Blankenship's ADCNR Career Cause for Celebration
The Commissioner said it’s hard to fathom all that has occurred in the past nine years in the state to protect and provide public access to Alabama's natural wonders, from the Tennessee River Valley and Appalachian Mountain foothills to the Gulf of America.
“Red snapper was a big issue at MRD and trying to get state management, working with the other states to determine the allocations,” he said. “Then working with our congressional delegation and President (Donald) Trump in 2017 to get state management as a pilot program and then a few years later working through the Gulf Council to make it more permanent. We went from a three-day season to a 200-day season. That was great for our coastal economy.”
Finishing the 350-room The Lodge at Gulf State Park in 2018 was another milestone with another huge boost for the state’s economy as well as a source of funding for work at numerous Alabama State Parks. The $85 million State Parks Bond Constitutional Amendment that overwhelmingly passed in 2022 has prompted improvements and expansion of outdoor recreational opportunities at Alabama State Parks around the state. The Commissioner will have retired but will attend as a visitor when the new lodge hotel opens at Cheaha State Park in two weeks at the highest elevation in the state.
“When Ed Poolos came in as Deputy Commissioner, we set some goals that I thought were going to be hard to attain,” Commissioner Blankenship said. “I told him we needed to stretch ourselves a little bit. We set out to spend $35 million in outdoor recreation improvements. That was our goal in 2018.
“To date, we’ve done $525 million in outdoor recreation improvements, so to say we met our goal and surpassed it is a massive understatement. Once we formed the partnerships, working with different cities, towns and counties, the dominoes just kind of kept falling where we could do this project here and that project there. We got some money from Innovate Alabama to do boat ramp work and trail work at Oak Mountain State Park and Coldwater Mountain. We passed the State Parks bond and put every penny of revenue from State Parks back into renovations. The Legislature provided $18 million over three years for outdoor recreation improvements. We used funds from GoMESA (Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act) and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill for outdoor rec projects in Coastal Alabama. When you add it up, it’s more than a half a billion dollars in positive recreation work.
“We have also acquired more than 110,000 acres of land that will belong to Alabamians forever through Forever Wild, Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, funding from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement, GoMESA and other partnerships. When you put all the funding together, it has really made a huge impact!”
Poolos was Deputy Commissioner for eight of Commissioner Blankenship’s nine years leading ADCNR. Poolos, who was named Director of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management last year, had nothing but praise for his colleague.
“Chris’s ability to maneuver through the bureaucracy of government to accomplish the lofty goals he set for the agency is what makes him special,” Director Poolos said. “His dedication to ensuring that future generations of Alabamians have access to the outdoors will be his lasting legacy. His devotion to the Alabama’s natural resources is unmatched.
“In my opinion, he will go down as the greatest Commissioner in the history of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.”
Commissioner Blankenship’s legacy will live on in other places as well. Governor Ivey named a large artificial reef zone in Gulf waters after him. The Town of Dauphin Island created the Christopher Blankenship Eco-Tourism Park. The Forever Wild Field Trial Blankenship Events Center was dedicated last year in Hale County.
Also, the University of South Alabama is creating the Blankenship Scholars Program to provide financial assistance for students who wish to pursue careers in law enforcement, from ADCNR to the U.S. Coast Guard.
“We have a group of great, passionate people in the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and I am thankful we have been able to facilitate whatever was needed for them to do good work,” Commissioner Blankenship said. “I think we have built a team and a culture that will continue this work for generations to come. To me, that is what I call true success.”
Of course, many are wondering what’s next for Blankenship now that he is no longer Commissioner. He’s moving back home to Mobile to become the Executive Director of the Coastal Alabama Partnership, a group that provides leadership and guidance to achieve major initiatives for Mobile and Baldwin Counties.
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