Hidden Hills Garden

Alabama Gardener magazine is a wonderful supporter of SaveSmithLake.com and our efforts to preserve the Ryan Creek, Section 16 land on Smith Lake. You may have seen this in the March issue:

Since that issue went to print, there has been a major development and the meeting is more important than ever. We must spread the word and show our support for this amazing land.

Let me start at the beginning. When Alabama became a state they divided the land into square mile sections, and in every 100 sections there was a section 16 that was set aside for the benefit of the schools. The land was sometimes leased to hunters or harvested for timber, but it was relatively untouched. The income, less a 10% management fee, went to the schools.

About 25 years ago I bought property on SmithLake that happens to be directly across from the Section 16 land, and over the years I have developed a deep love and attachment to this beautiful property. I watch how the sun lights up the shoreline in the afternoon, and I see the kids playing on the rocks in the summer, and if I’m really lucky, I see the eagle that nests there. I think it is the prettiest part of SmithLake.

So in October of 2012 when I learned that the Cullman County Board of Education (CCBOE) was trying to gain full control over the land, and they were talking about selling it to a developer, I tried to stop it. When that didn’t work, I nominated the land to be included in Forever Wild. I was concerned it might seem like I was just trying to save my view, but my contact at Forever Wild said that usually it is people like me, people with a relationship to the land, who fight to preserve it. So I charged forward. I thought the idea of saving land that was set aside for the benefit of the schools, as part of Forever Wild, would profit the school children in a way that money alone can not. And Forever Wild pays up to full appraised value, so the schools would have all the money they deserve, AND the land would be safe from the bulldozers, AND the community would enjoy a new nature preserve or recreation area. I thought this was the most amazing win-win situation of all time. It seemed so poetic; the land was given a purpose over 200 years ago, and as part of Forever Wild it would fulfill that purpose.
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I built lots of support for the idea. We have a website and a facebook page and letters of support from many organizations. I spoke to the section 16 steering committee that was set up by the CCBOE, and they were interested enough to send Forever Wild a letter stating that if Forever Wild made an offer, the CCBOE would consider it. We went to the Forever Wild board meetings with big, glossy posters of the spectacular shoreline, and pitched our great idea. Then, last summer, the most wonderful thing happened; the Forever Wild board voted unanimously to get a first appraisal on the land. That means that they are really interested in the property, and at anytime they could move for a second appraisal and start negotiations to buy the property. Things were going well with my little crusade to save a small piece of Smith Lake.

The appraisal was held up until the title was officially transferred to CCBOE in late fall. When that happened, Forever Wild began preparing for the appraisal, and they asked CCBOE if the “willing seller” letter covered all three pieces of the section 16 land. The answer from CCBOE was that they changed their minds. They feel that lake property is undervalued, and they don’t want to even consider an offer.

This was a terrible decision, and it was made by the Section 16 committee, not the elected school board. The committee gave no weight to the value of preserving one of the most beautiful pieces of land on SmithLake, land that has been set aside since Alabama became a state. And because Forever Wild pays up to full appraised value, it is very possible that if the land were sold today, and the money properly invested, in 10 years the investment may be worth more than the land. We must work to reverse this decision, and the first step is Thursday’s meeting. I hope that you can join us. You can also leave comments for Forever Wild here, and you can write letters to the CCBOE board members, here’s their addresses.

For the lake, Peggy