Submitted by Carol Adams-Davis
SPANISH FORT, Ala. - The public is invited to attend a free program, sponsored by the Mobile Bay Group Sierra Club, that will focus on ways to help the Mobile Bay natural environment recover from the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The program will be held at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 1, at 5 Rivers, Alabama's Delta Resource Center. Refreshments will be served at 6:45.
The program with discussion will be led by Jeff DeQuattro, project manager for the Nature Conservancy's NOAA-ARRA Oyster Reef Restoration Project in Mobile Bay. His past work experience in cleaning up oil spills and managing hazardous waste disposal has helped to diversify Nature Conservancy's efforts during this time of oil crisis recovery.
DeQuattro will talk about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill’s impact on the Alabama coast and the plans to restore marine habitat in a way that is meaningful for the greater Gulf region. The effects of the Gulf oil spill have added urgency to a problem that was already immediate and ingrained. Mobile Bay is a viable place to start recovery and restoration efforts.
DeQuattro will present an overview of how he is working with partners and Nature Conservancy colleagues to identity projects in Alabama that will benefit the recovery of the natural systems in the Gulf of Mexico, and he will share his experiences in managing the project of building of 100 miles of new oyster reefs and 1,000 acres of marsh and seagrass beds over the next three to five years.
5 Rivers Delta Resource Center is located at 30945 Five Rivers Blvd., across from Meaher State Park on the Mobile Bay Causeway (follow the Sierra Club signs).
