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Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
Friends of Shades Mountain
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Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
Friends of Shades Mountain
The trees that surround Larry Rodick’s home on Shades Mountain aren’t just beautiful scenery to him — they’re protection from mudslides that save the city $1.5 million. As the president of Friends of Shades Mountain, Rodick keeps a watchful eye for urban development that could threaten those trees and the mountain they stand on.
“Our mission is to preserve it, protect it and keep it like it is,” Rodick said. “We think its sort of a treasure for the county. It’s the largest urban forest left in Jefferson County.”
Friends of Shades Mountain started in 2003 after Rodick and some friends joined the residents of Kemp Drive in protesting a proposed neighborhood on the mountain. The development plan called for the removal of large swaths of trees and the creation of a steep road and 14 homes, but Homewood officials eventually rejected the plan after the residents’ response. Rodick realized that Shades Mountain needed people to stand up for it.
The group now has around 50 dues-paying members and focuses on the 12.5-mile stretch of Shades Mountain between U.S. 280 and Highway 150. The mountain runs through portions of Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Hoover, Birmingham and unincorporated Jefferson County.
Many parts of the mountain are already covered in roads, neighborhoods and businesses. However, Rodick estimates that a majority of the mountain, around 1,900 acres, has not yet been developed. These areas, Rodick said, are not only beautiful but also are home to a variety of wildlife, including species like the scarlet tanager that could not live near Birmingham without Shades Mountain. Additionally, the forest saves the Birmingham area from mudslides, excess storm water runoff and air pollution.
“Any time you take trees off and replace it with cement, you’re going to get much more runoff than you would have had otherwise,” Rodick said.
There is already evidence of what happens when parts of the mountain are too heavily developed. U.S. 31 cuts across the mountain and often faces rock and mudslides after severe storms. Shades Creek, which runs along the north side of Shades Mountain, has recently seen increased pollution and decreased oxygen levels and fish populations due to nearby development.
“The creek is already not in good shape according to scientists who look at it,” Rodick said. “In spite of everybody’s efforts to control what goes in the creek, there’s still a lot of bad stuff that goes in.”
The Friends of Shades Mountain have not directly stopped any developments since their first one in 2003. However, Rodick said he has noticed increased scrutiny from planning officials for proposed Shades Mountain developments, and he believes the group is partly responsible for that. Their ultimate goal is to create a preservation district bounded by Highway 150, U.S. 280, Shades Creek and Shades Crest Road. The district would restrict what can be built and “keep developers from just scouring the mountain.”
Through the efforts of Friends of Shades Mountain, Rodick wants the mountain to look almost exactly the same in a decade as it does today: covered in leafy trees rather than rooftops. To learn more, visit friendsofshadesmountain.org.