Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge

Infobox_protected_area | name = Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge
iucn_category = IV

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caption = Map of the United States
locator_x = 189
locator_y = 141
location = Baldwin County and Mobile County, Alabama, USA
nearest_city = Gulf Shores, Alabama
lat_degrees = 30
lat_minutes = 14
lat_seconds = 22.9776
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 87
long_minutes = 49
long_seconds = 11.6400
long_direction = W
area = convert|6816|acre|km2|0
established = 1980
visitation_num = 50,000
visitation_year = 2005
governing_body = U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The refuge is one of the largest undeveloped parcels of land on the Alabama coast.

Established in 1980, Bon Secour (the name, in French, means "safe harbor") is smaller than most other national wildlife refuges, and is comprised of five separate units: Sand Bayou, Perdue, Little Point Clear, Fort Morgan, and Little Dauphin Island, with the Perdue unit being the most developed. All units are located on the Fort Morgan Peninsula in Baldwin County, except Little Dauphin Island, which is in Mobile County. More than 50,000 guests visit the refuge annually. The fiscal year 2005 budget was $404,000.

Protected habitats within the refuge include beaches and sand dunes, scrub forest, fresh and saltwater marshes, fresh water swamps, and uplands.

Wildlife

The refuge seeks to conserve an undisturbed beach and dune ecoystem which will serve as a refuge for endangered and threatened plant, fish, and wildlife speciess, as well as a habitat for migratory birds.

Some of the refuge's endangered species are the Alabama Beach Mouse which lives among the sand dunes and sea oats, and green, loggerhead, and Kemp's Ridley sea turtles, which nest along the beach.

Approximately 400 species of birds have been identified on the refuge throughout the year, usually during migratory seasons, ranging from ospreys and herons to seven species of hummingbirds. There have also been sightings of red fox, wild pig, coyotes, and armadillos.

Trail networks

There are two trails in the Perdue unit of the refuge with a combined length of approximately five miles.
* Pine Beach Trail
* Jeff Friend Trail

Recent Developments

Bon Secour suffered extensive damage on September 16, 2004 due to a near direct hit from Hurricane Ivan and the accompanying convert|20|ft|m|0|sing=on storm surge. [http://www.fws.gov/southeast/news/2005/r05-069.html] Ivan destroyed much of the wildlife habitat and left a variety of debris in its wake including propane tanks, boats, jet skis, trailers, parts of buildings, and other scattered construction debris. Both the Jeff Friend and Pine Beach trail systems suffered extensive damage. Debris cluttered the Jeff Friend unit, while the Pine Beach trail suffered the loss of both the Gator Lake boardwalk and observation pavilion. Following extensive repairs and the replacement of the boardwalk, both trails are now open to the public. Also, the dunes of the Purdue and Fort Morgan units suffered extensive damage. However, natural processes are beginning to repair the damage.

After cleaning up a second wave of less-extensive damage from Hurricane Katrina, limited access to the refuge beach in the Purdue unit reopened in October 2005. [http://www.fws.gov/southeast/news/2005/r05-119.html]

ee also

* List of National Wildlife Refuges

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External links

* [http://www.fws.gov/bonsecour/ Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge homepage]
* [http://www.recreation.gov/recAreaDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&recAreaId=1314&agencyCode=127 Recreation.gov review]