POWERGRAMS

Powergrams_July_Aug

Issue link: https://alabamapower.uberflip.com/i/698823

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 47 of 59

45 Alabama Power is aiding an organization that is a diamond in the rough on the mountain of Alabama tourism. The Alabama Scenic River Trail (ASRT) has catalogued more than 5,000 miles of waterways, primarily for kayakers and canoers but also accommodating small motorboats, to traverse the length and breadth of the state. The trail provides access to everything from wildlife-rich backwaters to exciting whitewater to the salty, sunny shores of the Gulf. Created by the Legislature in 2006, the trail promotes Alabama waterways with a website and the energetic Jim Felder as executive director. Perhaps ASRT's most prominent achievement is teaching students to safely canoe and kayak through its 4-H RiverKids educational program. "Alabama Power has worked with (ASRT founder and president) Fred Couch and Jim Felder for several years to help make their vision and dreams come true," said Land Supervisor Sheila Smith. "It has been a pleasure to work with a group as passionate and dedicated as the Alabama Scenic River Trail." With the trail flowing through seven Alabama Power lakes – and perceiving the statewide interest in a river trail that had an organized group to promote it – Alabama Power has lent a hand in several ways: • Allowed use of property for 20 primitive campsites for canoers to stop and spend the night along the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers, and installed signs provided by the ASRT. • Allowed access around Alabama Power dams, called "portages," so canoers can navigate the length of the company's man-made lakes. • Donated $15,000 from the Alabama Power Foundation for equipment to train students in the 4-H RiverKids program. • Contributed audiovisual staff, equipment and production facilities to create two videos about the primitive campsites and RiverKids. "When I first delved into the creation of a statewide river trail in 2007, one of my first steps was a visit to (then-Vice President of Environmental Affairs) Willard Bowers at the Alabama Power headquarters in Birmingham," Couch said. "Willard got me started." Alabama Power's most recent contribution of $15,000 will help ASRT launch its partnership with the 4-H Club in the company's Eastern Division, headquartered in Anniston. "The generous donation of Alabama Power will enable the communities in the Eastern Division to access paddling education events and activities within a positive youth development framework," said Emily Nichols, extension specialist for 4-H Natural Resources and Environmental Education within the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. "Our program is connecting them to their waterways and delivering water safety, conservation and aquatic science educational programming; all while learning to paddle," Nichols said. While the trail has been in existence less than 10 years, its impact has implications beyond inspiring people to canoe down a river. It was featured, for example, in a 2008 article in The New York Times. And it's not just leisure and recreation for paddlers. The ASRT has helped create hundreds of jobs for adventure services throughout the state. More than 40 outfitters are located along the trail, providing kayaks, canoes and guides for experienced and novice boaters: That's five times the number in the state when the trail was formed. "The dramatic increase in the number of outfitters means the economic impact is reaching many areas of rural Alabama," said Lee Sentell, director of the Alabama Department of Tourism. "The trail is one of the few special projects that has been a line item in the state General Fund for the past eight years. That demonstrates how supportive legislators are of the trail." The formation of ASRT was featured as part of "The Year of Outdoor Alabama" sponsored in 2006 by the Tourism Department, and has since been recognized as a model of success. "In 2008, we set out to prove Alabama's river destinations are worthy of travel from other places," said Felder. "Then we wanted to catalog, for the first time, every river and creek access and campsite in the state. We've mapped 5,000 miles of river and partnered with 4-H to raise up a new generation of savvy paddlers. Alabama Power has come through for us on every step of that journey." While some brave souls with lots of time float the entire 650 miles of the historic "core" trail from northeast Alabama to Fort Morgan on Mobile Bay, most kayak on one of the hundreds of day or weekend trips. Plenty of public and primitive campsites are available for those who want to stay overnight near the waterways. Perhaps the most exciting part of the trail for paddlers is the whitewater below Jordan Dam on the Coosa River at Wetumpka. "We find more and more people are wanting to 'Paddle Alabama,'" Felder said. "With the portages provided by Alabama Power around their dams, and the multitude of campsites, paddling vacations are absolutely a reality for participants in the fastest-growing outdoor sport in the state."

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of POWERGRAMS - Powergrams_July_Aug