FW went in on a significant portion of the Delta acquisition, if I recall right, about 10-15 years ago.

To the point about Bryant, FW always has worked to keep the prices low and has not hidden that fact. They don't trumpet it but they don't deny trying to get the lowest price(s) possible. They know once word gets out, people automatically think "Heh, they have a shitpile of money so let's run up the price!" The reality is they do only have x-amount of money to spend and use for management.

If anyone keeps up with FW, too, they never announce what tracts they're considering for that specific purpose - to keep people (or groups) from running up the prices. They've done that since FW's inception. Other land acquisition groups in other states do the same, just like anyone in the public buying a piece of land. If I was looking at 500 acres I wouldn't be going around talking about it and then have to deal with Jacky Dumbass next door trying to pay more. Word may get out but it wouldn't be because I (or FW, in their case), went around tooting horns about it.

Like any government agency they're probably not perfect but IMO they're far from evil scoundrels and are a benefit to the state.

I've been to a lot of land auctions , never seen anyone ask a major player not to run the price up.

I saw/heard FW big shots at a land auction beg Paul Bryant Jr. not to run the price up on them as they only had X number of $ to spend. FW has worn their welcome out in Jackson Co. with many locals. Starting about 15 years ago, folks from LA should have been screaming for them to buy land in their areas.

If you're referring to me, then you're way off base. To the contrary, actually.

From reading the meeting minutes of the last couple of years the impression I got was that they are not seeking but being approached. I

I hope they shut Forever Wild down.

If you do I know a Nigerian prince that needs to hide his money in the US before his evil uncle takes it.

I did a job bout a year ago for a guy that was running for state auditor. I didn't fully understand what he was saying but he said that fw was a back door way for the guberment to sell natural resources to other countries.

I guess we will just have to speculate why N2TRKYS doesn't like Forever Wild. I'll go with one of the board members beat him up and stole his lunch money in the third grade until he explains.

Geezzzzz! I don't see why the hatred. 2Dogs, if you're buying land, wouldn't you want the best price? Nothing wrong with trying to get the lowest price. I WOULD attempt that and everybody on this site would too!!

I'd rather FW buy the land than to have it developed by some greedy developer and the developer build houses or a Walmart on the property.

I just don't get it why FW is being demonized.

I went to the Forever Wild Board meeting in Spanish Fort today. After Commissioner Guy made some preliminary remarks, the floor was open to public comment. Several landowners spoke to the board requesting Forever Wild buy their land. There was no arm twisting by the board, these people specifically want to sell to Forever Wild.

Big Canoe Creek Preserve in Springville received supporting comments from their local State Representative, a St. Clair county commissioner, and the mayor of Springville. The Mayor said while some counties don't appreciate Forever Wild, St. Clair county and Springville have done the math and they understand the economic and conservation benefits and they are ready to go.

All of the procedures for land purchase were discussed at length. It was clear Forever Wild cannot pay more than appraised value, so they have no way to outbid anyone. Also, Forever Wild must set aside 15% of the appraised value in a stewardship fund for maintenance, so, yes, they did think of that.

There were 26 properties on the short list for consideration, but only $7.6 million available for this fiscal year. The properties are evaluated based on highest use and graded accordingly. The board is tasked with making final decisions regarding best use of the available money.

The experience was enlightening and well worth the time. It's clear the arguments often made against Forever Wild are simply untrue. Some special properties are being considered for addition to our public WMAs, which is great news considering our net loss of WMA land over the last few years. I would definitely recommend everyone attend one of these meetings.