During its 30th‑anniversary gala on Friday night, the Freshwater Land Trust revealed its largest‑ever land acquisition, a 2,115‑acre conservation easement near Blount Springs in the Locust Fork watershed, according to Birmingham Watch. The easement, a voluntary legal agreement, protects forests, streams and caves that host rare fish, mussel and snail species, including several that are federally listed as endangered or considered imperiled in Alabama.
Executive Director Rusha Smith said the purchase also safeguards water quality in the Locust Fork and Mulberry Fork watersheds. The addition brings the trust’s protected acreage to more than 15,000 across 14 counties, advancing its long‑term goal of conserving 50,000 acres throughout Central Alabama.
In parallel, the trust received a $1 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund to fund a five‑year recovery program for the vermilion darter, an endangered fish found only in the Turkey Creek watershed in Pinson. The grant is part of the Bezos Earth Fund’s partnership with Leonardo DiCaprio’s Rewild Organization on the $200 million Phoenix Species Project, which aims to identify 100 of the world’s most endangered species. The vermilion darter initiative is one of nine North American awards under the project, Smith noted.
“This investment from the Bezos Earth Fund is huge for our conservation efforts here in Jefferson County,” said Sam McCoy, the trust’s land stewardship director. “We’ve been doing the right and needed things for the vermilion darter for many years through our past restoration projects in the Turkey Creek watershed, but this gives us a leg‑up to do much more to ensure the long‑term survival of this special species.”
The gala also announced the official name for the planned 36‑mile loop of the Red Rock Trail System: B‑1. The loop will connect six cities—Birmingham, Fairfield, Homewood, Irondale, Midfield and Mountain Brook—and three major green spaces: Red Mountain, Railroad and Ruffner Mountain parks. Leaders from each municipality displayed placards that, when turned, revealed the B‑1 designation, a nod to a transit‑style naming that underscores the system’s unifying purpose.
The trust’s original mission grew out of a 1996 consent decree that addressed large‑scale wastewater pollution from Jefferson County’s aging sewer system, which had once discharged raw sewage into the Cahaba and Black Warrior rivers, primary drinking‑water sources for the region. Since then, the organization has focused on protecting environmentally significant land and linking people to the outdoors.
What’s next: The Freshwater Land Trust will begin implementing its five‑year vermilion darter recovery plan while continuing to work toward the 50,000‑acre conservation goal. The B‑1 loop of the Red Rock Trail System remains in development, with future phases expected to bring a trail or greenspace within one mile of every Jefferson County resident’s home.
Sources: birminghamwatch.org
