Reviewed by: Mary Helene Hall
Alabama most biodiverse state in the U.S. according to The Nature Conservancy
Reading time: 2 minutes
The Nature Conservancy (TNC), one of the nation’s largest and most respected conservation organizations, featured Alabama’s biodiversity in a lengthy Instagram post this week.
Posted Dec. 17, the first graphic teases, “One of the most biodiverse states in the U.S.? You might be surprised.”
Alabama is home to more species than almost anywhere in the U.S. and is a global hotspot for freshwater biodiversity, TNC wrote.
It then describes the challenges our state faces to protect the our abundant freshwater biodiversity stating:
“In addition to pollution, sedimentation and development, Alabama’s streams and rivers are threatened by thousands of dams.”
TNC: Alabama is a special place
Mitch Reid, TNC’s Alabama state director, sums up why the post sends a powerful and surprising message about Alabama’s freshwater biodiversity:
“People are often surprised by Alabama when they learn about how special this place is — our mountains and our coast and our forests — but really, when you get under the water you learn how much diversity of life there is here.
“We find at the Conservancy that people have perceptions about Alabama that are formed. When we have a chance to bring them here and show them what’s going on below the water, it opens their eyes and they’re almost always impressed with what we have. They become committed to helping us protect these creatures and these systems, because it truly is a special place.”
A few surprising facts:
- Alabama ranks first in the U.S. in the number of freshwater fish, turtles, crayfish, mussels and snails
- Alabama has practically every landscape known in North America aside from desert and alpine tundra
Learn more about Alabama biodiversity
Want to learn more about the TNC and Alabama’s biodiversity? Read the group’s recent story about it in an article and video that appeared in their national magazine called The Secret South.
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