Chad Watts knows all too well how hard kayaks are to see in the dark. Several years ago, while fishing in a tournament on Lake Jordan, he nearly ran over a kayaker.
They were fishing at what is considered “safe light,” just as it is getting light enough to see, but before the sun has risen. “I was running 75 miles an hour toward a wide cove. There was a piece of land that jutted out about 30 feet, so I couldn’t see around the other side of it until I got almost even with it,” said Watts.
“By that time, I was doing about 60. When I came around, there was a kayaker 20 yards from my boat. How I avoided running completely over the top of him, I don’t know. I was so rattled, I couldn’t fish.”
Watts went to check on the kayaker and wound up talking to him for 30 minutes (in the middle of the tournament). What came from the experience was a friendship and a product that makes kayak fishing safer.
Watts started Firefly Marine, a company out of Trussville, that produces the Firefly stern light. The difference in their product over what was available previously is both the height of the light (telescopes to over 9 feet) and the material of the light (refracting plastic to eliminate blinding light).
Located just off of St. Clair County 9 in Springville, Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve can make you forget you’re just a mile or two away from the highway’s busy intersection of U.S. 11 in the middle of town.
As you drive along the winding, two-lane road covered with trees, you can already feel the temperature drop, even on this hot-as-molten-lava day in mid-August. It’s possible to roll your window down and take in a nice breeze.
The entrance to Big Canoe Creek is just under a half-mile past Homestead Hollow, but, if you’re not paying attention, you can drive right by it without noticing it.
Once you arrive on site, you’re reminded immediately of just how spectacular this part of St. Clair County truly is. On today’s visit, the sky overhead is mostly blue with a few clouds meandering by, and everywhere you look, you see green – undisturbed green. In a word, it’s breathtaking.
The Preserve, which opened to the public in February 2024, began to take shape when Alabama’s Forever Wild Land Trust purchased 382 acres of land in Springville in 2018. A year later the trust added 40 acres, bringing the Preserve to its massive footprint of 422 acres.
Preserve’s Historic Path
The Preserve’s caretaker and longtime advocate is Doug Morrison, now manager of it for the City of Springville. His interest in the area’s preservation goes back to 2007 while serving as the president of the Friends of Big Canoe Creek. Upon learning that the property was being eyed for development, Morrison and other members of Friends of Big Canoe lobbied the Springville City Council to take action to protect the creek.
Doug Morrison on the trail
At minimum, they asked for a riparian buffer, a strip of trees, grass, or shrubs either planted or left intact to protect bodies of water from development. Morrison said they even looked at what other nearby cities were doing to protect other bodies of water.
“A lot of times, developers will just clear every tree, and all of that sediment just goes into the creek,” says Morrison. “We were just trying to get them to be better stewards of the earth and at least leave riparian buffers.
“We even looked at some ordinances that Trussville had, for instance, with the Cahaba River and how they have setbacks leaving riparian buffers, basically just saying ‘leave the natural vegetation that’s already there,’ “ Morrison recalls.
Soon after the developers scrapped their plans altogether in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, and Morrison and others continued their quest to preserve and protect the creek and surrounding property.
Upon learning about the Forever Wild Land Trust, an initiative created by the state of Alabama in the early 90s, Morrison began approaching landowners about nominating their land for a potential sale to Forever Wild, a goal that took almost a decade of negotiations to accomplish.
With help from Springville and St. Clair County leadership and the owners of Homestead Hollow, the initial 386 acres were sold to Forever Wild in 2018.
Morrison says the creek had been affected by other developments in the area over the years, but it is now well on its way to full recovery. Big Canoe Creek is home to more than 58 species of fish, making it number one in Alabama in aquatic biodiversity. It is number four nationally in total biodiversity, and number one in the nation in aquatic diversity.
Still, Morrison says efforts are needed to protect “the special critters” of Big Canoe Creek. For instance, the creek is home to the Big Canoe Creek Club Shell, a mussel that can only be found in Big Canoe Creek that was listed as endangered in 2022.
“That’s one of the things we’re trying to tout and educate people about is our waterways are important, they’re special. They are home to a lot of different species of animals, and they’re disappearing at an alarming rate,” explains Morrison. “So hopefully with this preserve, we can get an educational program off the ground to help teach people about our great biodiversity.”
Today’s Path(s)
Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve boasts four trails, Creek Loop Trail, Easy Rider Trail, Fallen Oak Trail and Slab Creek Trail, ranging from 1.2 miles to 2.5 miles in length available for a mixture of uses – hiking, biking and horseback riding.
All sorts of interesting finds along the trail
You can also canoe or kayak with outfitters on the creek offering gear rentals and guided tours along the creek.
This writer, on the day of his visit, hiked for a bit along the Fallen Oak trail and the Easy Rider Trail, and was struck by the preserve’s natural, rustic beauty – if the word “rustic” isn’t redundant when discussing nature. After a few yards of crushed gravel, the trails give way to narrow dirt paths winding along the natural topography of the land under dense tree cover. The trails are suitable for novices and children, however, anyone who is moderately active to the most experienced hikers will enjoy the trails and the chance to see a variety of wildlife, including the occasional deer.
Morrison says this is the ultimate goal of Big Canoe Creek Preserve: to give everyone a chance to experience the natural surroundings and biodiversity of Big Canoe Creek. He added that the organization, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, is exploring grants for the construction of a pavilion where they can hold educational events and field trips for the county’s school children.
“We want classes to go on field trips and along the trails and along the creeks and just experience nature,” Morrison says. He references an influential book by non-fiction author and journalist Richard Louv titled, Last Child In The Woods. In the book, Louv coined the term “nature deficit disorder,” a concept that resonated with Morrison and one he hopes to remedy over time.
Through the Preserve, he says, “We’re hoping we can do away with nature deficit disorder in St. Clair County.” llock repairman.Goforth, Mayor Thomas, Lucy Cleaver, Lee Jeffrey, Mandi Rae Trot, Candice Hill, Blair Goodgame and Morrison; Springville Parks and Rec Board; bands and individual musicians who played on the side stage and vendors.
It was 2011 when retired Pell City educator Deanna Lawley offered an idea to help boost the Pell City Schools Educational Foundation’s funding following an economic downturn for investments.
A group trip to Italy with friend Diane Schilleci sparked the idea. The representative of the travel company, Collette Tours, asked her if she ever thought about getting groups to travel. “You’d be perfect,” they said, and she could put the commission into whatever project she wanted.
Diane and Craig Caufield admire incredible view from hilltop village of LaMorra over Langhe wine country.
She loved to travel and as a natural born teacher, she remembered how important grants were to her classroom. This would give her an opportunity to organize trips for groups so they could learn more about the world, and it could raise money for the Foundation.
Friends Bound for New Horizons is the moniker she gave it, and off they went to Ireland that first year, raising $7,000.
Since that time, the Foundation’s coffers have grown by more than $100,000 courtesy of the travels of Friends Bound for New Horizons.
Lawley and her groups didn’t stop there – on their traveling or their giving. A few years ago, the Pell City Library became a recipient of funds each year. “I couldn’t do this job without Danny,” Lawley said, referring to Library Director Danny Stewart, who helps coordinate the trips.
Two years ago, the Museum of Pell City, co-founded by Lawley, was added to the list of beneficiaries of the gifts. “The museum is special to my heart,” she said. Since serving as co-project manager for Pell City’s hosting of the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street in 2014, “I started thinking about people and our history that was being forgotten about.” In 2023, the city’s own museum opened in a 4,000 square foot suite in the Municipal Complex.
In May, the group traveled to Italy – 41 ‘Friends’ – and while they benefitted from a ‘bucket list’ trip filled with memories, their travels generated $10,000 for the Education Foundation and $7,000 each for the museum and library.
Their Italian adventure took them to Tuscany, where they spent the final four days at an historic estate outside Florence called Hotel Villa Casagrande. They visited Turin, known for fashion and design, and saw the Shroud of Turin in the chapel at Savoy Palace.
They stayed at Sestre Levante, right on the Italian Riviera, and they visited Cinque Terre – five villages on the coast that hang over the sea.
Among the many sights they still savor were Lucca, the Medieval-walled Tuscan hill town, home of Puccini, the great Italian opera composer and the Chianti Road to the winery and olive oil cannery. “Both were incredible,” said Lawley.
Greve was a small Chianti village with only two squares, where they shopped and had farm-to-table lunch.
As for the group’s favorite moments, “I loved seeing all the laundry hanging from balconies,” said Patti Harper. “I’ve always seen it in pictures, and they really do it! Also, how the boats had rented spaces on the walkway in Cinque Terre” because there isn’t enough space on the water. The captains have to carry boats down to the sea.
Johnny and Cheryl Gregg’s favorite experience was “the day trip to Cinque Terre. The train ride, the architecture and the beautiful blue water of the Mediterranean.”
For Mara Walls, it was “the town of La Morra, but especially the camaraderie of everyone in our group.” Husband Blythe singled out “City of Greve and the countryside.”
“The village at Manola was especially beautiful, nestled in the hills, and the Mediterranean,” added Jeff Hestley. His wife, Vicki, had a vivid recollection. “The day we spent at the olive vineyard and the afternoon in Greve were a perfect day for me.”
Their stories are typical of the conversations among these travelers upon returning home. They are dream trips carefully put together for maximum enjoyment and memories to last a lifetime.
There were three Danas on the trip – Dana Corte of Fairhope, Dana Merrymon and Dana Ellison of Pell City
About a month after returning home, they recounted their experiences at a special Italian dinner held at The Grill at the Farm in Cropwell. It was an opportunity for them to reunite, reminisce and be honored for their gifts to the Foundation, library and museum.
In accepting for the Foundation, Vice President Jackie Robinson said how vital the funds have been to their efforts to enhance classroom experiences through grants to teachers. The Foundation’s account now stands at over $1 million, with grants for everything from microscopes to books funded through the interest earned.
Stewart recounted traveling with the group in years past, helping Lawley coordinate trips and the personal enrichment it gave to him. Through the fundraising, the library is now able to do so much more to serve its patrons, especially children. A Christmas event featuring Santa and the Grinch draws over 300 children and landscaping lights outside the library were but two of the projects made possible in part with the funding.
Museum President Carol Pappas called the gift an honor to accept. The museum is launching its “Digging Deeper Initiative,” a series of new exhibits and oral history films that will dig deeper into Pell City’s history and present those stories in new, compelling and interactive ways.
“Stay tuned,” she said. “Because of Friends Bound for New Horizons, Museum of Pell City is bound for new horizons, too.”
Next up on the itinerary for the Friends group are a Rhine River Cruise and Painted Canyons of Utah, both in September.
In August 2025, the group plans to head to Scotland with tickets to the famous Royal Edinburgh Military Tatoo, a spectacular show “celebrating British Military, Scottish Heritage and international culture with world-class lighting projects and cutting-edge sound technology.” They are even offering an additional option trip – a 4-day, 3-night London pre-tour with fast train to Edinburgh.
Editor’s note:For more information on joining Friends Bound for New Horizons on their next adventure, contact Lawley at dnlawley@gmail.com.
It certainly wasn’t a first for Homestead Hollow. They’re used to hosting an outdoor festival drawing crowds from all around the region. But for newly opened Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve, its successful first venture looks like a gateway to an annual fundraiser.
Event was held to help fund the Big Canoe Creek Preserve
Creek Jam was an all-day, outdoor musical festival, featuring bands, entertainment and activities for the entire family and drawing 1,500 to 2,000 attendees. And Homestead Hollow provided the ideal setting on its main stage featuring: Winston Ramble, Jason Bailey Trio, The Stepdads, Love Rat, Len Park, Cottonmouth Creek, LeeJ The DJ and more.
An educational tent was run by two of the Big Canoe Creek Preserve Partners, Jimmy Stiles and Jill Chambers. Jimmy brought creek critters, such as a baby alligator, snakes, turtles and other species. Jill brought microscopes for kids to view all sorts of things found in Nature. The Nature Conservancy, Forever Wild and the Coosa Riverkeeper also manned educational tents.
Camping was available, providing more time to listen to the bands and to explore the preserve.
“It was a good turnout,” said Preserve Manager Doug Morrison. “We’ve had good feedback. People came from Gadsden, Hoover, Locust Fork – from all over. We were real pleased.”
The feedback, he added, centered on how impressed they were with the venue and “how well put together the event was.”
It had a little something for everybody with artisans and makers as vendors, food galore and music of all genres – and plenty of it.
Festival goers spread blankets, set up camp and lawn chairs or strolled through the open fields to just enjoy the day and the outdoors.
After all, that’s what it was all about – the treasures found in simply getting outside – just like at the preserve.
Morrison thanked sponsors for their support:
A great day was had by people of all ages at the festival
St. Clair County Commission
City of Springville
Buffalo Rock/Pepsi, our Presenting Sponsor
Big Canoe Creek Preserve Partners
APEX Roofing
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, The Caring Foundation
St. Clair EDC
AmFirst
Peritus Wealth Management
PPM Consultants
Hill, Gossett, Kemp, P.C.
Thompsons Tractor Rental
Schoel Engineering
Springville Dental
In-Kind Sponsors:
Cahaba Brewing Company
Ghost Train Brewery
Back Forty Beer Company
Steel Hall Brewing
Sweet Home Spirits
Creative Entertainment
Bob Tedrow of Homewood Music
Rusty’s BBQ
The Farm House
In addition, Morrison had high praise for:
Terri and Dean Goforth, who provided the venue space; Mayor Dave Thomas and Springville City Council; Commission Chairman Stan Batemon and the County Commission; all volunteers; Salient Projects, who organized the soundstage, bands and helped tremendously with planning; city employees from Parks and Rec; the planning committee – Terri & Dean Goforth, Mayor Thomas, Lucy Cleaver, Lee Jeffrey, Mandi Rae Trot, Candice Hill, Blair Goodgame and Morrison; Springville Parks and Rec Board; bands and individual musicians who played on the side stage and vendors.
Perseverance’s payoff: Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve ready for visitors
Story by Carol Pappas Photos by Mackenzie Free
It was a word repeated early and often in what would become a decade-long journey to Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve – “perseverance.”
But on a clear, Spring-like day in February, close to 400 people witnessed just how perseverance paid off.
It was billed as a ribbon cutting. What it became was testament to what can happen when visionaries don’t give up.
The much anticipated, much heralded Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve officially opened, marking the end of one journey and the beginning of many more. This 422-acre slice of Alabama nature tucked away alongside a pristine creek in Springville blends miles of trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding, birding and just plain enjoying nature.
Plants, flowers, trees of all descriptions dot the landscape. A crystal-clear creek meanders through the heart of it. Below its surface, rare aquatic species have found a home. Towering trees form the ideal canopy for the trails below.
It’s a scene no doubt played and replayed in the vision of people like Doug Morrison, whose passion to preserve, protect and share nature’s gem never ceased. Perseverance.
Posing with new sign, from left, Richie Gudzan, who designed the new logo, Preserve Manager Doug Morrison, Springville Mayor Dave Thomas and Granger Waid of Norris Paving, who played a major role in getting the Preserve open.
It’s a scene where one by one, a burgeoning army joined in the advocacy, embracing the vision. The Friends of Big Canoe Creek, Dean Goforth, St. Clair Economic Development Council, Springville City Council, St. Clair County Commission, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, State Lands Division, Freshwater Land Trust, Forever Wild, Nature Conservancy and Big Canoe Creek Preserve Partners became an unstoppable coalition of noteworthy impact on generations to come. Perseverance.
And it’s a scene where a new journey began once those gates opened, drawing multitudes now and in the future to – as Morrison puts it – “explore and discover” the natural treasures found within its borders. Again, perseverance.
The day following the ribbon cutting, the gates opened officially to the public for its very first day, Feb. 3, and 731 streamed in throughout the day. That’s over 1,000 people in just two days, and the enthusiasm and allure have shown no signs of slowing since.
Springville Mayor Dave Thomas said he had not visited for about two weeks after the opening and decided to check in one morning. The upper parking lot was full, and the traffic kept coming. “It was 10 o’clock in the morning on a Thursday,” he said, the note of surprise evident in his voice.
At the opening, Morrison talked of the Alabama Forever Wild program and the wonder of its impact on the future. “They are taking this property and buying it to set aside for people forever. It will be for this community from now on.”
The abundance of biodiversity is now protected. “We really are blessed here,” Morrison said.
A main focus of the preserve, in addition to its recreational value, will be its education component. No sooner had the ribbon been cut than the first education outreach program was announced – a turkey call expo.
Youths from all over were invited for a day of learning all about turkey calls, making them and enjoying the outdoors. Outdoor classrooms will be a hallmark of the preserve.
Thomas called the preserve “a fantastic opportunity to protect the ecosystem and promote conservation education among students and parents. This will be generational. It will outlive us all.”
Surveying the map of the 422 acres that make up the preserve
Commission Chairman Stan Batemon, who was a game warden in his professional career, knows firsthand from both roles the benefits and potential of the preserve. “This is the ground level of economic development,” he told the crowd. He talked of young people and an emphasis on work ethic through groups like the Cattlemen’s Association and 4-H, which can use the preserve as a resource for “building up and creating a workforce.”
And Morrison centered on a community of people who came together around a common good. When skills and expertise were needed in each area along the journey’s way, he recounted, community stepped up to make it happen. Whether it was securing the land, building a website, painting, paving, addressing environmental needs, carpentry, trail design, providing funding or dozens of other issues, someone always came forward.
“People in this community care,” Morrison said as he reflected on years ago when he and wife, Joannie, moved to Springville, his home on the banks of Big Canoe Creek. “Destiny brought us here, honey,” he told her.
And perseverance brought the preserve to this moment.
Making it official with the cutting of the ribbon
Key Players
A project of this magnitude had to have a team. When their number was called over the past decade en route to opening day, these agencies all played a role in acquiring and transforming the Preserve into a winner:
City of Springville
St. Clair County Commission
St. Clair Economic Development Council
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, State Lands Division
Curiosity got the best of Granger Waid, and Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve is lucky it did. Same holds true for Joey Breighner. And again, the preserve was on the receiving end of this lucky charm.
Their names often pop up when Preserve Manager Doug Morrison recounts the contributions the pair made to transform the preserve into nature’s gift to all who visit.
“Early on, the preserve seemed to be some type of clandestine operation hidden behind poorly secured cattle gates,” Waid said, recalling his morning commute past the 422-acre site. “It always begged the question, ‘What is going on with this place?’
“One day my curiosity overtook me. I parked at the gate and started walking. Following the little iron ore-stained trickle upstream, I came across an old spring house with remnants of the old home place on the hill above. I thought to myself, “What is going on with this place?”
That was four years ago. Fast forward three years, and Waid was at a pre-bid conference for his company, Norris Paving. The conference was for a new parking lot being installed at Turkey Creek Nature Preserve. He finally asked his “nagging question” about Big Canoe Creek of Charles Yeager, Turkey Creek’s manager, and his response was, “You need to meet my buddy, Doug.”
Morrison and Waid met, he toured the property and saw the potential. “Doug shared his vision for the preserve, and I saw that it could be something truly special. I knew right then I wanted to be a part of it.”
It is much the same story for Breighner. He came. He saw. He got involved.
“I was familiar with the preserve, but when Doug invited me to the preserve and seeing his passion for the project, I immediately became interested and seeing where I may be able to contribute,” said Breighner, an engineer by trade. “After a tour of the preserve, I saw quickly where there were land surveying and engineering needs where we could jump in and help.”
Joey Breighner of Schoel Engineering joins Doug Morrison at the new sign. Breighner is credited as a major force in the project.
Lucky for the preserve, both men’s expertise matched their enthusiasm, and they went to work. “I had no idea that it would turn into a full-blown passion project,” said Waid, who also holds degrees in landscape and horticulture. “My wife would call it an obsession, but she gets me, and is one of the few who sees that it’s more to me than building a parking lot and putting plants in the ground,” he said.
“Nature is a necessity for me,” he continued. “There is a healing power in the sound of running water, and sometimes a sturdy oak’s trunk is the best shoulder to cry on. So, I’m all for the preservation of wild lands, because a quiet walk in the woods may be the only under-prescribed medication in America.”
Breighner, too, talks of the healing effect of this particular project. “It’s always gratifying to look back – and forward in this case – on a project where you may have had an impact or feel you have made some contribution.
“The vision had already been cast; we came in and helped where we could, working directly with Doug, the City of Springville, and the site contractor,” Breighner recalled. “As professionals, we are often cautious about projects we support and involve ourselves with. However, after an in-depth introduction to the preserve and an understanding of the short-and long-term vision, it became quickly obvious that this was a project that I wanted to be part of and contribute to.”
The skills Schoel possesses as a company in the field of engineering and land surveying was “a great fit,” Breighner said. “There will be a life-long connection to both the preserve and the people we have been able to work with.”
Waid’s personal philosophy melded with his professional ability, he said, sharing a story of his own. “At our wedding, we gave away tiny ‘Snowflake’ Hydrangeas and said, ‘Let love Grow.’ You can’t take a building seed and plant it to share,” he said.
“Buildings don’t grow with age, they don’t change colors in the fall, or bloom in the spring. You can’t eat them – well, maybe gingerbread houses – and they certainly don’t get to be 100 feet tall all by themselves. Landscapes evolve. They are four dimensional. Having the ability to see a space that doesn’t exist, from every angle, at all times of the year, imagining its future, and combining it with paving, concrete, stone, and steel is a unique skill set that I guess I have.”
He had to have a little help, of course. He likens it to a recipe, adding “a fleet of GPS machine-controlled heavy equipment, a little AutoCAD, sprinkle on some engineering, and for something a lot bigger than shovel and wheelbarrow can produce. Just add diesel fuel and long hours.”
Waid noted that some of the earthwork had been done by the county, but it was clear there was not nearly enough parking. “We donated the men and equipment for a couple weeks and built the lower parking lot and expanded the upper parking lot.”
With Breighner’s help in engineering, “that led to the design and installation of the upper parking, roads and bioswale.”
What will be the preserve’s greatest impact going forward? “Some will say the economic impact in the community, an amenity for the city, others, the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, hiking, biking, horseback riding, etc.,” Breighner said.
“I see the primary impact as having a nature preserve in St. Clair County, that will be held undeveloped, in perpetuity, with unimaginable diversity available for public enjoyment. The Big Canoe Creek in itself, stands alone in the country with its biodiversity.”
He wants others to have an opportunity to share his appreciation of what can be discovered and enjoyed there. “I have met some incredible folks and made some lifelong friends,” Waid said. “I’ve learned to appreciate the little critters that often get overlooked because they’re not on your hunting and fishing license. Like mussels and darters or sculpins, and salamanders.”
And there’s more, he said. “Surrounding wooded areas filled with flora and fauna unique only to our region will be available to families and children forever. The diversity of the preserve will provide education opportunities for our children, research opportunities for academia that are available only in this region.”
Breighner talked of the trails with varied elevations providing different challenges for hikers, bikers and horseback riders.
“With the preserve in its infancy, and much work left to be done, I don’t know if I can fully imagine the current and future impact the Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve will have on this community and the surrounding areas.” He looks forward to the future as it continues to grow, add amenities for visitors and, lucky for the preserve itself, “where I can work with the Nature preserve team.”
Waid captures his glimpse of the future like this: “My hope is to keep people curious. Wandering and wondering is important. Maybe they’ll take a moment to stop, lean against a tree and just soak it all in.
“I also hope that the Preserve will impact some kids and will recruit some apostles to go and spread the clean water gospel. We could use some more Loraxes in the future. The world has enough Oncelers,” he said, referring to Dr. Suess’ fictional characters in chronicling the plight of the environment.
“More than anything else, I hope people take a memory with them,” Waid said. “I grew up playing and fishing in Big Canoe Creek. I’m grateful for my dad, grandad, and uncle taking me to ‘the creek.’ I’ve watched my girls play in the creek. Hopefully I’m fortunate enough to take my future grandchildren to dip their feet in Big Canoe Creek, just like mine took me.”
