Exploring Alabama's Outdoors

I am thrilled and honored once again to have been invited to the annual Alabama BookFestival in Montgomery which, by the way, takes place this Saturday (April 13^th) at Old Alabama Town.

The event celebrates the state’s rich literary heritage. Authors are invited to participate in panel discussions, workshops, and book signings on every genre imaginable – history, romance, sci-fi, mystery, music, comics, you name it.

The festival is free and open to the public. A complete schedule and more details can be found on the festival website.

I’m excited to have been asked to participate in a discussion of a subject that I love – exploring Alabama’s outdoors. I’ll be joined by two other great outdoor authors and environmentalists and I confess, I’m very humbled to be on the panel with them and feel a bit out of my league – William G. Deutsch and Professor Craig Guyer.

Bill Deutsch is the co-founder of Alabama Water Watch, a community based water monitoring program, and is a Research Fellow, Emeritus in the Auburn University School of Fisheries. He is the author of the book, Alabama Rivers: ACelebration and Challenge.

Craig is a professor of biology at Auburn University and is the co-author of Snakesand Lizards of Alabama which caught the attention and applause of famed Alabama biologist, E.O. Wilson.

I’ve been preaching about the incredible bio-diversity in Alabama for quite a while now. If you didn’t know, the numbers are staggering! The state is:

·         1^st in the number of species of fish – 332 or 27% of those found in the U.S.

·         1^st in freshwater mussels – 180 species, 59% of all of those found in North America

·         1^st in freshwater snails – 202 kinds, 28% of all in North America

·         1^st in crayfish – 85 kinds, 22% of all in North America

·         1^st in freshwater turtles – 27 kinds or 57% of all in North America

And that doesn’t include the plants and wildlife.

I’ll leave it to the professors to tell you the science behind the amazing bio­-diversity found in Alabama (which the University of Georgia calls the “Fort Knox of bio-diversity in the United States”), but I can tell you that to truly see, experience, and appreciate what nature has bestowed upon the state, you need to get out and explore either by foot, paddle, or bike. And don’t rush it. Take your time.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ll post a picture from a hike of a beautiful flower or landscape on my website or Facebook page and people – both casual and avid hikers - will say, “I’ve been on that trail a thousand times. Where did you see that?”

Hiking, paddling, biking, whatever, is not a race. Take your time doing it! Slow down. Keep your eyes open. Be inquisitive. Take it all in and you will see it, and it is everywhere!

I’ll have more to say on that and much more this Saturday. Hope to see you at the Alabama Book Festival.