Forever Wild forever?

A coalition of Alabama business, conservation, and environmental leaders have stepped forward to urge that Forever Wild, the state’s public lands preservation program, be reauthorized. The Protect Forever Wild group held a press conference in Montgomery on Mon., Jan. 11, to discuss the program’s successes and emphasize the broad support that exists for continuing it, according to a news release from the group. Forever Wild was created by a constitutional referendum in 1992 that was approved by a statewide popular vote. The program helps preserve environmentally sensitive lands in the state while expanding public recreational opportunities. Forever Wild will end in 2012 unless it is reauthorized. Speakers at the press conference included Barnett Lawley, the state’s Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources, and Jim Porter, second vice president of the National Rifle Association. “Few programs open the doors to hunting for everyone like Forever Wild does,” Porter says. In a second release from Protect Forever Wild, the groups states that their presser generated a large amount of coverage in Alabama and even nationally. The event was discussed by, among others, the Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, New York Daily News, Seattle Times and USA Today, as well as such TV networks as ABC, CBS and MSNBC. “It doesn’t surprise me one bit that people from places as far away as Seattle and Miami are interested in what happens to Forever Wild,” Lawley says. “Preserving public land is important, and people recognize that, no matter where they’re from.”