BANKHEAD NATIONAL FOREST - The Alabama Trails Foundation has secured a $1.2 million grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to correct erosion that has deteriorated trails in the Rush-Brushy Watershed, including Winston and Lawrence counties.
Randy Campbell, who frequently rides horses in the Bankhead National Forest, has noticed a safety concern caused by the old wooden bridge closed at the Sipsey Recreation Area.
BANKHEAD NATIONAL FOREST - Safety concerns for both hikers and motorists in the Sipsey Wilderness area due to an old wooden pedestrian bridge being closed after severe storm damage has been brought to the attention of both the Winston County Commission and the U.S. Forest Service.
BANKHEAD NATIONAL FOREST - USDA Forest Service plans to conduct prescribed burns on approximately 193,584 acres throughout Alabama’s national forests – Bankhead, Conecuh, Talladega, and Tuskegee.
SIPSEY WILDERNESS - Those interested in learning more about Wild Alabama's Volunteer Wilderness Ranger Program have a chance to do so during a "Saturate the Sipsey" practice hike this Saturday, July 20.
The pedestrian lane of the bridge in the Sipsey Picnic Area was smashed by a falling tree during the high winds of March 3. The entire bridge is unsafe for all forms of traffic. With the lower parking lot and trailhead inaccessible, the U.S. Forest Service is assessing how to proceed.
BANKHEAD NATIONAL FOREST - The fate of the nearly 90-year-old bridge in the Sipsey River Picnic Area, which has been closed since it was damaged by a wind-felled tree on March 3, will not be known for some time.
A big brown bat caught during the 2022 Bat Blitz. While bigger than other area cave bats, it is tiny at less than two inches long.
CAMP MCDOWELL - Last week, the bats of the Bankhead National Forest had their moment in the sun—or rather, the moonlight.
Nearly a hundred bat experts and others from at least ten states, plus Norway, converged at Camp McDowell for the 2022 Bat Blitz, an intensive survey of the bat population. Bat Blitzes are organized every year by the Southeastern Bat Diversity Network (SBDN) and a state group, in this case, the Alabama Bat Working Group (ABWG).
DOUBLE SPRINGS - An organization dedicated to equestrian recreation has approached the Winston County Commission, desiring that changes be made in the Bankhead National Forest to provide not only more specific recreational opportunities, but economic development.
Winston County Commission Chairman Roger Hayes notes that the subject of the U.S. Forest Service keeping up forestry roads is a sore subject to him.
DOUBLE SPRINGS - Accusations were made that the Winston County Commission was not following through on their commitment to improve roads as well as being in violation of doing road work on federal property.
