ATLANTA – Southern Company, one of the nation’s largest energy producers, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) today announced that grants, under their Power of Flight pilot partnership, have been awarded to eight conservation organizations and natural resource agencies committed to conserving birds and their habitats.

Bird habitat conservation efforts will benefit the South’s most threatened birds within Southern Company’s service territory of Georgia, northwest Florida, Alabama, and southeastern Mississippi.

“We have a strong interest in strengthening our wildlife protection efforts by partnering with organizations such as the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to foster environmental improvements within our service territory,” said Dr. Charles Goodman, Southern Company senior vice president of research and environmental affairs. “Our financial investment toward bird and habitat conservation initiatives reflects Southern Company’s ongoing commitment to enhance and sustain our natural environment.”

"We commend Southern Company`s leadership in helping conserve the birds and habitats that are unique to this part of our country. These grants will also enhance recreational opportunities for thousands of people who enjoy outdoor activities," says John Berry, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation`s executive director.

Grant recipients supply matching funds for their Power of Flight awards on a minimum of a one-to-one basis, thereby generating more than $1 million annually toward tangible improvements.

The following organizations have been awarded Power of Flight grants this year to implement conservation initiatives:

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – To support recovery of the federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker.
  
  
• Alabama Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Birmingham – To research and disseminate a new technique that uses audio tapes to reunite parent raptors with their young that have been displaced from the nest.
  
  
• Quail Unlimited – To implement the Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative by restoring 10 habitat projects on more than 17,000 acres.
  
  
• Georgia Wildlife Federation – To expand their Schoolyard Habitats Program to 55 urban counties in Georgia, while increasing the value of schoolyards as green space and wildlife habitat.
  
  
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – To restore 350 acres of tidal freshwater wetlands for the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia and South Carolina.
  
  
• The Nature Conservancy of Mississippi – To restore about 500 acres of wet pine savanna for the Mississippi Sandhill Crane and Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuges.
  
  
• Georgia Department of Natural Resources – To refine technologies that can economically convert pine plantations to functioning longleaf pine ecosystems on state lands.
  
  
• Mississippi Audubon Society – To help develop the Mississippi Coastal Birding and Wildlife Trail by linking 50 sites between the Alabama and Mississippi borders.
  
  
• Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Wildlife Foundation – To support implementation of the Great Florida Birding Trail in the State’s Panhandle.

Southern Company invested $250,000 to kick off the Power of Flight program and made a $50,000 donation to support the NFWF’s bird conservation programs in the Southeast. The NFWF also provided $250,000 to the Power of Flight program.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the conservation of fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats by attracting diverse investments, encouraging public and private collaboration, and funding the stewardship of natural resources. The Foundation supports and invests in the best possible solutions for wildlife conservation through creative, diverse, and respectful partnerships. For more information, please visit www.nfwf.org.

With 4 million customers and nearly 37,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier super-regional energy company in the Southeast and a leading U.S. producer of electricity. Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states, a growing competitive generation company, an energy services business and a competitive retail natural gas business, 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 15 percent below the national average. Southern Company has been named No. 1 on Fortune magazine’s 2002 “America’s Most Admired Companies” list in the Electric and Gas Utility industry. Southern Company has more than 500,000 shareholders, making its common stock one of the most widely held in the United States. Visit the Southern Company Web site at www.southerncompany.com.