Cawaco works with partners like the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Alabama Rivers & Streams Network (ARSN) to implement conservation practices that improve habitat and water resources for natural and economic benefits.
Kellie Johnston
Strategic Habitats
Alabama Rivers & Streams Network (ARSN) is a group of state and federal agencies, utilities, private companies, and non-profit organizations that work together to identify opportunities for the restoration and recovery of imperiled aquatic species through collaboration using science-based methods. The primary action of this group is to coordinate field work and studies. Cawaco provides administrative and program support for ARSN.
See an example of how ARSN partners to gain a better understanding of Alabama’s biodiversity. Teaming Up to Evaluate a Life-Rich Alabama Stream! created by the Tennessee Aquarium.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service—Partners for Fish & Wildlife
The U.S. F&WS provides funding to Cawaco for the purpose of administering monetary assistance to landowners who perform remediation practices that improve habitats for threatened, endangered, and at-risk species on private land.
A 3 for 1 Project
Cawaco provided assistance to the US Fish & Wildlife Service which could improve fish passage for the Trispot Darter. The project removed a perched concrete culvert pipe and replaced it with a bottomless arch structure. The site was a priority due to proximity of historic records and recent survey for Trispot Darter habitat. The land…
Adding Mussel(s)
At the end of the 2021, Cawaco agreed to receive funds from the Coosa River Basin Initiative of behalf of AABC. Funding came from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GADNR). The purpose of the funds was to assist AABC in propagating and re-introducing the Coosa Moccasinshell mussel, GADNR produced a video that provides basic information about mussels and their…
Town Creek Restoration-14 Years Later…
In 2008, Cawaco and the City of Jasper contracted with North State Environmental to solve erosion and stormwater management issued on Town Creek. The Creek flows through the City in front of Maddox Middle School. North State used a new (in 2008) concept of natural channel design techniques. Fourteen years later, the construction has held,…
Cawaco assists in mussel reintroduction
As the nonprofit partner of the Alabama Rivers & Streams Network, Cawaco facilitated funding provided by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources through the Coosa River Basin Initiative to DCNR-Alabama Aquatics Biodiversity Center. Funding was used by AABC to propagate the Coosa Moccasinshell mussel and reintroduce it to its natural habitat in the Coosa River…
Alabama Rivers & Streams Annual Meeting
Cawaco RC&D is the nonprofit partner for the Alabama Rivers & Streams Network (www.alh2o.org). 2023 Annual Meeting will be held January 18, 2023. Check the link above for updates. The ARSN annual meeting was held January 19, 2022 with 82 participants from federal and state agencies, utilities, forestry, universities and nonprofits. The meeting provides an…
Urban Darter Project
Despite being the most populated city in Alabama, the Birmingham Metropolitan area is no exception, and is home to three endangered darters in the genus Etheostoma. Funds provided by the USFWS will support a coordinated effort to enhance and preserve habitat for trust species, expose diverse communities to principles of conservation, ecological restoration methodologies, and…
Mulberry Fork Stream Stabilization
The Mulberry Fork Streambank Stabilization project included stabilizing and enhancing approximately 200 total linear meters of stream bank on Mulberry Fork and an associated tributary, Hurricane Creek, to improve habitat for the Black Warrior Waterdog and Flattened Musk Turtle and to improve fish passage. Additional activities included restoring and enhancing approximately 70 meters of in-stream…
Trispot Darter Fish Passage Partnership
The trispot darter is a small, colorful fish with three prominent black saddles on its back and grows up to 1.5 inches long. The species is found only above the fall line in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee within the Coosa River drainage. One breeding site for the trispot darter can be found on Alabama Power…
Rush Darter Fish Passage
During a 2018 bio-blitz at Turkey Creek Nature Preserve, a new record for the federally listed (endangered) Rush Darter (Etheostoma phytophilum) was documented. This new record was found in an unnamed tributary (a spring run) to Turkey Creek and was just downstream of two concrete pipe culverts. The concrete pipe culverts are at the crossing…
Runway for Reclamation
On August 6, 2020, Cawaco RC&D received a grant from Reclaiming Appalachia Coalition to assist partners of the Alabama Rivers & Streams Network in developing capacity to prioritize and develop abandoned mine reclamation projects that will have measurable benefits to water quality and improve economic conditions for coal-related distressed communities. The grant will integrate the…
Strategic Habitat Internships
The USFWS has provided funding for student interns (2015-2023) to perform road crossing surveys. These surveys provide base information for habitat assessments and the SHU mapper. Students obtain hands-on experience, knowing that the data will be used by regulated industries, regulatory agencies, and non-profits to develop projects that improve habitat. This experience translates into a…
Trispot Darter Study
Cawaco RC&D is managing a grant from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation on behalf of the Alabama Rivers and Streams Network. The purpose of the grant is to enhance knowledge of the distribution and range of the Trispot Darter (Etheostoma trisella), a fish species endemic to the middle and upper Coosa River regions of…
2019 Strategic Habitat Meeting of the Alabama Rivers & Streams Network
Strategic Habitat Meeting 2019 Each year, the Alabama Rivers and Streams Network come together to share information and set an area of focus for the upcoming year. It is held in conjunction with the yearly Mollusk/Crayfish meeting. The 2019 SHU Meeting was held on January 15 in Andalusia Alabama. Full Presentations are available below: RC&D…
Continue Reading 2019 Strategic Habitat Meeting of the Alabama Rivers & Streams Network
Mapping Birmingham City Trees
Cawaco is working with the Nature Conservancy, the Regional Planning Commission, the Birmingham urban forester, Alabama Forestry Commission and other agencies to map Birmingham trees. Why? For numerous reasons, urban foresters need a snapshot of the health, age, species, placement and condition of the urban forest. In order to understand pressures, stressors, insect and storm…
Resources for Stream Owners
Are you a landowner with a stream on your property? Do you lose property with every rain? Do your stream banks shift? There is a free resource for you to teach you how to manage the water on your property and keep your stream healthy and beautiful. “Small Scale Solutions to Eroding Stream Banks” is…
Buxahatchee Creek Project
Cawaco RC&D provides project and grant management services to assist Shelby County in implementing an ADEM 319 grant to improve water quality for Buxahatchee Creek. Glenn Littleton, project coordinator provided coordination and support for the installation of a peat-based alternative wastewater treatment system for Minooka Park. Read more about the project in the Clanton Advertiser on…
