Freshwater Land Trust (FLT), a nonprofit bases in Birmingham, is announcing the acquisition of 366 acres on a peninsula situated at the confluence of the Mulberry Fork, Locust Fork and Black Warrior River.
The land, located in west Jefferson County, is covered in a forest of pines, sweetgum and white oaks, with minimal invasive species on it. The organization reports great blue herons and great egrets can be seen hunting at the water’s edges surrounding the forest.
The FLT said in a press release that the property is a prime candidate for habitat restoration work to improve forest composition and increase species diversity.
The Freshwater Land Trust stresses the importance of protecting the Black Warrior River basin. The watershed is home to over a million residents and is a major source of drinking water for many cities, including Birmingham, Bessemer, Cullman, Jasper, Oneonta and Tuscaloosa.
It also supports over 180 freshwater species, including fish, mussels, turtles and snails, 11 of which are listed as federally endangered or threatened.
“Preservation of the Mulberry and Locust Forks’ confluence has long been a goal of mine because it is such a special place at the formation of the Black Warrior River,” said Nelson Brooke, Black Warrior Riverkeeper, in a press release.
“After the Mulberry Fork flows 122 miles and the Locust Fork flows 158 miles through the Cumberland Plateau, they converge to form the Black Warrior River, which then flows for 168 miles from the tail end of the Appalachian Mountains and through the East Gulf Coastal Plain before emptying into the Tombigbee River,” Brooke continued.
FLT’s original 258.74-acre acquisition of this property came about as the result of a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) obligation included in a mutually agreeable consent decree between Black Warrior Riverkeeper and Drummond Company regarding the closed Maxine Mine location near the property.
Additionally, Drummond Company voluntarily agreed to contribute the remaining 107.32 contiguous acres of the parcel to FLT, totaling 366 acres of ecologically significant land that will be permanently preserved by the land trust.
“Freshwater Land Trust has a strong track record of implementing SEPs, and we are very excited to acquire and protect such an environmentally valuable property on the Black Warrior River,” stated Liz Sims, FLT’s Land Conservation Director, in a press release. “We believe this is a great outcome for everyone involved.”
With this addition, FLT reports the nonprofit has conserved 1,962 acres in the Black Warrior River watershed to date.
