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Science & Technical
Synopsis
The following is a review of
planned or ongoing projects through the Mobile Bay NEP. These do
not represent all past, present or future science and technical projects
through the program. For more information on any of these or other
Mobile Bay NEP projects please contact our office.
3-Mile Creek
CCMP Action Plan: HM A1.2
Partners:
City of Mobile, US Army Corps of
Engineers
Synopsis: At the request
of the City of Mobile and the Mobile Bay NEP, the US Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to undertake a
feasibility study for restoration along a portion of an unnamed flood
control canal and 3 Mile Creek. The objective is to investigate the
feasibility of diverting some of the canal water back into the original
3 Mile Creek channel. A Preliminary Restoration Plan was completed by
USACE and the City agreed to serve as the non-federal sponsor for the
USACE cost share. MBNEP will begin work with our congressional
delegation to identify USACE restoration funding for this project.
Atmospheric Deposition
CCMP Action Plan: WQ A1.1
Partners:
Alabama Department of Environmental Management Environmental Protection
Agency
Synopsis: The Mobile Bay
NEP has two National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) National Trends
Network (NTN)
monitoring sites where nutrient and mercury deposition are monitored. The
data support efforts surrounding Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)
assessments and subsequent permitting processes and non-point source
control plans. The Air Division of ADEM has committed time and effort in
sampling, analysis and maintenance of the atmospheric deposition sites.
Samples will be analyzed, quality controlled and results are reported
through the NADP.
http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/
Colonial Bird Nesting Survey
CCMP Action Plan: HM E1
Partners:
Dauphin Island Sea Lab
Synopsis:
Establishing a baseline of nesting area information for colonial nesting
birds (including shorebirds, seabirds, and wading birds) sites in the
Mobile Bau NEP area is important to determine status and trends for management
decisions and public information. The quality and quantity of bird
nesting sites may be an important indicator of ecosystem health and extent
of human impacts. A complete inventory of all colonial nesting bird sites
in the Mobile Bay NEP area had not been completed in recent history. Partial surveys for
bird-nesting sites were conducted as part of the
Mobile
Bay
symposiums. Documentation of existing colonial nesting bird sites is
essential to developing a conservation plan that may include protection of
existing sites and management or enhancement of others.
Delta Monitoring
CCMP Action Plan: WQ A1.2
Partners:
Dauphin Island Sea Lab, The Nature
Conservancy, Alabama Power Company, Mobile Bay Watch, Inc/Mobile BayKeeper
Synopsis:
The Mobile-Tensaw Delta (Delta) is a freshwater dominated estuarine system
at the base of the Mobile River drainage basin. Since
1930, approximately 20 large dams and other major water control structures
have been built on the Delta's two primary feeder streams – the
Alabama/Coosa/ Tallapoosa and the Tombigbee/Black Warrior river systems. Within the Delta proper,
a large dike-like causeway has sealed off a number of once open bays from
immediate contact with the Gulf. These hydrological modifications have
potentially altered the hydrography of one of
North America's largest,
most productive and diverse estuaries on a local and system-wide basis.
It is
hypothesized that these modifications have dramatically altered the
productivity of ecological communities within the lower Delta via reduced
water exchange and altered circulation patterns, changes in nutrient
cycling and increased incidences of exotic and invasive plant species.
There is some evidence that the herbaceous marsh community, so critical as
a nursery area to many Gulf species, is being replaced by drier scrub
forest at an accelerated rate, and that a number of commercially and
recreationally important species such as white shrimp, tarpon and speckled
trout have declined in response to reductions in available estuarine
habitat.
The
project partners propose to more accurately gauge the impact of the
structures on the productivity of the Delta. This would include its
freshwater and brackish water estuarine components, the relative impacts
of each of the structural modifications by using an extensive battery of
monitors and sampling techniques. Monitoring sites have been established
to measure a suite of water quality parameters.
Emergy Analysis
CCMP Action Plan: HM
Partners:
TAI / Strand Associates
Synopsis:
The accounting of economic values across a wide variety of resources, both
man-made and natural, is achievable using the formal process of Emergy
Analysis. Emergy is a measure of the available energy required, directly
and indirectly to make a product or service. It is a way of calculating
the value of both natural and man-made items on an equal basis and
indicates their true contribution to the human economy. Emergy analysis
can be used in the design of sustainable development at all scales of the
environment. The Emergy analysis of wetlands, coastal zones and their
restoration, and of entire watersheds may lead to the development of
sustainable designs in harmony with both man and nature. The cost benefit
analysis of large-scale environmental restoration projects can be
accomplished using the tools provided by Emergy analysis. This was a
pilot project which focused on wetlands. Complete analysis of all
habitats is needed for our area.
Habitat Mapping
CCMP Action Plan: HM
Partners:
United States Geologic Survey
Synopsis:
The focus of this project is to gather digital color-infrared
geo-referenced photography of Mobile and Baldwin
Counties to determine a baseline. Photography has been collected and digital
ortho quads have been completed for
Mobile
County. Color infrared photography was acquired for
Baldwin
County. The products are color infrared digital orthophotos of
Baldwin County in GeoTIFF
format. The photography meets national map accuracy and GIS standards. The resulting photography for both counties is being mapped
to provide classification of wetland and upland habitats using Cowardin,
et.al wetland classification system, and uplands using Anderson/Handley
level II upland classification scheme. All habitats larger than 1 meter
are being identified. This data will be compared to previously collected
data to determine status and trends for
Mobile and Baldwin
Counties.
Helen W. Wood Park
CCMP Action Plan: HU C1.2
Partners:
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; City of
Mobile, Volunteers, US Fish and
Wildlife Service; US Army Corps of Engineers; Parkway Pride; Plaice and
Johnson Landscape Architects
Synopsis:
Located along Dauphin Island Parkway in Mobile, Alabama, seven acres of
waterfront property were donated to the Alabama Department of Conservation
and Natural Resources by Helen W. Wood. This acreage is available for
restoration to create native habitat, public access, and improved water
quality. Restoration includes removal of exotics, removal of pavement,
planting native vegetation, paving with permeable materials, and building
a boardwalk. The USACE has developed a Preliminary Restoration Plan for
an offshore breakwater along the property to reduce wave energy. Citizens
of Mobile County will benefit from the restoration project. The result is
both a habitat restoration and public access project. Several hundred
yards of shoreline will be restored.
Land Use / Land Cover
Baldwin County
CCMP Action Plan: HU A1.1
Partners:
Baldwin County
Commission
Synopsis:
An inventory of land use/land cover for Baldwin County, Alabama using the
Florida Land Use/Land Cover Classification System (FLUCC) has been
completed. The product integrates previous land use coverages already
developed at the state and local levels and land cover types resulting
from the wetland habitat mapping projects. The resolution of the maps is
one meter. The resulting database will be updated every 5 years. The
Mobile Bay NEP will work with Mobile
County to develop a similar project. Products are available from Baldwin
County Planning and Zoning Department.
Sub-Estuary Monitoring
CCMP Action Plan: WQ A1.2
Partners:
Alabama Department of Environmental Management
Synopsis:
This program
provides increased funding to ADEM to conduct water monitoring in
tributary streams for Mobile Bay as outlined and identified in the
accepted Mobile Bay NEP Monitoring Plan. Sub-estuaries for the first round
of monitoring include: Fish River/Weeks Bay, Bon Secour and Bayou La Batre.
Data will be incorporated into the DIMS.
Outreach,
Education and Public Participation
Past Projects
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