John Davis is walking 5,000 miles to raise awareness of wildlife needs

A conservationist trekking his way along the east coast has called for St. Clair County and Alabama residents to support an expiring state program aimed at protecting land for public use.

“Renewal of the Alabama Forever Wild Land Trust program is an important issue,” John Davis said as he brought TrekEast to central Alabama last week.  “It has done a terrific job of saving wetlands, but it’s facing uninformed opposition and needs support.”

The program, which is set to expire next year, spends a percentage of the state’s oil and gas trust fund, equal to about $10 million annually, to buy or lease land designated as having significant recreational, scientific, educational, or natural value for public use.  

“Let your officials know that this program should be continued,” Davis said.  His visit to the state, including an overnight stop in Springville, is part of a 5,000-mile hiking, biking and canoeing trip he began last month in Florida.  TrekEast will take him through more than 10 states and southeast Canada to promote preservation of wildlife habitats.

“Eastern landscapes essential for wildlife habitat are in great need of connection to one another to give animals the room to roam and pathways they need to survive,” he said.  “Wildlands Network and our partners believe that TrekEast will set the stage for creation of wildlife habitat connections between natural areas — a long-term process that will depend on networks of people working together to protect networks of land.”

Davis helped organize Wildlands Network two decades ago to curb extension of North American animal species.  The organization currently supports development of the Eastern Wildway, a stretch of landscapes connecting the Everglades in Florida to the Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec.

“We have the chance to establish a really big wildlife network and an aesthetically beautiful ecosystem,” he said.  “We have a good system of protected wildlife areas, but they’re fairly small.  To be able to restore and connect areas between those refuges would be a very beautiful thing.”