Wilson talked about how Alabama was the hot spot of biodiversity not only in the South but in the nation. Having grown up in Alabama, I knew what he meant. With the Gulf Coast at one end and mountains at the other, and the regions in between interlaced by big rivers and countless streams, no one should be surprised. Like every state in the nation, Alabama has its wealth of species found nowhere else and ones that occur elsewhere but are characteristic of a particular region. One great feature of the entire United States is that no matter where you are, you know the natural diversity of plants and animals is special.
More species exist in the region than in most places, but more species have also gone extinct.
Along with California and Hawaii, Alabama has the highest extinction rate in the country. Alabamians can be proud of their natural heritage of high species diversity but should be a little embarrassed that more of them could soon disappear. Concerning the topic of Alabama forests, Bill Finch of the Mobile Press-Register, moderator for the panel, asked us if we could decree an environmental ruling, what would it be. As I remember it, Wilson took a position that we should not allow any more trees to be cut down in old-growth forests in Alabama. I love big trees, especially when they join forces to form a forest.