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Weeks Bay, Alabama
A Bountiful Nursery for Fish and Wildlife on the Gulf
Alabama River Receives Special Protection
Thanks in part to SELC’s advocacy, the Magnolia River has been designated an Outstanding Alabama Water. In a move strongly supported by SELC and its partners, the Alabama Environmental Management Commission voted unanimously in December to accord the state’s highest protection status to the Baldwin County waterway. The Magnolia is one of the chief sources of fresh water in Weeks Bay, a highly productive estuary linked by a small inlet to Mobile Bay. SELC is working with local officials to protect Weeks Bay and its tributaries from polluted runoff and other impacts of new development in the area.
“We applaud this important change in designation for the Magnolia River,” says SELC Senior Attorney Gil Rogers, who last year helped the town of Magnolia Springs develop a runoff control ordinance to protect the river. “The Magnolia River and Weeks Bay are rich in biodiversity and are among the most pristine waters in Alabama. This decision will help protect this watershed for the enjoyment of future generations.”
Case Summary
The waters of Weeks Bay form a broad, shallow estuary that teems with life. Connected by a small inlet to Mobile Bay and fed by the Fish and Magnolia rivers, Weeks Bay serves as a nursery for species vital to Alabama’s $450 million commercial fishing industry, including shrimp, blue crab, anchovy, sea trout, red drum, flounder, mullet, and menhaden. Nineteen federally protected species make their home in and around Weeks Bay, among them the bald eagle, the Florida black bear, the marsh rabbit, and the wood stork.
Weeks Bay is also an area of exceptional beauty. Along its shores are wetland forests of cypress, bayberry, and tupelo, as well as upland woods of pine and oak. It’s no wonder that Weeks Bay has been designated an Outstanding National Resource Water under the Clean Water Act and was selected as the site of a National Estuarine Research Reserve.
Looming Threats to Weeks Bay
Located in Baldwin County, which lacks strong zoning laws, Weeks Bay and its tributaries are vulnerable to new development springing up along the Gulf Coast and the infrastructure that supports it. Emerging threats include increased polluted runoff from pavement and construction sites and a proposal to build a new wastewater treatment plant in the Weeks Bay watershed.
What SELC Will Do
Working with the Mobile Baykeeper and other partners, SELC will protect Weeks Bay by ensuring thorough enforcement of state and federal environmental laws and by advocating stronger local controls to prevent degradation of the bay and its remarkable biological diversity.