The Alabama Wildlife Federation (AWF), Alabama Forever Wild Land Trust (AFWLT), and Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) worked together to purchase some of the most crucially important conservation lands in our state and in the nation – 50,000 acres in the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta – in July of 1999.

 

AWF’s Officers, Board of Directors, and Staff worked diligently to make arrangements and take measures necessary for AWF to purchase 12,000 of the 50,000 acres known as the Clearwater Tract on behalf of the Forever Wild Land Trust.

When combined with the roughly 50,000 acres contained in the existing Mobile-Tensaw Delta and W.L. Holland Wildlife Management Areas, this collection of lands, stretching from the Causeway in Mobile north for over 40 miles, provides approximately 100,000 contiguous acres available for public use, recreation, and enjoyment, as well as providing critical protection to the crown jewel of Alabama’s conservation lands.

 

Through the dedication and tenacity of our Officers, Board of Directors, supporters, and our partners with the AFWLT and ADCNR, this effort provides yet another contribution to Alabama’s rich outdoor heritage.

To commemorate this historic event, the AWF published a special issue of our Alabama Wildlife magazine devoted entirely to this effort and the natural resource values of the Delta: