Who We Are
We are the Alabama River Diversity Network, a statewide sponsored project of The Ocean Foundation championing a network dedicated to reconnecting communities to their home landscape and rebuilding the connections between our region’s rich natural resources, human history and cultural diversity.
Our Area of Interest
Our stewardship collaborative network is focused within the Alabama River region, spanning more than 7 million acres (an area the size of New Jersey) and covering 23 counties in from southwest to east central Alabama.
Cross-Collaborative Stewardship Network
Many of our partners have been working together for almost a decade, facilitating cross network collaborations that advance a multidisciplinary approach to conservation planning and prioritize place-based storytelling as a core component to protecting and preserving our region’s rich biological and cultural diversity. We aim to allow our region's authentic stories and inclusive needs to drive our conservation and preservation priorities.
Our Mission
To reimagine and create synergistic relationships that unify our diverse human populations and the Alabama River region's biodiverse landscape.
Our Vision
To generate stewardship through cross-collaborative partnerships focused on reconnecting the Alabama River region's unique biodiversity, human history, and cultural diversity.
A Center for Biodiversity
The Alabama River and tributaries include globally significant centers of forest and aquatic diversity that support the greatest diversity of turtles in the Western Hemisphere, more fish species than any similarly sized national river, and likely the greatest diversity of mussels, aquatic snails, and crawfish globally. The national center of oak, hickory, magnolia, and total woody species diversity is here, along with some of the largest and best remnants of the longleaf pine ecosystem and southeastern grasslands.
Our Stewardship Priorities
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Conservation Planning
Supporting projects that emphasize protecting the Alabama River region's globally significant centers of forest and aquatic diversity
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Cultural Heritage, Tourism & Preservation
Place-based storytelling Initiatives and educational opportunities for the general public and educational institutions that promote diversity and authenticity in preserving Alabama's human history and culture
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Community Engagement
Reinforcing the inextricable connection between the people and land and ensuring that Black, Brown, indigenous, and other historically marginalized cultural groups have a larger role in the landscape decision-making processes
Authentic Human History & Culture
It is no accident that this landscape is also a center of American history, supporting some of the largest pre-Columbian cities, setting the stage for modern tribal policies, and the Civil Rights movement
