Flotte’s Notes on
Wildlife
An Unofficial Encyclopaedia
of Mobile & Baldwin Counties
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Alabama Wildlife Organizations
Alabama
Cooperative Extension Service
·
o At the bottom of one pine tree is a
V-shaped cut, and beneath the cut, affixed to the tree, is a wide metal cup. In
the earliest days, a wedge was made with an ax. Later, acid was used. The open
area on the tree was known as the face. The sap, oozing from the face, filled
the cup. The cups filled barrels. The barrels were loaded onto wagons and taken
to stills. From that sap, an entire industry came about, with turpentine and
tar used in everything from ship's caulking to paint thinner. Longleaf and
slash pine were the source of turpentine. The industry of turpentining
was called "naval stores." According to a book on turpentining,
"Treasures of the Longleaf Pine" by Carroll Butler: "The naval
stores terminology originally referred to those products produced that were an
essential part of a wooden ship's stores, including tar, pitch, masts, spars,
etc. The production of tar and pitch dates back to 500 B.C., with earth-covered
tar kilns used to produce the tar.
"Pitch used in caulking wooden vessels meant the difference between
life and death for the crew. The production of tar and pitch was closely linked
with the gum naval stores industry, since both shared a common raw material
provided by the longleaf and slash pine tree." – PR 6/3/07
·
·
Red
cedar grows throughout the state; southern white cedar is found in the
southwest, hemlock in the north.
·
Other
native trees include hackberry, ash, and holly, with species of palmetto and
palm in the
·
There
are more than 150 shrubs, mountain laurel and rhododendron among them.
·
Cultivated
plants include wisteria and camellia, the state flower.
·
More than 3,000 Live
Oak trees in
·
Ninety-seven
animals, fish, and birds (including the Alabama beach mouse, gray bat, Alabama red-belly turtle, finback and humpback whales,
bald eagle, and wood stork), and eighteen plant species were listed as endangered species as of 2003 by the US
Fish and Wildlife Service.
·
·
In
a state where large herds of bison, elk, bear, and deer once roamed, only the white-tailed deer remains abundant.
·
Other
mammals still found are the
·
The
fairly common raccoon, opossum, rabbit, squirrel, and red and gray foxes are
also native, while nutria and armadillo have been introduced to the state.
·
o The Wild Turkey in
Alabama (ADCNR)
·
Freshwater
fish such as bream, shad, bass, and sucker are common.
·
The
o In 1993 the Fish & Wildlife
Service proposed putting the sturgeon -- once plentiful in the rivers that
drain into
o In 2007 a federal appeals court ruled
in 2007 that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service acted properly in determining
that the
o It's unclear how soon the Fish &
Wildlife Service will decide what portion of the state's rivers should be
listed as critical habitat. Critical habitat is usually described as the
minimum area needed for the species to recover and thrive.
·
In
o The bear prefer to live in thick,
brushy, spring-fed creeks.
·
The gopher tortoise is listed as both a threatened and endangered
species throughout a portion of its range, and due to
development pressures and forest management practices is quickly declining
throughout the rest.
o Gopher tortoise habitat extends
through most of
o These locations contain the last
remnants of the once expansive longleaf pine ecosystem, which provides ideal
conditions for tortoise survival - well-drained, sandy soils allow the tortoise to easily dig burrows,
and the open canopy allows passage of sunlight necessary for the development of
low, herbaceous plant growth for food.
o The loss of the tortoise's native
ecosystem to agricultural conversion, urbanization, fire suppression, invasive
species, and intensive forestry resulted in the tortoise being added in 1987 to
the threatened species list within the western portion of the animal's range,
including
o The loss of the tortoise throughout
its range could have a cascading effect on wildlife populations as ecologists
have found over 360 species making some use or relying on the burrows created
by gopher tortoises.
o The tortoise is found in twenty-two
counties across south
o In 2000 the
o
A
conservation bank established by the
Mobile Area Water and Sewer System (MAWSS) in 2001 offers help to county
residents, allowing development to continue while restoring and permanently
protecting the longleaf pine habitat that the tortoise prefers. MAWSS owns a
7,000-acre forest that buffers and protects the county's water supply. Portions
of the property contained longleaf pine, much of which was degraded due to fire
suppression, hardwood encroachment, and invasive species. As a result,
the area no longer supported many tortoises. Now, under the terms of its
conservation bank, MAWSS has agreed to set aside 222 acres, forgo any
development, and manage it in perpetuity for the benefit of gopher
tortoises. Landowners who want to build on tortoise habitat elsewhere in
·
o Nearly all of the turtles that die on
the Causeway are the
o Red-bellies are vegetarians and large
for a freshwater species, with adults sporting shells more than a foot long and
weighing 10 pounds or more. Scientists report that they live for up to 60 years
and don't begin to reproduce until they are about 6 years old.
o The turtles nest on most of the large
islands that can be seen from the Causeway, where they face a number of
threats, including raccoons, feral hogs and alligators. Eggs laid in shallow
depressions dug out of the sand by the females are vulnerable to all of those
predators as well as birds, in particular fish crows and boat-tailed grackles,
both exceptionally common. Those birds are known for a particular fondness for
just-laid turtle eggs.
·
Fire ants entered the
·
Quantified
economic impacts of ABM conservation efforts are estimated to be $18.3 million
to $51.9 million over 20 years
·
Wildlife
biologists have said that beach mice play an important role in maintaining sand
dunes that are the first line of defense against storm surge by spreading sea
oats.
·
Due
to local permitting requirements, many landowners on the
·
1985
·
1996
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issues incidental take permits (ITPs) for Beach
Club and
·
1998
The Sierra Club and the Biodiversity Legal Foundation petition the Service to
revise CH for the
·
2002
Lawsuit is filed by the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity alleging
that the Service violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to revise CH
for beach mice and that the revision was withheld or unreasonably delayed under
the Administrative Procedure Act. U.S. District Judge Charles Butler Jr.
temporarily halted the construction and sent the matter back to the Fish &
Wildlife Service for further review.
·
2006
Proposed rule proposing CH revision for the ABM of 1,326 acres published.
Public comment period opened on the proposed CH revision and draft economic
analysis.
·
In
March 1007 three environmental groups joined in a suit against the federal
government and developers of two long-planned, long-delayed condominium
projects in
·
After
trying for more than two years to gain the ability to issue special permits for
single-family home construction within the habitat of the endangered
o Starting in 2004,
o While individual property owners have
traditionally sought such permits on their own, the process of obtaining one is
lengthy, lasting up to two years in some instances. It was the intention of
Gulf Shores and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service officials to place one permit
over the mouse's entire range -- dune and scrub habitat that is encompassed
entirely by the city's planning jurisdiction -- to expedite the permit process
for the owners of about 500 undeveloped lots on the Fort Morgan peninsula.
Commercial and multifamily developments would have remained subject to federal
review under the plan.
·
Bill
Pearson, field supervisor for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Daphne
office, said his staff has been primarily occupied with court-ordered tasks
related to a host of lawsuits filed in recent years against the agency. In
those suits, environmental groups alleged that the government wasn't doing
enough to protect the endangered species and the regulators were ordered to
re-evaluate protection measures and permits issued to condominium developers.
·
Since
the first of the lawsuits was filed in 2003, the service has, in three batches,
issued incidental take permits to about 100 landowners wanting to build houses.
Jubilee
·
Jubilee is the name used locally for a natural phenomenon that
occurs from time to time on the shores of
·
Jubilees only happen on warm summer nights, often in the
early pre-dawn hours.
·
No one knows, for certain, what causes a jubilee. One
theory revolves around oxygen depletion caused by decay of organic material
settling on the bottom of the bay, a process that is accelerated during the
summer. Coupled with certain climatic conditions, this is 
believed
to drive the seafood toward the shore in search for more oxygen-rich water.
·
Although jubilees have been reported in other regions,
·
Jubilees cannot be predicted with certainty. Local
folklore offers some clues: the water is calm the day before and during the
event itself; the wind is gentle and blowing from the east; the tide is rising;
and, the sky is cloudy or overcast
Gulf Marine Life
·
Along
the
·
Recreational
anglers have seen the allowable daily catch of red snapper drop from a
10-fish-per-day bag limit and a year-round season to the 2006 limits of a
four-fish-per-day bag limit and a six-month fishing season running April
21-Oct. 31.
·
The
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Gulf Council), in conjunction with
the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), has been charged with the task of
managing the marine resources of the gulf since Congress created eight regional
fishery councils in 1976. During the past several years, the council developed
and deployed a plan to end over-fishing and to rebuild the red snapper stock by
2032.
·
Sea
turtles nest on Gulf beaches from mid-May through mid-August. Turtles nest at
night, usually on moonless or dark nights.
·
Sharks: The dominant species inshore are blacktips, Atlantic sharpnose, finetooth and bull sharks.
o The sharpnose
and finetooth are small species, topping out at less
than 5 feet.
o Blacktips may reach 6 feet and about 100
pounds, but are not considered a threat to people.
o The bull shark, implicated in most
o Under
o Local fishermen in the Delta have
reported catching sharks as far north as
·
Red Tide is a dense collection of tiny dinoflagellate organisms that resemble reddish algae. There
are always a few such organisms in the Gulf waters, but under favorable
conditions, they "bloom" and begin reproducing at a very high rate.
When concentrations near 100,000 cells per liter of water, the toxins produced
by the dense conglomeration of organisms can cause fish kills, and may irritate
swimmers. Oyster beds are closed when the waters surrounding them show red tide
concentrations higher than 5,000 cells per liter.
·
Cownose
ray populations in
Roads to Reefs
·
Roads
to Reefs is an artificial reef building partnership between the Alabama Department
of Conservation - Marine Resources Division, the Mobile County Engineering
Department, the Alabama State Docks, Mobile County Wildlife and Conservation
Association, the Alabama Wildlife Federation, the Coastal Conservation
Association - Alabama, the Alabama Seafood Association, Choctaw Pipe, Inc.,
Bayou Block, Inc. , Austal LLC, and Woolpert, LLP.
·
A
total of 10 reefs have been constructed in
·
Choctaw
Pass Reef, Bender/AUSTAL Reef (Hollinger's
·
Four
of the fishing reefs serve as dual purpose reefs as oyster nursery areas.
·
The
reefs are constructed from recycled concrete block, concrete culvert pipe and
oyster cultch material.
Shucking
an oyster
1) Place oyster, flat
side up, on a hard surface, and with the hinged end facing you, insert the
oyster knife halfway up the right side for quick access to the adductor muscle.
(Another variation calls for inserting knife at the oyster's hinged end and
working around.)
2) Work the knife along the top side of the shell to sever the adductor without
doing other damage to the oyster.
3) Lift the top shell off, then work the knife under
the oyster to free it from the bottom shell.
·
Southeastern conifer forests (NA0529):
o
This
ecoregion is known for the long-leaf pine trees that once dominated the area. Trees reach 60
to 70 feet (18 to 21 m). On the ground, among the fallen pine needles, grow
clumps of wiregrass. When intact,
this area was the largest forest of conifers east of the
o
The
fire-maintained longleaf pine - wiregrass forests may have contained the
richest temperate herbaceous flora on earth with 3417 herbaceous and shrub
species. Tree diversity and endemism are highest in this ecoregion and it also ranks in the top ten for amphibian,
reptile, and bird richness. The red-cockaded
woodpecker and the gopher tortoise
are both endangered species. Gopher tortoises are important to other animals in
the ecoregion because nearly 400 other species use
their burrows. The coastal areas of this region are important habitat for migratory birds. These light, open
forests have some of the richest spring wildflower
communities anywhere.
o
Virtually
all of the long-leaf pine forests are gone, either replaced by mixed hardwood
forests as a result of fire suppression or converted to agriculture or trees
farms (i.e. slash pine) for lumber or paper pulp. Only two percent of the
original habitat remains, and much of this is in small pieces. The reduction in
frequent fires, which kept the forests open and prevented catastrophic burns,
is a major problem.
·
Southeastern
mixed forests (NA0413):
o
This
ecoregion ranks among the top 10 in the
o
The
Southeastern Mixed Forests ecoregion is the most
heavily settled ecoregion along the east coast of the
o
The
most dominant ecological force in shaping both composition
and structure of the Southeastern Mixed Forests ecoregion,
prior to European settlement, was fire. Fire disturbance favored the growth of
oaks and provided good seed beds for pines, which were a much more dominant
part of these forests back then.
o
Pines
and hardwood trees such as oaks and hickories spread their canopies over cedar
and holly trees. Dogwood and redbud fill the understory and add color in spring
and fall. White-tailed deer, black bears, and box turtles explore the woods,
while luna moths and flying squirrels glide quietly
through the evening forests.
Wildlife
and Outdoor Organizations
·
Mobile County Wildlife and Conservation Association was
organized in 1934 by Hubert Kimborough, with Fred Stimpson, Ernest Ladd Jr, and Ben
Turner as officers. It is the longest
serving wildlife organization in the state.
Eastern Shore Inshore
Sportsmen
Alabama
Wildlife Federation was
established in 1935.
Governmental Wildlife
Agencies
Alabama Division of
Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries
Auburn University
Aquaculture and Fisheries Homepage
Aquaculture
·
Tilapia are several closely related species that
are widely used in aquaculture. Tilapia are easy to reproduce, did not require
high-quality feeds, readily tolerated culture conditions and were relatively
good to eat. The down side of tilapia was that they originated in tropical
Africa and generally could not tolerate winter temperatures outside of
·
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is drafting
a 300-page amendment that, if approved, would open the Gulf to commercial fish
farming. Some scientists note that fish
excrement and uneaten food from aquaculture pens have polluted coastal waters
in
Revised
6/15/08
Text
Copyright 2008
Disclaimer: These Notes are not
original. They are complied from various
sources, primarily the Press-Register (PR), Lagniappe, The
Harbinger, and websites. Citations are
being added retrospectively. These Notes are for personal, educational use
only. Address all comments and corrections to: admin@flotte2.com