The Mobile Bay Estuary and Coastal Population Growth: The Challenge of Keeping What We've Got

摘要

The Mobile Bay Watershed drains three quarters of the State of Alabama, much of Georgia and Mississippi, and even portions of Tennessee, making it the sixth largest basin by area with the fourth highest freshwater inflow in all of North America. At its southern terminus lies the Mobile-Tensaw Delta where all that fresh water mixes with salt water from the Gulf to form the rich, brackish waters of the Mobile Bay estuary. Its network of habitats supports the greatest diversity of species in any state east of the Mississippi River. Alabama's two coastal counties, Baldwin and Mobile, support 337 species of fish, 126 of reptiles and amphibians, 355 of birds, and 49 of mammals. It also supports thriving shipping, tourism, and seafood industries and an unparalleled quality of life for over 600,000 humans. The influx of people moving to enjoy coastal Alabama's abundant natural resources poses the major threat to their continued existence.