremely diverse and rare natural beauty.
If you consider that we start with our head in the cloudy foothills of the Appalachians and dangle our feet in the clear blue of the Gulf, that’s quite a lot of ground to cover in just a few hundred miles.
And that’s nothing on the diverse flora and fauna who call these spaces home.
As resources (both natural and financial) dwindle, fortunately there are many devoted people working hard to conserve our gorgeous state.
Meet The Conservation Fund, and learn how and why their work is so important to keeping Alabama the beautiful state we know and love.
What is The Conservation Fund?
The Conservation Fund is a national non-profit that’s been around for 40 years. Their work centers around securing land and water rights to key locations in danger of development—that includes everything from small parks in cities to massive additions to wildlife management and refuge areas.
They work quickly and efficiently to ensure these precious areas stay in the right hands, and their work has locked in conservation rights for more than 9 million acres to date. A lot of it is right here in Alabama, including:
- The Pinhoti Trail project, which connects Alabama to the Appalachian Trail in Georgia
- Protecting the Red Hills in south central Alabama + its rare salamander species
- Expanding the Sipsey Wilderness in northwestern Alabama
- and much more…
“Almost all of our work is anchored in protecting the most important places left in the United States, and the way we’ve done this work is by being a very nimble and effective acquisition partner over the years.
Our ability to step in and acquire key tracks and make sure they end up in the right hands—usually for public access and for the benefit of wildlife and watersheds—and for all the reasons that conservation is such a high priority for people all across the United States, we make sure we can do that timely and effectively.”
Stacy Funderburke, Central Southeast Vice President, The Conservation Fund
What are Working Lands?
One big point of difference for The Conservation Fund is the way they view Working Lands. Working Lands refers to farms, forests and ranches that are protected from development and resold to those who harvest food, trees and animals off of the protected land to conserve its natural cycles (vs bulldozing for development or breaking into parcels). In addition to preventing strip malls from popping up, this practice can provide economic benefits for the communities that surround them.
Once these Working Lands are established, The Conservation Fund will secure funding (via public donation, plus federal and state resources) for a conservation easement, which basically takes the development rights off the property. They then sell it back into private hands with that permanent protection in place.
“The Conservation Fund is one of the few conservation nonprofits that has a dual mission, which is sustainable economic development and land and water conservation.
We’ve done a lot of work finding ways to protect those lands long-term, often with funding for the purchase of a conservation easement, but keep them in private hands and keep them working.”
Stacy Funderburke, Central Southeast Vice President, The Conservation Fund
Working Lands programs also help maintain a healthier eco-system with multiple benefits, including:
- more sustainable harvest practices
- wildlife habitat protection
- watershed conservation efforts
- economic + job benefits for local communities
The Conservation Fund’s Working Farm Fund is a relatively new endeavor that is currently in place in Georgia and a few other spots in the country—with hopes of introducing it to Alabama soon.
This program identified multi-generational existing farms in danger of selling off due to lack of interest in continuing in the family tradition. The Conservation Fund then works to match a next-generation farmer to that site, agreeing to a 3-to-5 year lease with an exclusive option to buy at the end of the lease.
Again, via funding, they secure an agricultural conservation easement and sell it back to the farmer at a lower price since development options are off the table.
“The average age of the farmer is somewhere around 68 now, and it gets a little older each year. It gets you wondering ‘who’s going to keep these farms going and grow that food long-term?’
We view this program as a bridge to that next generation, and it’s anchored around places where people, in a good way, are demanding to know who grew their food, how they grew it and where. It’s good synergy.”
Stacy Funderburke, Central Southeast Vice President, The Conservation Fund
What’s next for The Conservation Fund + how you can help
The Conservation Fund’s work is happening by devoted individuals nationwide—from protecting sea turtles in Florida to acquiring ranches in Grand Teton National Park—and their work has lasting impact on keeping our nation’s visual, cultural and environmental history in tact.
Its work in Alabama alone has protected 61,000 acres at a value of $165 million. From expanding the Pinhoti Trail (more on this exciting project to come next month!) to vital work on keeping the stunning Sipsey Wilderness and Talladega National Forests safe from development, future generations will get to splash and play in the same waterfalls and trails we admire today.
“We love the work we do in Alabama. Sometimes people take for granted how amazing the landscapes and habitat and all the variety of places you can go and experience in the state.
We’re proud our work has touched a lot of those places, and that it will touch a lot more in the future.
But our favorite project is always the next one and how we can keep adding to these amazing places.”
Stacy Funderburke, Central Southeast Vice President, The Conservation Fund
The best way you can support The Conservation Fund’s efforts?
- Donate funds here
- Visit their website for more info
- Subscribe to their monthly newsletter
- Follow them on Facebook and Instagram
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