Red Mountain Park One Step Closer to a Reality

Press Release

The Birmingham community is one step closer to creating the largest urban park in America after U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) presented the Red Mountain Greenway and Recreational Area Commission with nearly $1 million in federal funding today.

Sessions presented $980,000 to Steve Jones, Chairman of the Red Mountain Greenway and Recreational Area Commission, to help the Commission acquire and develop more than 1,100 acres of land atop Red Mountain for the park. Sessions secured the funding in the Fiscal Year 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill that Congress approved in December.

"Red Mountain Park will be a fantastic addition to the Birmingham metropolitan area," Sessions said. "Acquiring the land is the first step toward creating a world-class urban park that will provide the citizens of Birmingham with wonderful recreational, educational, and cultural opportunities set against the backdrop of Red Mountain. Federal resources for conservation are not unlimited, and I am pleased to help provide nearly $1 million for this meritorious project that will benefit the entire state."

Once completed, Red Mountain Park will be the largest urban park in America - bigger than New York City's Central Park or San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. The master plan for the park includes 18 miles of walking, jogging, and bicycling trails, numerous sport and recreational fields, fishing ponds, a bird watching sanctuary, and outdoor venues for shows and exhibitions.

The future site of the park runs approximately 4.5 miles from Montevallo Road to the Bessemer city limit. The current landowner, U.S. Steel, offered to sell the 1,100 acre tract at a discounted rate of $7 million. The fair market value of the land is more than $16 million.

Once purchased, U.S. Steel has pledged to contribute an additional $1 million to develop the land, making their full contribution one of the largest conservation gifts in Alabama's history.

"U.S. Steel has generously provided this wonderful opportunity for the people of Birmingham, and I am pleased to be able to help make this 1,100 acre park a reality," Sessions said. "I applaud the Commission and the many local citizens who have donated their time, energy, and resources in support of the park. The project clearly has broad local support."

Prior to the check presentation, Sessions toured the site with Steve Jones, Chairman of the Commission, and Wendy Jackson, Executive Director of the Freshwater Land Trust. Sessions met with members of the park commission, local leaders and numerous project supporters at the ceremony, held near the park's boundary.

Sessions' support for Red Mountain Park is the latest in a long line of conservation efforts that have protected sensitive tracts of land across Alabama for the use and enjoyment of future generations.

"Over the years I have had the pleasure of working with Senator Sessions as he championed great conservation projects that have protected thousands of acres in Alabama" Jackson said. "His support of Red Mountain Park is a continuation of his commitment to the conservation of Alabama's natural and historical heritage."

Sessions, a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, led efforts to designate 8,000 acres of former Ft. McClellan to be Mountain Longleaf Wildlife Refuge. Sessions and Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Vestavia Hills) introduced and helped pass legislation to create and later expand the Cahaba National Wildlife Refuge, and championed the establishment of the Dugger Mountain Wilderness Area in the Talladega National Forest. Sessions has also secured federal funding to better manage and expand Bon Secur National Wildlife Refuge on the Fort Morgan Peninsula and the Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge on Alabama's coast.

Although the federal appropriations bill that originally passed the House and Senate provided $1,000,000 for Red Mountain Park, that legislation was subject to a mandatory 2 percent across-the-board reduction to meet President Bush's Fiscal Year 2008 budget goal.

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