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Wetlands fill both sides of this photo of Dog River. These vital areas protect from storm surge, flooding, shoreline erosion, and stormwater runoff pollution.
Wetlands fill both sides of this photo of Dog River. These vital areas protect from storm surge, flooding, shoreline erosion, and stormwater runoff pollution.
A large parcel of wetland habitat in Mobile County's Dog River Watershed is being acquired for “permanent protection.”
On Monday, Jan. 23, Mobile County Commissioners approved the $2 million purchase of roughly 297 acres on Lower Halls Mill Creek, approximately halfway between Tillman’s Corner and the intersection of interstates 65 and 10. Funds for the purchase are being provided through a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) grant that was awarded in 2019.
According to NFWF, this preservation area “comprises the largest and most pristine, contiguous undeveloped acreages of bottomland hardwood wetlands in the Greater Dog River Watershed.”
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
“The significance is that it is a large parcel of bottomland hardwood in Halls Mill Creek, which is in a major urbanized watershed,” said Tina Sanchez, Mobile County’s director of environmental services. “It protects our water quality and flood storage capacity.”
The property is being purchased from Norville Group LLC and 17 heirs of the “Doody Family.”
In a 2020 announcement by Gov. Kay Ivey, the acquisition of this tract will preserve unique tidally influenced marshes in the Dog River Watershed that support many species of shellfish, finfish, birds, and other wildlife of the type directly impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This includes the West Indian Manatee and the American Bald Eagle.
According to the NFWF project description, “conservation of this little-known area of extreme biodiversity is critical to the future health of Dog River.”
The commission accepted the grant from NFWF in March 2022, which in total is worth $2,211,525 and requires no local match. The grant provides a period of four years to execute the purchase, which was set to expire May 31, 2023.
“This NFWF grant is another great opportunity for the Mobile County Commission to leverage available resources; this time to preserve and protect our unique ecosystem, which is so important to our overall quality of life,” said District 3 Commissioner Randall Dueitt.
This is the second NFWF grant awarded for conservation on the Dog River Watershed. Over the past 10 years, the City of Mobile has received $8.9 million for its Mobile Bay Shore Habitat Conservation and Acquisition Initiative, which includes the acquisition of 45 acres of wetland habitat adjacent to a recently acquired property near the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley.
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