The Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association on Monday announced that Hudson Mathews of Deatsville has won the 2021 Big Gobbler Photo Contest. Hudson, age 5, reportedly harvested the winning turkey in Pike County while hunting with his father. The gobbler, which was Hudson’s first, had a 10-inch beard and 1-inch spurs. Over the course of […]

For someone who got a late start chasing turkeys, Ray Jones of Huntsville has spent the last 60 years catching up. In fact, Jones, 86, reached and surpassed a milestone this season by bagging the 400th and 401st turkeys of his career. The reason he got off to such a slow start was because he lived in […]

Chris Phengsisomboun grew up in the Vietnamese fishing community of Bayou La Batre, where the families of war refugees worked and sacrificed to build better lives for their children. He remembers his grandparents coming home reeking of shrimp from the packing house. He remembers the community reeling from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Deepwater […]

On April 27, 2011, a monstrous EF5 tornado tore through the nature trail and outdoor classroom on the Phil Campbell campus of Northwest-Shoals Community College (NW-SCC). Downed trees and debris rendered the trail and classroom unsafe and unusable. Ten years to the day after the storm, the Cecil Clapp Nature Trail and outdoor classroom is open again. […]

With Alabama Governor Kay Ivey’s signature this week, new legislation will provide hunters in Alabama with another opportunity to harvest two specific animals. The legislation allows Conservation Commissioner Chris Blankenship to establish a season for hunting feral hogs and coyotes at night without the need for a depredation permit. When the season is finalized, Alabama […]

Business Council of Alabama (BCA) president and CEO Katie Boyd Britt has been elected to serve on the Alabama Wildlife Federation’s (AWF) board of directors. For more than 85 years, AWF has been working for wildlife in the Yellowhammer State. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the federation works diligently to promote the conservation of Alabama’s wildlife […]

Alabama is known for its beautiful lakes, but there is even more to discover along the state’s lakeside lands. Alabama’s rivers, lakes and streams have some of the most topographically and ecologically diverse property surrounding them, and The Preserves are Alabama Power’s celebration of this land, offering the gift of splendid outdoor experiences to Alabama residents and […]

When Noah Yawn headed out for Oak Mountain State Park in October 2020, he was planning to take part in a survey for a tree found only in Alabama. What he didn’t expect was to also stumble upon a sizable population of another rare plant species – the Georgia Aster. The survey was part of […]

Alabama’s 2021 red snapper season for private recreational anglers will be different than in previous years. The season opens on May 28 with four-day weekends like last year’s season, but the closing date has not been set. The end of the season will be determined by catch data compiled through the Red Snapper Reporting System, […]

Kevin Savoy of Dothan, Alabama, has been appointed to the Alabama Conservation Advisory Board by Gov. Kay Ivey. Savoy replaces Patrick Cagle of Montgomery, whose six-year term expired. A native of Mobile, Savoy is a 1991 graduate of Auburn University. He currently serves as Vice President of Great Southern Wood Preserving, Incorporated and Greenbush Logistics, […]

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ (ADCNR) Marine Resources Division (MRD) on Monday announced that Alabama state waters and federal waters will open to private vessel anglers for red snapper fishing on Friday, May 28, 2021. The season will consist of four-day weekends, Friday through Monday, continuing until the private angler quota is […]

A new search in the Bankhead National Forest for a tiny, rare fish found only in Alabama has discovered it living in a spot where no one had seen it before. The USDA Forest Service, supported by biologists from Alabama Power and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, went looking last month for the federally endangered rush darter in a remote […]

A near-death experience for a fledgling owl in 2001 resulted in a second chance for the raptor and educational close encounters for countless people across Alabama over the past two decades. On April 17 from 1-4 p.m., the Alabama Wildlife Center (AWC) inside Oak Mountain State Park will celebrate the 20th birthday of Coosa, the barred owl whose […]

The guys from YouTube sensation The Hunting Public made a swing through the state early this turkey season and found out how much work it takes to bag an Alabama bird. Aaron Warbritton, Greg Clements and Zack Serenbaugh had previously worked together at Midwest Whitetail, a deer video website, and all were in between jobs when this […]

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey on Thursday joined the Alabama State Parks Foundation, local corporate leaders and other stakeholders at Oak Mountain State Park to announce unprecedented efforts aimed at investing millions of dollars into park improvements. The governor spoke about an $80 million bond issue for park improvements that must be approved by voters through […]

The storms that tore through Alabama last month took a toll on a rare longleaf pine forest near Lake Mitchell, but Alabama Power biologists have moved in to make repairs ahead of the nesting season for a protected woodpecker. Chad Fitch, a biologist with Alabama Power, said the storm took down numerous trees in the 1,600-acre, old-growth longleaf pine […]

Last week’s meeting of the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council (Gulf Council) Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) yielded mixed results for red snapper anglers. The SSC voted to partially incorporate the Great Red Snapper Count, which estimated the red snapper population in the Gulf is three times higher than previous estimates, into the Gulf […]

Two up-and-coming anglers from Alabama have been selected as 2021 members of the prestigious Bassmaster High School All-American Fishing Team, it was announced this week. The 12-member team is presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors and selected by a panel of judges consisting of representatives from the sportfishing industry, media and conservation groups. “For seven years, […]

With his research team, Sanjiv Kumar, assistant professor in the Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, co-authored a breakthrough study on drought forecasting published March 12 in Climate and Atmospheric Science, a partner publication to the journal Nature. In the paper, “Seasonal to multi-year soil moisture drought forecasting,” researchers sought to find out whether they […]

THORSBY, Alabama – Taylor Boozer Hatchett didn’t grow up on a farm, but she has a passion for tending the land and sharing its bounty like many who did. Her father, Bobby Boozer, worked with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and Auburn University and spent his 26-year career helping farmers throughout the state, particularly fruit growers. As a […]

That old adage about making lemonade when you’re presented with a difficult situation applies perfectly to Alabama’s Gulf State Park Pier. Just as one of the Gulf of Mexico’s premier piers was set to reopen after a substantial renovation last September, Hurricane Sally made a direct hit on the Alabama Gulf Coast and the pier […]

Talking turkey is a finely honed skill of Mike Pentecost, the founder and owner of Woodhaven Custom Calls. This Alabama native has been hand-making turkey calls for 21 years—and his are known for being the best of the best when matching wits with the elusive bird. “I’ve spent a lot of time in the woods. […]

As firearms sales continue to set records, the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) Division’s Law Enforcement Section recognized a demand in basic training for handgun safety and use. Eight million new gun owners were created in 2020 alone. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many to abandon their usual indoor recreations and take up new ones […]

The final results of a high-profile study revealed on Wednesday that the U.S. portion of the Gulf of Mexico contains more than 110 million red snapper, roughly three times as many as previously estimated. Referred to as The Great Red Snapper Count, the years-long study was funded to the tune of $10 million by the […]