Healthy Forests Depend on Healthy Water
Healthy forests and clean water are deeply connected. Across North Alabama, forests, streams, and wetlands support diverse wildlife, provide valuable natural resources, and contribute to the long-term health of local communities. Through the Cumberland Plateau Stewardship Fund, International Paper (IP) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) are helping private landowners improve forest and watershed health through support of the Alabama Forestry Foundation (AFF).
Working directly with family forest owners, AFF helps implement conservation practices that reduce erosion, protect water quality, restore native forest habitats, and strengthen the long-term sustainability of working forests. The organization's approach recognizes that healthy forests and healthy waterways go hand in hand.
Project Highlights
International Paper (IP) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), through the Cumberland Plateau Stewardship Fund, are supporting the Alabama Forestry Foundation (AFF) as it helps family forest owners protect water quality and restore white oak and shortleaf pine forests across north Alabama.
Along the Paint Rock River in Jackson County, Alabama, landowner Bob Wills is managing his property with forests and water in mind, combining streambank stabilization, active forest management, and native vegetation restoration to reduce erosion and improve habitat.
AFF works with landowners throughout Alabama to improve watershed health through forested stream buffers, invasive plant removal, erosion control measures, and sustainable forest management practices.
Conservation efforts elsewhere in the region have helped improve habitat for sensitive aquatic species, including the rare trispot darter, demonstrating how forest stewardship can contribute to broader watershed conservation.
Conservation at Work Along the Paint Rock River
One example can be found along the Paint Rock River in Jackson County, Alabama, where landowner Bob Wills is managing his property with both forests and waterways in mind.
At a sharp bend in the river, floodwaters had begun cutting into the streambank, sending sediment into the waterway and contributing to erosion. To address the issue, AFF connected Wills with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, which provided support for a streambank stabilization project.
Over approximately three years, project partners planned and completed improvements that included reinforcing the bank with rock and establishing native vegetation to help stabilize soil and protect the shoreline.
The completed work has reduced erosion and decreased the amount of sediment entering the river. Biological monitoring was conducted before, during, and after the project, and partners are now evaluating opportunities to apply similar restoration practices farther downstream.
Managing Forests for Long-Term Health
Water-quality improvements are only one part of the effort.
On the Wills property, active forest management is being implemented alongside watershed protection. A timber harvest is currently underway in loblolly pine and natural hardwood stands. Following the harvest, Wills and AFF plan to restore shortleaf pine on appropriate upland areas and underplant white oak in selected hardwood stands. Native grasses and forbs are also being established to replace former pasture vegetation.
These practices are designed to support healthy forest regeneration while improving wildlife habitat, increasing resilience, and enhancing the long-term productivity of the land.
Wills Property
Improving Habitat Across the Landscape
AFF applies many of these same principles throughout North Alabama, helping private landowners address sediment and improve stream habitat across working forest landscapes.
Forested stream buffers, properly designed roads and water bars, stable stream crossings, and invasive plant removal all help reduce sediment entering waterways. At the same time, restoring native streamside vegetation helps maintain cooler water temperatures and healthier aquatic ecosystems.
The environmental benefits of these efforts can extend well beyond individual properties.
In Etowah County, AFF supported invasive privet removal and sediment reduction efforts in habitat used by the trispot darter, a rare freshwater fish species that depends on clean, cool water. During the broader conservation initiative, partners documented an increase in known trispot darter populations across Alabama from three locations to nine.
The results demonstrate how improving watershed conditions and forest health can contribute to meaningful conservation outcomes for sensitive species throughout the region.
Building Capacity for Conservation
Support from IP and NFWF enables AFF to serve more landowners and expand conservation efforts across the region.
By providing technical guidance, connecting landowners to foresters and wildlife professionals, and helping identify financial assistance opportunities, AFF helps translate conservation goals into practical, on-the-ground action.
The biggest thing International Paper's support has done is increase our capacity to engage the number of landowners needed to improve conservation at scale across the region."
Partnership in Motion
Forested stream buffers, stable crossings, well-managed roads, and healthy native forests all play an important role in protecting water quality and supporting wildlife habitat.
Through collaboration with private landowners, conservation organizations, and local partners, International Paper, NFWF, and the Alabama Forestry Foundation are helping strengthen working forests while improving the streams and rivers that flow through them.
By helping landowners understand the connection between forest management and watershed health, these partnerships are creating lasting environmental benefits that extend across entire landscapes, supporting healthier forests, cleaner waterways, and more resilient ecosystems for future generations.
