79 acres on Fort Morgan Peninsula to be conserved for coastal wildlife

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) has acquired 79 acres of undeveloped land near the Beach Club Resort on the Fort Morgan Peninsula.

Keep reading to find out more about the land purchased + other work the ADCNR does in the area.

Nearly 200 acres on peninsula used for conservation

The latest purchase adds to what the ADCNR already owns on the peninsula, thanks to money from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Funds.

In 2018, the department acquired the Gulf Highlands property. That, in addition to the recent purchase, means the combined area includes nearly 200 acres with half a mile of coastal and dune habitat. It was previously the largest privately-owned, undeveloped beachfront property in Alabama.

With the purchase, the properties are now a part of the Alabama State Parks System which ensures:

• Permanent protection of the land
• Improved habitat management
• Public access

“The Fort Morgan Peninsula is a beautiful and ecologically important piece of Coastal Alabama. We have been intentional in acquiring and protecting much of the remaining undeveloped habitat in this highly valuable area. When all the acquisition acres are combined, the collective positive impact is phenomenal.”

~ Chris Blankenship, ADCNR Commissioner

Both properties were purchased with funds from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund (GEBF) as well as Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act funds (GoMESA) managed by ADCNR.

Protecting wildlife

The department said the land will be used to provide permanent protection and benefits to wildlife in the area including:

• sea turtles
• shorebirds
• migratory birds
• Alabama beach mouse

The dune system’s quality and extent contribute to the parcel’s unique ecological benefits.

The Gulf Highlands and Beach Club West acquisitions complement three parcels acquired previously with Alabama Deepwater Horizon oil spill funding. In total, ADCNR and its partners have acquired over 1,600 acres on the Fort Morgan Peninsula, using more than $77 million in Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Restoration funding.

Those previous acquisitions on the Fort Morgan Peninsula include:

• Three Rivers Phase I (251 acres)
• Three Rivers Phase II (236 acres)
• Pilot Town (99 acres)

Those pieces of land are now part of Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, located eight miles west of Gulf Shores. It was established to protect the habitat of neotropical migratory songbirds as well as threatened and endangered species.

The refuge serves as the best remaining stopover and staging habitat for the songbirds during the fall and spring migration along Alabama’s coastline. Habitats in the refuge include sandy beach and dune, sandy shrub scrub, coastal marsh, maritime forest and estuarine habitat.

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