We are pleased that both major candidates for governor in Alabama, like us, support the renewal of Alabama Forever Wild as is.

According to an article in The Birmingham News today, both candidates for Alabama governor, Democrat Ron Sparks and Republican Robert Bentley said Thursday that they will support the reauthorization of the state land preservation program, Forever Wild.

Speaking at Samford University to a conference organized by the environmental group Auntie Litter, the candidates delivered speeches on a range of environmental issues.

Bentley, currently representing Tuscaloosa in the Alabama House, specifically addressed a dispute that arose in the last session over Forever Wild, a program enacted by voters in 1992 which receives a portion of the interest on the oil and gas royalties and buys land for ecological preservation and public recreation. That program is up for reauthorization by the Legislature, but in the last session a counter proposal, advanced by the Alabama Farmer’s Federation, that would have diverted a portion of that money to a farm preservation program and to the Soil and Water Conservation Service.

Alluding to that proposal, Bentley said he supported reauthorization of Forever Wild in its current form and at its current funding level. Sparks, the state agriculture commissioner, didn’t mention the Alfa counter proposal, but said he supported Forever Wild’s continuation at its current level of funding.

here is link to news article:http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/08/gubernatorial_candidates_suppo.html

To read more about the effort to keep Alabama Forever Wild funding and protecting Alabama’s special places for public use, go to:

http://www.alforeverwild.com/Home/tabid/38/Default.aspx

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