Alabama State Websites: Department of Corrections

The Alabama Department of Corrections has put together a very nice website, full of useful information.  For starters, they have developed a handy FAQ that answers questions such as “How many prisons are in Alabama?” and “What method of execution is used in Alabama?”

They’ve also included an inmate search, where users can search for people who are currently incarcerated in Alabama prisons, and a glimpse of escapees and parole violators.  Also, monthly statistical reports on inmates go back to 2000, as do the annual reports on the site.

If you’re interested in the state of the death penalty in Alabama, there is a listing of all inmates executed - including name, sex, race, county, crime, execution date, and governor.   There is also a listing of inmates currently on death row.  And finally, a map of all Dept of Corrections locations is available.  All in all, a very usable and informative site!

Alabama State Websites: Dept of Conservation and Natural Resources

As I’ve been adding content to the 50 State Wiki, I’ve been checking out a LOT of Alabama state government web sites. While I can’t highlight them here as quickly as I can post databases on the wiki, I will try to be better about highlighting more of them. Today’s choice is the Department of Conversation and Natural Resources. This department oversees the State Parks, State Lands, Marine Resources, and more.

The site has a lot of information for those interested in the outdoors - including sections on Hunting, Fishing, and Boating, as well as License Information. Information about the various educational programs that the agency performs each year is also available.

The agency posts information on Hunting Seasons and Bag Limits. And once you’ve reached your limit, you can take advantage of some wild game recipes, for duck, squirrel, venison, quail, turkey, dove, and fish. You can also find a list of fish in Alabama, as well as fish not commonly caught in the state.

The DCNR has created a separate web site for information on Alabama State Parks. There users can find information on the 23 parks in the state - including maps, hours, facilities, and trails. At this time there is no central web reservation system, but contact information is given for each park, including phone and email address.

The site is primarily aimed at those who are looking for information on outdoor activities in the state. Rules, regulations, laws, and license information are available, along with safety tips, locations of public lands, bodies of water, and birding trails, and a map of wet and dry counties in the state. I found it very easy to use, and full of useful information.

50 State Wiki

ALA GODORT’s State & Local Documents Task Force has embarked upon a project to pull together a list of databases from all 50 states - something they’re calling State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States. The idea is that volunteers from each of the states will list the databases produced by their state government (right now it’s organized by state, and then by agency).  However…it’s on a wiki, so anyone can add or update information.

I’m the contact for Alabama - you can see I have a ways to go before the list of databases will be complete, but this project has really opened my eyes to some of the state agencies we have here!  If you know of databases to add, feel free to login & add them - or email me (vglenn AT ua.edu)

Alabama Indian Affairs Commission

Did you know that Alabama has an Indian Affairs Commission? I didn’t, until today when doing research for a professor on Native Americans in Alabama. In fact, the Legislature created the Commission in 1984 to “…deal fairly and effectively with Indian affairs; to bring local, state, federal resources into focus…for Indian citizens of the State of Alabama; to provide aid…assist Indian Communities…promote recognition of the right of Indians to pursue cultural and religious traditions…”.

The site is small, but contains some useful information. Included is a list of tribes recognized by the state of Alabama, and programs of interest to Native Americans in Alabama - such as scholarship opportunities, assistance for small business owners, and Alabama Census Data specifically related to Native Americans.

There is also a section on genealogy, where practical advice is given on how to begin researching your genealogy.  Included are more specific resources for researchcing Cherokee, Choctaw, and Creek ancestors.

Overall I found the site to be very interesting - partly because it was so new to me!  While there aren’t a lot of reports, meeting minutes, etc., this is a great first step & I hope that they’ll continue to add new things to the site.