On a steamy July morning, along a quiet stretch of the Tallapoosa River north of Wedowee, a small team of biologists from Alabama Power and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) eyed the fast-moving water. The prior day’s rain had turned the river murky – not the best circumstances to search for an elusive and threatened […]

With Alabama’s 2020 alligator season only a couple of weeks away, the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) Division wants to remind those lucky tag holders about the no-cull rule in effect. With the exception of the Lake Eufaula Zone, tag holders are not allowed to release an alligator after it has been captured. The […]

For someone who really doesn’t care for insects, Hailey Sutton has put her fears behind her to share Alabama’s great outdoors via her increasingly popular “Hiking with Hailey” segments on Montgomery’s WSFA-TV. Sutton, who hails from Red Oak, Texas, has been in Alabama for less than a year after her first TV gig in Montana. […]

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the State Lands Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) will conduct its hunting lease program without a live auction for 2020. Patti Powell McCurdy, State Lands Director, implemented a program in 2010 that aligned all leases under State Lands’ control to operate on a five-year public […]

The 2020-2021 hunting season will bring big changes for white-tailed deer hunters in a few parts of Alabama with the creation of two new deer zones. The newly created zones D and E will allow hunters to gun hunt before and during the peak of the rut (deer breeding season) in those locations. Zone D […]

From the ever-expanding Red Rock Trail System to protecting the habitat of the endangered vermilion darter on Turkey Creek, the Freshwater Land Trust both cares and caretakes. “We own and manage 7,000 acres of Alabama land,” Executive Director Rusha Smith said. “We visit that land on a regular basis to ensure nothing negative is affecting the water species, the flora, fauna […]

The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) has developed a smart growth plan that communities can use to prevent erosion and protect watersheds. The plan is based on MBNEP’s successful restoration and conservation efforts at Joe’s Branch in Baldwin County. Joe’s Branch is a tributary to D’Olive Creek. The area was recently removed from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management’s […]

Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) Director Chuck Sykes wants to make sure dove hunters are not caught flat-footed this September when the season opens earlier than usual. The North Zone dove season will open on Labor Day weekend this year, a week earlier than most people are accustomed to. Sykes wants to get the […]

The Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo (ADSFR), the largest saltwater tournament in the nation, will revert to its roots for the 87th rodeo, scheduled July 17-19 at the rodeo site on Dauphin Island. Because of the COVID-19 restrictions, the ADSFR will concentrate strictly on the great fishing along the Alabama Gulf Coast, which harkens back […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in many changes that require us all to adjust. Phrases like “self-quarantine” and “social distancing,” which were rarely used or completely unheard of several months ago, are now a part of our daily vocabulary. As we adjust to this “new normal,” America’s sportsmen and women, a group that I am […]

Keith Gibson has spent a lifetime hunting and fishing. Fishing, for most of his life, was spent in the traditional sense with a pole or rod and some kind of bait. Then he got introduced to noodling. “I tried it, and I will tell you I was a little apprehensive the first time, but once […]

A federally endangered woodpecker is thriving in central Alabama thanks to a partnership between Alabama Power, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR.) The red-cockaded woodpecker is making a slow, but steady comeback in the old longleaf pine forests around Lake Mitchell. Biologists from each organization spend much of their spring and early […]

Lamar Pendergrass believes in the old saying that good things come to those who wait. The timing of the renovations to Gulf State Park Pier is not what was planned, but Pendergrass assures everyone it will be worth the wait. “This is going to be what sets the example for any pier that is built […]

The State of Alabama announced this week that the 2020 red snapper season will close for private anglers on July 3, which is 16 days earlier than planned. The decision to close early was made by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR), which has calculated that the state will catch its limit […]

Opening America’s vast federal lands to outdoors recreational activity is the expressed goal of David Bernhardt, Secretary of the Department of the Interior, who visited Alabama’s Gulf Coast this week for a whirlwind tour. Secretary Bernhardt heard a presentation about the mission and work of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) from […]

United States Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt is coming to Alabama on Tuesday for a tour of the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge on the southern tip of Baldwin County. He will be accompanied by U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope), whose southwest Alabama district includes the refuge. The Department of the Interior says the […]

When the Scoggins brothers accept a challenge, there’s no turning back. The firefighter brothers, Kevin at Hueytown and Steven at Hoover, revert to their roots to decompress from the stressful life as first responders. They find their solace casting flies in the many beautiful streams and creeks that crisscross the state. Native to those drainages […]

While the second weekend of the private recreational red snapper season in Alabama saw near perfect conditions, the opening weekend proved why state management of the red snapper is so important to ensure maximum access to this treasured fishery. Pent-up demand from a variety of reasons, including the COVID-19 restrictions, placed the May 22 opening […]

Alabama will celebrate its 15th alligator hunting season in 2020 as a remarkable recovery story continues for the American alligator. Early in the 20th century, alligators in the U.S. had diminished to alarming numbers. Unregulated alligator harvest during this time prompted Alabama to protect the animals in 1938. In 1967 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife […]

When Garrett Ard started his Eagle Scout project four years ago, the goal was to honor the memory of his late grandfather, Capt. Gloyice Ard, a longtime Gulf Coast charter boat captain. The culmination of all the work involved in such an endeavor recently sank to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico – in […]

Alabama's 2020 red snapper season begins Friday, and Yellowhammer News has compiled everything an Alabama angler needs to know.

Two Alabama students were each awarded a $5,000 scholarship from B.A.S.S. and Alabama Power, the companies announced. “We are proud to partner with Alabama Power to support students who want to further their education in a trade,” said B.A.S.S. CEO Bruce Akin. “And, we’re even more pleased to provide additional scholarship opportunities for students.” Alexis Grandstaff of Headland […]

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announces that its freshwater fishing distinctive license plate has been redesigned and is now available through probate offices statewide. The new design replaces the original freshwater fishing license plate (tan background) and features an Alabama bass and white crappie on a blue underwater background. The vehicle tag can be personalized with […]

Those who love to explore nature have another opportunity with the opening of the new trail at Joe Wheeler State Park in northwest Alabama. The name of the new 8-mile pathway is the Awesome Trail, literally. Ken Thomas, Alabama State Parks Trails Coordinator, said naming the trail resulted from a conversation he had with Chad […]