Sipsey River Swamp Conservation

On Saturday, March 17, I took a solo trip on our Sipsey from Highway 102 to Highway 18. I never expected to go that distance, popular thought is that the river is too impassable to get very far at all. Truth is simpler and much more beautiful than fiction, I had only one portage and about 5 easy log crossings. I saw over 30 turtles sunning, heard many more slip in the water, no snakes though I wanted to, 40 or more duck, cool when they skitter across the water, a big turkey that flew right in front of my boat, lots of fish jumping, 3 large well fed hawks, many clumps of river cane and indescribable beauty everywhere around me.

The amount of trash I saw was relatively low, plastic soda bottles were the most common item, four tires will be the hardest to remove, but signs of human presence was lower than any other river trip that I can remember.

I have some great pictures I will post. What a beautiful river!

The Agriculture Science class at Fayette County High got an update last week concerning the Sipsey Project, Thank you Mr. Sizemore for the opportunity to speak before your class. We have received a Fayette Community Development Grant. That will allow us to further explore options and plans for our river. Soon, with weather warming, we will set some weekend dates for volunteer brush removal from short sections of the river. In Mr. Sizemore’s class are a core of young men ready to help and work hard with only the promise of a T-shirt, a good lunch on the banks of the river, and a lot of fun.

We also want to thank Mr. Jim Felder of Alabama River Trails, for his help thus far and his commitment to this project, our Mayor Ray Nelson and Mr. Robert Avant, the great folks at the Nature Conservancy and the engineering firm Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood which has donated resources and shared valuable experience from related projects.

Who knew there are so many in our community that have similar ideas and wishes for our Sipsey? From hiking, camping, horse trail riding, birding and paddling on the river, we have a treasure.  The folks at Alabama Scenic River Trail, suggest we might join with them to promote our river to paddlers and campers. It is the river lover’s equivalent of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. With our arena and stables we are also well set up for Horse Trail riding and camping.

Please post your ideas, the positive constructive ones are the ones most needed, of course !

We need more pictures, new and old – so please send those.   We also need folks to help add content here – so authors out there, identify yourselves and you can help us tell each other more about the history of the Sipsey, its wildlife, trees and plants.  Please join – this is a moderated site, (to keep out any electronic pollution), as you join though we can make your posts immediate, and if you have an interest in contributing additional material – let us know.

Leaders and other interested parties in Fayette are exploring the prospects of conserving our Sipsey River Swamp while making stretches of it available for hikers, campers, cyclists, equestrians and paddlers. We can accomplish this through conservation land grants, conservation easements and use of current publicly owned lands.

This site will be available for all who are interested to share their ideas, and view information related to this effort.

Unlike on the trail – please leave a trace that you were here – and share your thoughts!