State of Alabama FINAL Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP ...

SPENDING ESTIMATE PER CALENDAR YEAR OF PROJECT
DURATION:
AL-1
2008 $ 6,906,655.00
2009 $
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2010 $
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2011 $
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GOAL: Using CIAP funding, the State of Alabama will acquire and conserve sensitive habitat
throughout the coastal area.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this project is to purchase approximately 4,796 acres of the Perdido
River Tract from The Nature Conservancy.
The Perdido River (30˚ 42’ 27.34” N, 87˚ 28’ 31.56” W) forms most of the eastern boundary between
Baldwin County, Alabama, and Escambia County, Florida and flows into Perdido Bay. The Perdido River
is one of the highest quality, free-flowing blackwater river systems in the Gulf Coastal Plain. The forests
along the river corridor include slash pine flatwoods, pitcher plant seepage bogs, longleaf pine forests,
and Atlantic whitecedar swamps. The Perdido River has incredible water clarity and provides high quality
fresh water to Perdido Bay, which is home to an abundant diversity of estuarine life, including dwarf
seahorses, dolphins, manatees, and coastal arch grasses. The Perdido River contains numerous, large
beach quality sandbars at nearly every curve in the river. Lands along the Perdido River corridor are
utilized by hundreds of species of neotropical migratory birds as feeding and resting sites during spring
and fall migrations.
In early 2006, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) purchased 14,119 acres along the Perdido River from
International Paper Corporation, seizing upon a rare opportunity to conserve many acres of sensitive
habitat. Subsequently, in December of 2006 the State of Alabama purchased 9,323 acres of this tract from
TNC using funding from the State of Alabama’s Forever Wild program, 2001 CIAP funds, and funding
from the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP). Additional land to the north was
also acquired via the Forest Legacy Program. This project continues a comprehensive interstate approach
to the conservation and management of a unique coastal ecosystem. Specifically, this project compliments
the acquisition of a 7,400 acre conservation easement on the Florida side of the river, by the Florida
Forever acquisition program, as well as 2,386 acres recently purchased by the Florida Chapter of the
Nature Conservancy.
The objective of this project is to purchase the remaining acreage of this tract (approximately 4,796 acres)
from The Nature Conservancy. Maps are included in Appendix G-2 and G-3 depicting the location of
the property. A closing date will be scheduled and the title will be transferred soon after CIAP plan
State of Alabama Final Coastal Impact Assistance Program Plan
State of Alabama Tier One Project Descriptions
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