Ruffner's Trailblazers

Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve holds a special place in the minds of its regular visitors. 

“Ruffner’s a magical place, and you can’t take a step without being almost overwhelmed by how magnificent it is,” Pelham resident and Ruffner volunteer June Fletcher said.

Covering 1,038 acres in South East Lake, Ruffner offers a wetland, native plants, hiking trails, scenic overlooks and the ruins of an iron-ore mine.

The preserve also has a special history, beginning in 1977 with a successful effort by area residents to save about 20 acres on the mountain’s north side, about 25 years after mining ceased.

Ruffner has since expanded piece by piece, becoming one of America’s largest urban nature preserves.

The lush greenery and wildlife at Ruffner show how the mountain healed itself even after being torn apart by 70 years of mining.

The preserve — now one of Birmingham’s great attractions — is also a testament to the vision of everyday citizens who saw the value in saving the mountain from development.

“The mountain is a great example of the resiliency of nature, renewal and the power of the people,” said Michelle Reynolds, a native plant specialist, Ruffner volunteer and former board member.

“This is about the power of community and the power of a small group of people being energized by an idea,” Executive Director Carlee Sanford said.

Now the preserve is about to celebrate its 40th anniversary, as well as that vibrant grassroots spirit that that brought the facility into existence and has helped financially sustain it. 

“This place is here because people in the community love it and give money to help keep it going,” Sanford said.

The preserve will kick off its anniversary year by inviting the people of the community to a special “birthday bash” on Oct. 21, a free event featuring music, a cookout, guided hikes and many other activities.

'My social outlet'

The anniversary is a chance for Ruffner lovers to celebrate the park’s significance and to ponder its future.

“It’s a place where you can go and get history or get nature,” Fletcher said. “You get out in the open. You get vistas. You can learn about animals. There is not another place where you can go and get all of that together.”

Weld publisher Mark Kelly is writing a book, “Back to Nature: A History of Birmingham's Ruffner Mountain,” that explores Ruffner’s blend of natural beauty, mining relics and geologic significance.

 “It appeals to my love of nature, my love of history and my love of Birmingham, and it speaks to me in different ways at different times,” Kelly said. 

Reynolds, who lives in East Lake, visits the facility regularly. “Ruffner is my exercise gym, my social outlet, my therapist, my entertainment and my homeschool,” she said.

The facility has continued to make improvements under Sanford, including a Habitat Restoration Garden, new trailheads, a Donor Appreciation Wall and more public programming.

Ruffner is also seeking funding to finish renovating Eastside Park, a 6-acre former public park in South Roebuck that it now owns.

And the future could hold big things.

 There are discussions about Ruffner purchasing another 500-acre tract at the northern tip of the existing preserve from a mining company.

There are plans to create a new trail – sometimes called the Red Rock Connector – along the old mineral railway that begins in the adjacent 500-acre parcel and runs along the eastern fringe of the existing preserve all the way to Oporto-Madrid Boulevard.

However, Sanford voices concerns about having the organization overextend itself and become so involved in fundraising for new projects that people lose sight of the organization’s core goals, including the care of the preserve, public programming and environmental education.

“I feel like there is an expectation of growth and lots of projects, and those expectations may not align with reality,” she said.

Part of Sanford’s concern is about maintaining the financial health of the organization. It’s not an unwarranted fear given the situation she faced when she took the job.

When Sanford, formerly client services director for Scout Branding Company, became executive director in December 2015, she found that the organization still owed $1.3 million of the nearly $5 million it borrowed in 2010 to build the Tree Top Nature Center.

In addition, the Ruffner bank account didn’t contain enough money to cover even one month of expenses. The long-standing debt had scared off other donors, putting the facility in a financial bind. 

“I was scared,” Sanford said.

However, Sanford and her staff — with strong support from the board — found new sources of money, including grants and native plant sales.

The bank also agreed to reduce the debt to $400,000 in October 2016, allowing Ruffner to pay it off by January 2017, according to Sanford.

“We are now in much better financial shape,” said Darryl Washington, an Irondale resident and economic development consultant who is the president of Ruffner’s board.

But the staff and board recognize they cannot be complacent. “Funding and development are always essential,” Washington said, citing such needs as operations, programming and maintenance.

In addition, Ruffner is attempting to resolve a legal issue regarding a trailhead or entranceway on the Irondale side of the park. 

The preserve is in litigation with a business owner who purchased some property near that trailhead and temporarily closed the entrance to hikers. 

Ruffner is seeking an easement to allow continued access.

At Iron City Ink’s press time, a trial date had been scheduled for Oct. 2.

'Sense of pride'

Whatever the exact outlines of Ruffner’s future, the facility’s anniversary is something to be celebrated.

It is significant that “there are people in this city who care and would fight to keep a place like that alive and vibrant,” Fletcher said.

Washington points out that Ruffner — and the people who help start and sustained it — helped begin a sort of green movement in the city.

“It’s a sense of pride how green spaces have developed in Birmingham, and we were the trendsetter,” he said, noting that Ruffner came long before such facilities as Red Mountain Park or the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System.

“And it all started with community — a group of people who got together to make a difference,” he said.

Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve, 1214 81st St. S., will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the founding of the original Ruffner Mountain Nature Coalition on Sat., Oct. 21, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. The event is free and will feature guided nature and mining history hikes, eco-arts activities, children's activities, a DJ from Seasick Records and a hot-dog cookout. For details, call 833-8264 or go to ruffnermountain.org.