Conserving Alabama's Coastal Habitats - Mobile Bay National ...

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The coastal scrub community occurs on areas of deep, well-washed, sterile sands. It is an xeric community,temperate or subtropical. Xeric oak scrub is hardwood community typically consisting of clumped patches of lowgrowing oaks interspersed with bare areas of white sand. The xeric oak scrub community is dominated by myrtleoak, Chapman’s oak, sand-live oak, scrub holly, scrub plum, scrub hickory, rosemary, and saw palmetto. Sand pinescrub occurs on extremely well drained, sorted, sterile sands deposited along former shorelines and islands ofancient seas. This xeric plant community is dominated by an overstory of sand pine and has an understory ofmyrtle oak, Chapman’s oak, sand-live oak, and scrub holly. Ground cover is usually sparse to absent, especiallyin mature stands, and rosemary and lichens occur in some open areas.(Source: http://myfwc.com/wildlifelegacy/pdf/ HabitatCategories.pdf)Habitat OpportunitiesOpportunities for bird habitat improvement and restoration, beach restoration via near shore dumping of dredgematerial, native plant restoration, fire restoration, control of invasive/exotic species, living reef restoration,wetlands restoration, and SAV restoration are all present throughout the Gulf Islands.Habitat ThreatsThe Gulf Islands are faced with rapid development that is unparalleled in the state of Alabama. The entire GulfCoast is rapidly being developed for recreational and residential purposes. Virtually all of Alabama’s entire coastalhabitat has been severely impacted.Primary Ecological FunctionThis chain of islands provides critical habitat to a variety of migratory and shorebirds. The Gulf Islands stretch ofsand dunes, mud flats and marsh are a last stronghold for many species requiring undisturbed nesting andfeeding areas. It is critical as a wintering area for several species of migratory28
5. Map: Dauphin Island Migratory Bird Stopover Tracts# Acres: 32 acresDescription:Migratory Bird Habitat that includes brackish ponds that become rich sand flats during low tide;rich interior wetlands; maritime forestPotential Partners: DIBS, Town of Dauphin Island, ADCNR, TNC, MBNEPPotential Funding: Private fundraising; conservation easements; funding received from <strong>Coastal</strong> AL Birdfest in 2004, 2005Conservation Status: In progress29
Page 1: Conserving Alabama’s Coastal Habi
Page 4 and 5: PrefaceThe Mobile Bay National Estu
Page 6 and 7: Conservation and Restoration Method
Page 8 and 9: MethodologyThrough a series of work
Page 10 and 11: Priority Acquisition SitesThe first
Page 13 and 14: Acquisition Priorities byConservati
Page 15 and 16: These open pine woodlands occupy sa
Page 17 and 18: 2a. Map: Cuppersmith-Cedar Point# A
Page 19 and 20: 2c. Map: Tensaw Land and Timber# Ac
Page 21 and 22: 2e. Map: West Fowl River Tract# Acr
Page 23 and 24: 3b. Map: MC Davis Tract# Acres: 159
Page 25: 4b. Map: Henderson Tract# Acres: 38
Page 28 and 29: Gulf IslandsThe Gulf Islands conser
Page 32 and 33: 6. Map: Peninsula Tract# Acres: 50
Page 34 and 35: 8. Map: Gulf State Park In-Holdings
Page 36 and 37: Mobile DeltaThe Mobile-Tensaw Delta
Page 38 and 39: 9. Map: Bayou Sara Tracts# Acres: 6
Page 40 and 41: 11. Map: Hells Creek Swamp# Acres:
Page 42 and 43: 13a. Map: Weeks Bay Tract# Acres: 5
Page 45 and 46: Acquisition Priorities byConservati
Page 47 and 48: Associated with the Atmore soil ser
Page 49 and 50: 14. Map: AIG/Baker/Reeder Lake Trac
Page 51 and 52: 16. Map: Lillian Swamp# Acres: Unkn
Page 53 and 54: Restoration PrioritiesDetail byCons
Page 55 and 56: 1. East Mississippi Sound Restorati
Page 57 and 58: Grand Bay Forever Wild Property - U
Page 59 and 60: Several restoration possibilities w
Page 61 and 62: Weeks Bay Oyster RestorationDescrip
Page 63 and 64: Several possibilities exist along t
Page 65 and 66: Delta-Perdido Corridor Longleaf Pin
Page 67 and 68: Lillian SwampDescription: Fire rest
Page 70: Mobile Bay National Estuary Program

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