Wildlife Research & Conservation
Our wildlife research and conservation work focuses primarily on imperiled reptiles and amphibians in the southeastern United States.
Through field research, monitoring and conservation partnerships, the Alabama Natural Heritage Program supports efforts to better understand and protect rare wildlife species and the ecosystems they depend on.
The return of the eastern indigo snake to longleaf pine and associated ecosystems in southern Alabama is an important step toward the ecological restoration of Coastal Plain ecosystems.
ALNHP’s eastern indigo snake reintroduction work is conducted through a partnership with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the U.S. Forest Service and the Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation.
The goal of the project is to establish a viable population through the annual release of captive-bred, immature snakes.
In 2021, 11 additional snakes were released, bringing the total number released to 202. Over the course of the project, snakes have been recaptured in the wild, including gravid females, indicating reproductive success. Two wild-born snakes have also been captured.
A six-year monitoring study with more than 4,500 vertebrate captures has been completed, and the project has been extended for another five years through a State Wildlife Grant.
The flattened musk turtle and Black Warrior waterdog are listed species endemic to the Cumberland Plateau physiographic province of the upper Black Warrior River watershed in Alabama, a designated strategic habitat unit.
The flattened musk turtle was listed as threatened in 1987, and the Black Warrior waterdog was listed as endangered in 2018.
ALNHP is conducting population studies for both species in the Sipsey Fork and Brushy Creek. The program is also conducting genetic and habitat analyses for the Black Warrior waterdog.
Environmental DNA sampling is being used to detect the presence of these rare species in the Locust Fork. ALNHP has surveyed 175 river kilometers using an in-stream, canoe-based eDNA portable water filtration setup.
