Wildlife Along the Endangered Apalachicola

Most endangered river in the U.S. is vital to wildlife

We’re used to thinking about animals as endangered or threatened – but what about the places they live? American Rivers recently identified the Apalachicola River here in Florida as one of America’s most endangered rivers. Dams and heavy use by cities and farms upstream along the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers in Georgia and Alabama have taken so much water that there isn’t enough left to keep the river itself healthy. This is bad news for everyone – human and wildlife alike – that rely on this river for survival.

As I highlighted last year, the Apalachicola River is one of the nation’s most important biological hotspots. The habitat that it provides is so important to so many species that the Apalachicola River and Bay have been named as a UNESCO “Man and the Biosphere Reserve.” The Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Florida aquatic preserves were also established to protect one of the northern hemisphere’s most productive estuarine systems.

A Myriad of Wildlife
The headwaters of the Apalachicola are the Chattahoochee River flowing from Georgia’s southern Appalachians, and the Flint River, which begins south of Atlanta. Beginning at the confluence of these rivers, the Apalachicola River flows for 107 miles south to Apalachicola Bay. It rolls past 150-foot tall bluffs, etched with deep steephead ravines, and the state’s largest floodplain forest – great habitat for all kinds of animals.

The Apalachicola River basin has the highest density of amphibian (44) and reptile (64) species north of Mexico. The river and its floodplain are also home to more than 1,000 species of plants, 52 species of mammals, 60 species of snails and clams, five federally listed mussels, 315 bird species, and 86 species of fish. And those are just the permanent residents. This river basin is also an important stopping point for migratory birds from both the Atlantic and Mississippi flyways.

Many of the creatures that make their homes here are declining and in need of protection. The flatwoods and southern dusky salamanders, gopher frog, the endemic Barbour’s map turtle, Arctic peregrine falcon and American kestrel, are just a few. St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge, a barrier island in western Apalachicola Bay, hosts a breeding pair of endangered Red Wolves whose pups are helping to reestablish the species’ only remaining wild population in North Carolina’s Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.

The Apalachicola River corridor and adjacent conservation lands also form the core habitat area of the Northwest Florida Wildlife Habitat Network. Protecting wildlife corridors that connect to this core habitat area are critical for wide-ranging animals like the Florida black bear and the Florida panther having room to roam, as well as providing essential habitat for other species.

From Flourishing to Endangered
Historically, Apalachicola Bay produced 90 percent of Florida’s oysters and 13 percent of the nation’s harvest. It was known for its outstanding commercial fishing, shrimping and crabbing. Unfortunately the bay’s productively declined as the river was manipulated over the years. For decades, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged the river for barge traffic, and built and maintained upstream dams. With the onset of longer droughts in the 1980s, the City of Atlanta began drawing more water from the Chattahoochee River to supplement its water supply, and farmers used more for irrigation. Less water in the Apalachicola starves the floodplains for water and sediment, and starves the bay for freshwater and nutrients – the base of the food chain. Upstream withdraws also resulted in lawsuits filed by Florida and Alabama against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Georgia which are still unresolved 25 years later.

In 2010 this outstanding fishery collapsed due to little freshwater flowing into the estuary and over-harvesting in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The bay’s oyster populations have plummeted, and some of its underwater plants have disappeared as a result which has impacted many of the bay’s other species. The bay needs thriving oyster reefs and aquatic vegetation to provide cover and breeding ground for mussels, crabs, snails, shrimp and fish. Healthy oyster populations also filter and clean the bay’s water, which allows more sunlight to reach underwater plants.

Positive steps have been taken to improve the health of the river and bay. Dredging of the Apalachicola River ended in 2006, so its sandbars are naturally healing. The dam on Chattahoochee River in Columbus, Georgia was removed in 2013. The hydrology of former industrial timber lands that drain into the bay is being restored. Native longleaf-wiregrass forests are replacing slash pine plantations. Oyster bars and living reefs are being created, and stormwater and sewer infrastructure in developed areas is being improved. For the next 20 years, these environmental restoration projects will be primarily funded by the Florida Water and Land Constitutional Amendment, and by the fines and penalties from the Deep Water Horizon oil spill disaster. Defenders is working to ensure these funds are being used to support the most beneficial environmental restoration projects.

We’re also working to conserve some of the best remaining habitats that surround the Apalachicola River. The map below shows areas (in light and dark green) that we have identified as some of the largest and most important lands to help connect the Northwest Florida Wildlife Corridor. One of the more important habitat areas flanks the western floodplain of the Apalachicola River in the center of the map. Through protection and restoration of habitat in Florida and beyond, we can help save this endangered river and the bountiful wildlife that depend on it.