Forever Wild Reauthorized By Alabama House

The Alabama House has overwhelmingly approved reauthorization of the Forever Wild program, with 79 yes votes. This means the program will be on the ballot in November 2012 for the voters to approve as a constitutional amendment. The program makes money available to buy and maintain property to maintain them as public access lands in perpetuity. The program was first authorized years ago, and has to be reauthorized every 20 years. It's been a huge success, in a state that has relatively little public land. These lands are variously open to hunting, fishing, and hiking uses. To me, the Walls of Jericho property in the upper Paint Rock River valley in Jackson County is the most amazing of these properties, but there is an increasing number of interesting properties around the state.