SPANISH FORT, Ala. — There’s no question tourism along Alabama’s Gulf Coast suffered devastating summer losses, but two municipalities largely excluded from state tourism funding to combat image issues associated with the four-month oil spill are fighting back.

The city of Bayou La Batre and town of Dauphin Island joined forces late last week to launch www.AlabamaCoast.org, a new website designed to serve as a clearinghouse for up to date information on upcoming events, tourism related questions and the latest information on seafood safety.

“Since the start of the oil spill a lot of folks have been talking about making the Gulf communities whole. Both Dauphin Island and Bayou La Batre have been excluded from the state tourism funds made available (by BP PLC) to promote tourism in the wake of the spill, so we chose to work together to design this website—a tool for us to tell the story of our recovery,” said Republican Rep.  Spencer Collier of Irvington.

Congressman Collier said the site conveys that “the communities of South Mobile County are still here, our beaches are clean and the seafood is as safe today as it was before the spill.  We’re proud of the progress we’ve made and encourage everyone to go online, plan your trip and pay us a visit.”

Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier said the barrier island’s resilient community is seasoned at “pulling together to make the best of a difficult situation,” but he remains hopeful the Alabama Department of Tourism will still consider funding some of the spill-related projects submitted.

“This community has rallied and is well positioned to come out of this spill stronger than we were before,” Collier said.