ATLANTA - Nov. 30, 2006 – Southern Company and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation today announced that six additional grants have been awarded to conservation and natural resource agencies through the Power of Flight and Longleaf Legacy partnership programs.

“Southern Company is pleased to extend its longstanding partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation by awarding much-needed funds to these leading organizations,” said Chris Hobson, Southern Company’s senior vice president for research and environmental affairs.  “These awards will support the great work being done in the Southeast to restore bird populations and habitats while educating the public about the importance of preserving and protecting the environment.”

Since 2002, Southern Company and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation have contributed more than $4.7 million through 61 grants to the Power of Flight and Longleaf Legacy programs.  In addition, grant recipients have contributed nearly $6.7 million in matching funds, resulting in an on-the-ground conservation impact of more than $11.4 million since the program’s inception.   Through these two programs, more than 100,000 acres of longleaf pine and other critical habitat on public and private lands have been restored or enhanced to the benefit of bird populations across the Southeast.

“These grants will accelerate public and private efforts to restore some of the South's endangered birds and threatened habitats,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.  “By focusing on restoring longleaf pine ecosystems, dozens of species will benefit, and many new recreation opportunities will be created for outdoor enthusiasts. Southern Company is to be commended for making these awards possible through their partnership with National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.”

The Power of Flight program is the largest public/private funding effort for bird conservation in the South.  Program grants were awarded to:

• U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service – to accelerate translocation efforts for the red-cockaded woodpecker. Funds will support a biologist working in the Apalachicola National Forest in Florida, who will monitor potential donor families with the goal of increasing from 20 to 40 the number of woodpeckers available for translocation each year.  This is the fourth year Southern Company has supported this program.   

• Mississippi State University – to develop workshops for private landowners in Alabama and Mississippi to help them maintain their lands in a manner that benefits birds and other wildlife. 

• Quail Unlimited, Inc. – to support the Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative by restoring the habitat of the Bankhead and Talladega National Forests in Alabama and on private lands in 15 targeted counties in Georgia.   Many bird species, including red-cockaded woodpecker, grassland songbirds, and gopher tortoises will benefit from this project, now in its third year of funding through Power of Flight.

• University of Florida– to analyze wood stork habitat to predict which sites are most likely to attract and retain stork nesting colonies.   This project will help land managers determine which nesting colonies of this federally endangered bird are most in need of protection.

The Longleaf Legacy program is focused on restoring the South’s signature longleaf pine ecosystem to conserve biological diversity and sequester carbon.  The following two organizations were awarded grants in this program:

• National Wild Turkey Federation – to restore 7,000 acres of longleaf pine on private and public lands over the next three years. Restoration on public lands will take place primarily on military installations and in national forests and wildlife management areas. Additionally, the National Wild Turkey Federation will collaborate with Georgia-Pacific to host workshops with biologists and foresters for interested landowners.  This award – totaling $1.1 million – is the largest made to date through the Longleaf Legacy program. 

• Auburn University (School of Forestry and Wildlife Services) – to pilot methods to re-introduce fire among longleaf pine in mountainous areas with excessive undergrowth. This project aims to restore longleaf pine in Alabama with the goal of creating methods that can be used throughout longleaf’s range.

Visit www.southerncompany.com/planetpower to view fact sheets on the Power of Flight and Longleaf Legacy programs or to see a complete listing of awards granted.

About Southern Company:

With 4.3 million customers and more than 41,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier energy company serving the Southeast, one of America’s fastest-growing regions. A leading U.S. producer of electricity, Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are significantly below the national average. Southern Company has received the highest ranking in customer satisfaction among U.S. electric service providers for seven consecutive years by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Visit our Web site at www.southerncompany.com.

About NFWF:

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is a non-profit organization established by Congress in 1984 and dedicated to the conservation of fish, wildlife and plants, and the habitat on which they depend. The Foundation creates partnerships between the public and private sectors to strategically invest in conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources. The Foundation awarded over 8,000 grants to more than 2,600 organizations in the United States and abroad and has leveraged – with its partners – more than $350 million in federal funds since its establishment, for a total of more than $1 billion in funding for conservation. The Foundation is recognized by Charity Navigator with a 3-star rating for efficiency and effectiveness.  Ninety-two cents of every dollar contributed to the Foundation is directed to on-the-ground conservation projects, with five cents supporting management and administration of the Foundation’s multi-million dollar grants program and three cents funding partnership development and fundraising.  For more information, visit www.nfwf.org.

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