Outdoor Alabama Fact Sheet Info Now Online

Since our organization's inception, ALAPARC has had a continuing partnership with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources's award-winning Outdoor Alabama website. As part of this partnership, ALAPARC members have contributed over 15 species profiles for Alabama herpetofauna for publication. These profiles serve as one of our first lines of defense in combating a lack of herp awareness by communicating reliable, comprehensive info about reptiles and amphibians to members of the public in a jargon-free, accessible format. In return, the ADCNR has graciously allowed us to link to these profiles as part of our own website's inventory of Alabama herps.

Not all of these species currently contain published profiles, however, and we are seeking to complete this species list as soon as possible. Laura Laurencio has recently created an excellent outreach initiative page on our website to aid in this effort, including an Excel spreadsheet of those Alabama species that currently need profiles.

If you are an expert on one of the species listed at the link above, please consider serving as an author! “Expert” is a relative term, of course, so we welcome anyone with a strong familiarity of a particular species and a desire to condense knowledge from the scientific literature into an easy-to-read, jargon-free format for public consumption. If you're interested in becoming an author, please contact Wally Smith at whsmith1@crimson.ua.edu for more info.

Outreach Database Now Online!

Amphibian outreach program with the Alabama Hiking Trail Society

As a service to educators and the greater public in Alabama, ALAPARC has assembled a network of herp outreach program providers in the state. These individuals regularly present educational programs at schools, nature centers, and other venues around Alabama, geared towards improving public awareness of Alabama's herpetofauna and associated conservation efforts. Our hope is that condensing outreach providers in one central location will make these individuals and groups more accessible to the community and facilitate communication between providers.

If you are an educator or outreach coordinator wishing to plan a herp presentation for your school or group, please browse the spreadsheet provided at the link above to view a list of program providers and their service area in the state, as well as their contact information and other details for scheduling a program.

As of 18 April, the database includes only those ALAPARC members who volunteered personal info on our sign-up sheet at the 2010 meeting. If you aren't currently on the list but frequently give herp outreach programs and would like to be included, please contact Wally Smith at whsmith1@crimson.ua.edu for more information on being added to the network.