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Early European colonists had an abundance of
wildlife to serve their needs. Seemingly endless flocks of ducks and
geese; an abundance of wild turkeys, deer, and bison; and a bounty of fish
and shellfish. This abundance quickly established a viewpoint that the New
World's wildlife resources were endless. However, habitat changes and
exotic species brought from other parts of the world soon resulted in a
waning of these great living resources. Within our region we see the
bountiful fisheries of the Gulf being fished beyond their limits. Several
Gulf fisheries are now closed during certain seasons to allow the stocks
time to rebuild. Others are under strict regulations from federal and
state agencies. Many other species of wildlife are also being diminished
due to harvesting, pollution, and habitat loss. Our region is home to many
rare and endangered species of wildlife, including five species of sea
turtles, the West Indian manatee, sperm whales, whooping cranes,
bottlenose dolphins, and the American bald eagle.
The Mobile Bay watershed or drainage basin includes seven river
systems. Due to isolation by time and geologic events, the basin has a
high number of endemic species (species found nowhere else in the
world). While numbers vary, historically, our watershed area's endemic fauna includes 40
fishes, 33 mussels, and 110 aquatic snails, as well as a number of
turtles, aquatic insects, and crustaceans. Today more than 50 of these
species are presumed to be extinct, most within the past few decades. In
addition, the Mobile Bay watershed has 32 aquatic animal and plant species
that are currently protected under the Endangered Species Act of
1973. Many other species are being reviewed as candidates for possible
future listing. These imperiled species represent all levels of the
aquatic food chain and include plants, insects, crustaceans, snails,
mussels, fishes and turtles. The Mobile Bay watershed is experiencing
biotic extinction's at a rate unmatched elsewhere in the continental
United States; almost 50% of U.S. extinctions have occurred during the
last century within our watershed. On the positive side, the brown pelican
was removed from the endangered species list in 1985 and the Bald Eagle is now
seen again flying over the Bay.
The living resources' issues within our Bay system are numerous and are
only discussed in part here. If you would like more information or become
involved with the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, please call (251)
431-6409 or e-mail us.
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