U.S. coastal areas support a highly disproportionate share of urban and industrial development. As a result of this growth and development, coastal habitats, such as forested wetlands, marshes, oyster reefs, and seagrass beds are disappearing at an astounding rate. A 1990 report states that Alabama has lost 25,000 acres of both wetlands and bay bottoms in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. Today, there are 14 preservation and protection projects in the Bay area, including over 66,000 acres of wetlands. This combination of federal, state, and local projects helps to reduce the rate of loss of our wetlands.
Oyster reefs are bottom communities and constitute an important commercial fishery in Mobile Bay.
Historically, there has been a decline in seagrass abundance in Mobile Bay, with many established beds totally disappearing since the 1960's. These examples represent only some of the habitat losses that have occurred and continue to occur in our coastal environment.