Alabama DCNR Commissioner Chris Blankenship Visits Rotary

Past President Fred McCallum and Rotarian Rusha Smith with DCNR Commissioner Chris Blankenship.

This week the Rotary Club of Birmingham welcomed Chris Blankenship, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Blankenship shared the department’s oversight of the state’s 21 state parks, 47,000 acres of state lands, 23 public fishing lakes, 775,000 acres of wildlife management areas, 12 shooting ranges, 21 community archery parks, 173 miles of canoe and kayaking trails, 150 boat ramps, 3 fish hatcheries, an aquatic biodiversity center, a mariculture center, the largest artificial reef program in the world, and the continued restoration response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He highlighted the importance of outdoor recreation, including hiking, paddling, hunting and fishing, to quality of life and economic prosperity in Alabama, representing a $14 billion industry that supports 135,000 jobs.

“We cannot have economic prosperity in Alabama without also having environmental prosperity,” Blankenship said. “We can have both here in the state and it truly takes both for our state to prosper.”

Commissioner Blankenship shared that Alabama is one of the most biodiverse states in the nation, with more aquatic species than any other state and the fifth most species overall. He highlighted the Forever Wild Land Trust, which utilizes up to $15 million in oil and gas tax proceeds to acquire public lands, with over 285,000 acres secured so far.

“You have something that’s a depleting resource that is funding acquisition of land that will be here forever for the public to use,” Commissioner Blankenship said. “It really is a wonderful program.”

Commissioner Blankenship discussed the recent Innovation Commission report that led to a $50 million comprehensive plan to grow various aspects of the state’s economy, including capacity for boating competitions, investment in oyster aquaculture and the creation of the Alabama Shooting Sports Trail. He explained such initiatives present an opportunity to help attract tourism and talent to the state. He shared the successful Alabama seafood marketing program that will be used as a template to market the state’s outdoor recreational opportunities to tourists and residents. And he expressed his appreciation to voters in the state who overwhelmingly approved the recent State Parks Amendment, providing up to $85 million in bonds for improvement, renovation, acquisition, construction, and maintenance of state parks.

“We have such a beautiful state,” Commissioner Blankenship said. “I see the potential for us to really be able to use that as an asset to grow our workforce here, to give us a better quality of life for our citizens and really help Alabama reach its potential.”