By Karen Bareford, Ph.D., Cahaba River Societyβs River Sustainability Director. She leads our efforts to reduce pollution, erosion, and flooding impacts on the river, improve climate resilience, promote water equity,
Cahaba River Society celebrates growth and change as we honor retiring and departing staff and shape the CRS vision for the future. Read aboutΒ upcoming staff successionsΒ and see ourΒ job opening for
Cahaba River Society’s board and staff are thrilled to host our 2023 annual meeting in-person at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia (3775 Crosshaven Drive, Vestavia Hills, AL 35223), on
This June, CRS joined environmental and community organizations from across the nation urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the longstanding scope of the Clean Water Act and reject industry attempts to eliminate federal clean water protections that have kept families, communities, and rivers and lakes safe from pollution for decades.
The scale of the rainfall on October 6 and the swiftness, level and power of the flooding it caused has been called βunprecedented.β Yet flooding and erosive damage to property and infrastructure has been increasing in our region for years, as development replaces forests and outdated stormwater systems prevent groundwater absorption and send more and more runoff gushing into drains and creeks. In fact, weβve hadΒ two flash flood emergencies just in 2021, and multiple other deluge rains this calendar year.
Learn about what our team has been working on this summer; find out what fish are unsafe to eat; read Cahaba River Society’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion statement; help get lead out of drinking water; join us for the Cahaba River Fry-Down 2021, & more!
Fishing is a popular activity along the Cahaba and its tributaries, and many anglers rely on this food source to supplement their familyβs diet. These people deserve to be able to rely on the fact that the fish they are eating are safe.Β Right now, it is unlikely that consuming fish from the Cahaba River more than one time per month is safe. In some places on the Cahaba, the Alabama Department of Public Health recommend not eating anyΒ fish.
This edition includes: Welcoming Ben Wegleitner, River Sustainability Director ~ A legal action to protect Birmingham Water Works Board lands that preserve our drinking water ~ CLEAN Environmental Education programs available ~ Army Corps commits funding to fish passage study ~ Catherine Coleman Flowers & The Guardian partner on sewage survey ~ Exploring Southeastern Biodiversity with Dr. Scot Duncan, & more!
Protecting drinking water lands, a proposed quarry in Clay, a proposed prison in Brierfield–find out about emerging threats to your River and what Cahaba River Society is doing to protect it.
By Zanethia Choice Barnett, PhD Research Fisheries Biologist CBHR Dive Safety Officer Forest Service Center for Bottomland Hardwoods Research Southern Research Station Alabama has the most diverse crayfish fauna in