What We Do
Proactive conservation and working with partners is at the heart of our office’s work. That means working with the animals, protecting their habitat, and most importantly, working with a variety of partners to get it done. This includes other federal or state agencies, nonprofits, industry and private landowners from across the state. Working with partners, we use a multi-pronged approach that includes:
- Habitat management – For example, we actively work to restore degraded streams and wetlands that are home to imperiled species. This can include identifying and eliminating sources of sediment, removing stream barriers such as decrepit dams, or controlling invasive, exotic plants that threaten the habitat. We also work to stabilize sand dunes that serve as habitat for imperiled species, including nesting sea turtles and migratory birds.
- Population management – We support efforts to hold and propagate rare species in captivity, and stock them in appropriate habitat. For example, we work closely with the Alabama Aquatic Biodiversity Center in an effort to restore many freshwater species that are missing from Alabama’s waterways.
- Education – We use a variety of tools, including digital, traditional media, and environmental education to provide a deeper understanding of Alabama’s most imperiled species and special habitats.
- Partnership -- Unlike much of the United States, Alabama is nearly 95% privately owned, and partnerships with landowners are crucial for species recovery and habitat restoration.
Management and Conservation
Endangered Species Permitting and Consultation
- Habitat Restoration
- Habitat Conservation Plans
- Candidate Conservation
- Project Planning
- Research
Proactive Conservation Programs
- Endangered Species Listing and Recovery
- Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program
- Northern Gulf Coastal Program
- Conservation Outreach and Education
Our Services
The Alabama Ecological Services Field Offices provides a variety of options to help partners, landowners, state and local agencies, tribes, businesses, and private citizens protect important habitat, and increase species' populations, while reducing threats to their survival, so they can be removed from federal protection.
To better understand these wild places, we map, monitor, and inventory our nation's wetlands. We provide guidance and expertise to protect wildlife for projects such as wind farms and large-scale transportation developments while meeting our society's growing energy and transportation needs.
In Alabama, we have a specialized team of biologists who are committed to working with members of the public to ensure best management practices are followed on development projects.
Our Projects and Research
Our office provides funding, staff manpower and expertise to projects and research spearheaded by both our office and other federal and state agencies or NGO's. These projects and research are vital to habitat restoration and species recovery.