Gulf Frontal-Perdido Watershed Management Plan Draft Opens for Public Comment

A draft of the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program’s Gulf Frontal-Perdido Watershed Management Plan (WMP) was posted for public review and comment on Friday, October 8th. Citizen feedback is a crucial part of the watershed planning process and is highly encouraged by the MBNEP.

During the public comment period, the community is given the opportunity to voice concerns about known issues within watersheds falling along Coastal Alabama’s southeastern Gulf Frontal region as well as an opportunity to prioritize issues of concern and recommend strategies to address them.

The Gulf Frontal Watershed complex, including Little Lagoon and Perdido Pass, has at least three areas with distinct characteristics. Those three areas include the Gulf shoreline, the lagoons and lakes, and the upper basin.

This Watershed borders the Gulf of Mexico to the south, encompasses approximately 40,320 acres, and is in south Baldwin County, Alabama. Combined, these Sub-Watersheds span approximately 33 miles (east to west) by 7 miles (north to south). Portions of three local governments lie within the GFW: Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, and Baldwin County.

The eastern boundary of the Gulf Frontal Watershed is the Alabama-Florida state line, and the western edge extends to Fort Morgan and includes most of the Fort Morgan peninsula.

The Plan, funded through the RESTORE Act, is the culmination of work by the MBNEP with a Geosyntec and Moffat & Nichol team, which included Holiday Communications.

The mission of the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program is to promote the wise stewardship of Alabama’s estuaries and coast by using the best available science to measure status and trends, restore benefits of healthy ecosystems, build local capacity for environmental management and community resilience, and grow the number of citizen stewards across our region.

To download a copy of the draft plan, please visit: https://www.mobilebaynep.com/assets/pdf/Gulf-Frontal-WMP-Draft-for-web.pdf

To submit comments on the plan, please respond by email before close of business Friday, October 29: Christian Miller, Watershed Management Coordinator, MBNEP cmiller@mobilebaynep.com