Alabama’s Roland Cooper State Park and Millers Ferry Reservoir as seen from a canoe
An egret in the reeds in the Millers Ferry Reservoir. (Solomon Crenshaw Jr./Alabama NewsCenter)
Above: An egret in the reeds in the Millers Ferry Reservoir. (Solomon Crenshaw Jr./Alabama NewsCenter)
Journalists were treated Tuesday to a canoe tour of the Millers Ferry Reservoir at Roland Cooper State Park in Camden. The venture, a precursor to the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association annual meeting at Lake Eufaula, provided a taste of the flavor of this scenic treasure.
The trip was put together by the Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association, which promotes Alabama’s Black Belt region.
Ironically, the trip was planned before Roland Cooper was placed on the list of Alabama State Parks designated to be closed due to a budget crunch.
William Malone, former president of the Wilcox Area Chamber of Commerce, was the guide for Tuesday’s tour.
“During my time as president, I really turned the chamber’s focus on the outdoors,” he said. “That’s what I love. I love to hunt and fish, which is why I moved back here.”
The reservoir, which comes off the Alabama River, covers 27 square miles and has about 500 miles of shoreline in Dallas and Wilcox counties. Tuesday’s roughly 3½-hour tour included the sighting of a pair of American bald eagles and several egrets.
Malone spotted an alligator but it quickly submerged before anyone else got a glimpse. Even though they were largely out of sight, he said there were plenty of them there.
“It’s not like Louisiana but there are a lot,” he said. “If you were in here at night – or early morning, late evening – you would see more. Maybe four or five alligators.”
The reptiles don’t pose a threat, Malone said, adding that he grew up swimming in the river. He and his family water ski there as well.
“There’s no concern about that,” he said, “but I really wouldn’t want to be swimming out there at night.”
The canoes drifted under Flatum Bridge, which Malone praised as a not-so-secret place to catch crappie and a few bass.
“Sometimes during the year at night, I don’t think you could get another fishing pole off that bridge,” he said. “There will be folks lined up with poles, and they catch a lot of fish there.”
The visitors were treated to a scrumptious lunch at Gaines Ridge Dinner Club. The meal included prime filet beef tips grilled with herbs and served with a horseradish sauce, batter-fried squash with ranch dressing, sour cream mashed potatoes, braised cabbage and onions, homemade rolls and pineapple cinnamon bread pudding with real whipped cream.
Their only regret was they missed having the restaurant’s infamous Black Bottom Pie.
Malone said the state park property is owned by the Army Corps of Engineers. He said the terms of the state’s lease of the property call for land to be returned to its natural state when it is no longer being leased. “That,” he said, “could be very expensive. It would be really nice if the state would turn around and sublease it to the city or the county, both of which are very receptive to taking it on.”
The Southeastern Outdoor Press Association (SEOPA) is meeting in Eufaula through Saturday at Lakepoint State Park.
