FOLEY, AL (WKRG) — In the heart of Baldwin County, a major investment is helping preserve one of Alabama’s most unique treasures. The Graham Creek Nature Preserve received a $4 million grant from NOAA. This funding will help protect thousands of acres of rare habitat and expand efforts to save some of the Gulf Coast’s most endangered species.
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This additional funding will allow the City of Foley to expand with a focus on rare and disappearing ecosystems.
“We’re currently at 650 acres, and we are attempting to purchase an additional 1600 acres… and those grants will help us get that land in conservation for the future,” Leslie Gahagan, the Sustainability and Natural Resources Director at Graham Creek, said.
Among these native plants is the white topped pitcher plant. Native to only parts of the Gulf Coast, it is a carnivorous plant that thrives in nutrient-poor soils and eats the very insects it traps. However, these plants wouldn’t survive without a natural fire regime.
“Those burns reduce the vegetation, the woody and grassy vegetation that would shade out the blooms so that the pitcher plants now get enough sun to grow,” Gahagan explains.
The preserve is also home to migratory birds, monarch butterflies, and native wildlife like deer, quail, and turkey. Controlled burns and invasive species management have helped restore their habitat — giving native species to breathe and grow…