Baldwin County Wetland Conservation Plan - Alabama Department ...

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Baldwin County Wetland Conservation Plan Final Summary Document The development of the Baldwin County Wetland Conservation Plan (BCWCP) has been a collaborative effort among many agencies and partners. First, the United States Environmental Protection Agency provided the funding through the Region IV Wetlands Protection State Development grant. In addition, the United States Army Corps of Engineers - Mobile District, Regulatory Branch provided staff support for the wetland validation component of this project. Also, an interagency Technical Advisory Committee met numerous times through the grant period to provide technical expertise on all aspects of the project. The agencies represented were the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources State Lands Division, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, the University of South Alabama, and the Baldwin County Commission. Also, insight was obtained from members of Baldwin County’s real estate and development community and the general public throughout the project period. 3
Baldwin County Wetland Conservation Plan Final Summary Document 2. Background 2.1 General information about Baldwin County 2.1.1 Geography and Demography Baldwin County is located in the southwest corner of the State of Alabama. It is one of two coastal counties in Alabama which border in the Gulf of Mexico. As a coastal county, it contains diverse upland and wetland habitats, such as bottomland hardwood swamps, longleaf pine forests, coastal scrub forest, maritime forest, sand dunes, salt marshes and many others. According to the 1992 EPA National Land Cover Data (NLCD), approximately 22% is wetlands, 51% is forested, 1% is urban/residential, and 26% is agriculture (Figure 4). The terrain in the northern two-thirds of Baldwin County consists of long, rolling hills, entrenched streams, and rivers with steep banks. A majority of the land area has been converted to pine plantations. Approximately 21% of the land area is owned by timber companies. There is very little change in elevation in the southern portion of Baldwin County where most of the streams and rivers have broad channels and low gently sloping banks. Agriculture and residential development dominate land use in the southern portion of the county. Figure 5 is a color infrared (CIR) map of the entire County. The cities along the Eastern Shore (Spanish Fort, Daphne and Fairhope) and the coastal communities (Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Foley) are the most rapidly developing areas in Baldwin County. Figure 6 is a map of recent census data depicting the population distribution. Currently, there are large-scale developments on the drawing board for the Stockton/Bay Minette area in the north and the Seminole and Lillian area in the southeast. The largest employers in Baldwin County are, in order, local government, retail, and hospitals (Baldwin County Economic Development website). Baldwin County lies within the East Gulf Coastal Plain physiographic setting. The majority of the land area of Baldwin County lies within the Southern Pine Hills District. The land area bordering the Mobile and Tensaw Rivers falls within the Alluvial-Deltaic Plain District and the coastal area of Baldwin County falls within the Coastal Lowlands District. The typical landform in the Coastal Lowlands District is flat to gently rolling plains, tidal streams, marshes and wetlands. The Holocene and Pleistocene Series makes up the upper 150 feet. Alluvium and coastal deposits are the geologic units. The Pliocene layer is dominated by the Citronelle Formation in the northern portion of the County. The Miocene Series is approximately 300 to 1000 feet thick. The major aquifer system for drinking water in Baldwin County is found in the Miocene and Pliocene series. 2.1.2 Soils Baldwin County is located within the Lower Coastal Plain of Alabama. The area has five major regions that influence soil genesis. These five regions are the river flood plains and terraces of the Tombigbee and Alabama Rivers, marine terraces, the Citronelle Geologic Formation, Hattiesburg Clays, and areas of recent marine deposits (beaches). Soils in the river floodplains and terraces mainly consist of silts and clays that have been transported and deposited by the river systems from areas to the north. The origin of these sediments can vary greatly from weathered materials of the Piedmont Region to materials transported from the Black Belt region of Alabama and Mississippi. Soils in this area are typically poorly drained to moderately well drained. The marine terraces of south Baldwin County are 4
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