Welcome to the latest edition of the Outdoor Alabama E-mail Newsletter, your information source for exciting programs, events and activities throughout the state. Please feel free to forward this issue to a friend and Share The Wonder.

New Weekly Column Announced

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) announces that David Rainer, longtime outdoors editor of the Mobile Press Register, has joined ADCNR as an outdoor writer. Rainer will pen a weekly column on a variety of topics. The new column, Outdoor Alabama Online, will cover a gamut of outdoor activities such as viewing bald eagles at Lake Guntersville, hunting white-tailed deer during the breeding season, catching bull redfish along Alabama's scenic coast and other timely conservation issues.

You can visit David's weekly column at www.outdooralabama.com/oaonline/.

Alabama Hunters Play a Vital Role in Feeding the Hungry

As the 2006-2007 deer season opens, hunters are encouraged to provide food to needy families by participating in Hunters Helping the Hungry. The Hunters Helping the Hungry program provides thousands of pounds of ground venison to area food banks. Food banks then donate the processed venison to help feed needy families. Since the program began in 1999, more than 319,000 pounds of ground venison have been donated to Alabama food banks statewide.

Hunters Helping the Hungry began as a joint effort of the Governor's Office, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Alabama Conservation and Natural Resources Foundation, the National Rifle Association and the Phillip Morris Company. Today, the program is sustained by annual fundraising quail hunts hosted by the governor. To read more, visit www.outdooralabama.com.

Outdoor Alabama Magazine Gift Subscriptions Available

Now is the time to order holiday gift subscriptions to Outdoor Alabama magazine. Published in February, April, July, October and December, every issue is packed with colorful photos and fascinating articles about Alabama. Seasonally oriented, each issue brings you closer to our natural heritage and the issues that concern us all.

Give the gift that keeps giving all year long! Subscribe online here or call toll-free 1-877-339-0508.

Gift Cards Make Visits to Alabama State Parks a Breeze

Wouldn't it be great if all the wonderful services offered at Alabama's state parks could be paid for with a convenient swipe of a card? With an Alabama State Park Gift Card, visitors can pay for the many recreational activities, lodging and other services at most state parks. Guests simply purchase their gift card for the amount they wish and use it to pay for services such as food, golf, camping, lodging, etc., until the amount on the card is depleted. For more information, visit this page.

Hunters and Anglers – Please Help With This Survey

Two new surveys are online. The interactive surveys provide hunters and anglers a way to provide fish and wildlife agencies and hunting organizations with information needed to protect and enhance hunting and fishing opportunities, as well as a fun way to be a part of a larger hunting and angling community. Many hunting and angling retail gift certificates are also awarded – register to be eligible to win. To take the hunter survey, click here. To take the angler survey, click here.