America's Amazon named among most endangered USA river systems

The Mobile River System — which includes every stream that flows into Mobile Bay, from the Cahaba, Coosa, and Tallapoosa in the north part of the state, to the Tombigbee, Alabama and the rivers of the Delta in the southern part — has been named one of the ten most endangered river systems in the country. In announcing the listing, the conservation group American Rivers cites the system’s claim to fame as America’s Amazon, a reference to the film and AL.com series of the same name, which both highlighted the exceptional diversity of plants and animals in and around these rivers.

Thanks primarily to the life in these rivers, Alabama ranks number one in the nation for the number of aquatic species, including fish, turtles, mussels, crawfish and snails. In the report, "America’s Most Endangered Rivers, 2017," American Rivers describes the system as "The Mobile Bay Basin," and states that it accounts for 14 percent of all the freshwater flowing in the United States. The Mobile system drains parts of four states, and despite the biological riches living in its waters, has a long and tortured history as a pack mule for industrial interests, beginning with cotton in the […]

Full article: America’s Amazon labeled one of ten most endangered river systems in nation