By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – There is an effort in the state senate to move about a third of the funding for the state's Forever Wild land acquisition program to other groups. Supporters say the plan will allow the money to be diverted to programs facing budget cuts. Opponents, however, say it would hinder the 13-year-old wildlife and land program. Forever Wild gets ten percent of natural gas well revenues or up to 15 million dollars a year to purchase land. The program has bought more than 100-thousand acres statewide for hunting, wildlife, recreation and conservation. The new legislation would divert the money to volunteer fire departments and the Soil and Water Conservation Committee, among other things.