ALAPARC

A new conservation organization has been formed in Alabama, dedicated solely to amphibians and reptiles. The national organization, Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC), has been around for a decade now (I attended the organizational meeting in Atlanta back in '99 and have been involved ever since). PARC has been a great success and has spawned regional chapters including Southeast PARC (SE PARC). There are so far only a few state chapters, and I'm proud that Alabama now has one. Main credit for the existence of ALAPARC (ALAPARC.org) goes to Dave Steen and Sean Graham at Auburn, who really took the initiative in pulling it together. There's an ALAPARC blog over at alaparc.blogspot.com. Several conservation initiatives are in the works, and we're having our first "annual" meeting November 7-8 at the Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center near Andalusia. Registration information will soon be distributed to a pretty long email address list as well as posted to the ALAPARC website. Plan to come if you can.

Speaking of the website, it just went up today and is obviously very much "under construction." We are in need of an experienced and motivated webmaster who's willing to volunteer just a little time here and there to make it both attractive and current. Any takers? Let me know at mbailey@alaparc.org.

Thanks to Nathan Burkett for creating the logo. Now, who can ID the turtle silhouette to species? Hint: it's an appropriate symbol for the state.