Alabama's Mobile-Tensaw Delta is a lush, vibrant and surprisingly intact more than 400-square-mile (1,036-square-kilometer) expanse of cypress swamps, oxbow lakes, marshland, hardwood stands and rivers
Alabama's Mobile-Tensaw Delta is a lush, vibrant and surprisingly intact more than 400-square-mile expanse of cypress swamps, oxbow lakes, marshland, hardwood stands and riversPat O'Neil, a biologist and former deputy director of Alabama Geological Survey, speaks about the ecological importance of the Mobile–Tensaw Delta, Wednesday, June 5, 2024, near McIntosh, Ala. Thousands of American lotuses carpet the water's surface, faces turned toward the morning sun.
So residents, scientists and environmentalists are working to protect the entire Alabama ecosystem considered crucial to the survival of species and the health of the delta and, ultimately, the Gulf of Mexico. Glaciers that covered much of North America never reached Alabama, where the relatively warm and humid climate has helped species proliferate.
"It's really a jewel of an area in terms of conservation and preservation,” says Pat O’Neil, a biologist and former deputy director of Alabama Geological Survey. “There’s no other watershed in the country that rivals the diversity here. ... It’s phenomenal.” Environmentalists also won a victory when a coal-fired power plant agreed in January to remove 21 million tons of coal ash stored in an unlined pit near the Mobile River. The state did not require its removal, although a breach could be potentially catastrophic for the delta. The EPA recently denied the state’s request to handle coal ash permits, saying its policies weren’t protective enough.
Species from the delta and its watershed could be transplanted to other states where they've been lost, says Finch the forest researcher, noting that's already happening with some plants and mussels. And Alabama's diverse, heat-tolerant species could be moved to other parts of the country as the climate changes, he adds.
“I’m blessed to have been born when I was,” says Meador, known for his trademark long-billed cap, easy drawl and years of advocacy. “Each generation is losing some, but they don’t know what they lost. ... Thank goodness we’ve got a bunch of conservation organizations."A decade ago, Alabama conservationists and famed biologist Edward O. Wilson undertook an effort to make the delta a national park, but it fizzled after some groups balked at federal oversight and others feared losing access.
The key, he says, is cooperation between private landowners, the government and nongovernmental agencies: “When they get that mix just right ... we have conservation that moves forward. We have species that are protected. We’ve been able to restore streams.”
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