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Leave Only Footprints, the initiative that aims to keep the beaches in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach healthy and beautiful, is similar to the principles of Leave No Trace. This program created by the U.S. Forest Service emphasizes wilderness ethics and sustainable travel. The principles of Leave No Trace include: Plan ahead and prepare. Travel and camp on durable surfaces. Dispose of waste properly. Leave what you find. Minimize campfire impacts. Respect wildlife. Be respectful of other visitors. Leave Only [...]

Those big, pillowy hills of sugary-white sand that line the beaches of the Alabama Gulf Coast are so enticing. Sand dunes really do tempt visitors to run to the top to gaze at the Gulf of Mexico or take photos on them surrounded by waving fronds of sea oats. Here’s a few words of advice, however: Don’t do it. The dune system on the Alabama Gulf Coast is delicate. Walking on beach vegetation can damage the fragile plant roots that [...]

Before you leave that plastic bottle on the beach or forget to take your raft home, think of the Gulf of Mexico as a segment of the web of life. How we care for it affects more than just residents of the Alabama Gulf Coast. Seventy percent of the earth’s surface is covered by ocean waters that are divided into four segments: Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Arctic. Smaller ocean regions are called bays, gulfs and seas, and include the Gulf [...]

Coming to the beach for a visit with your children? Remember the sunscreen, flip flops, sand bucket, shovel and your plastic gloves. Enjoy your time on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, playing in the waves and making castles in the sand.   Before returning home for the day, be sure you follow the rules of Leave Only Footprints. The new initiative requires beachgoers to collect and remove what they bring to the beach. This includes beach tents, beach [...]

Keeping our seas trash free starts on land with how we dispose of items. According to the group Ocean Conservancy, 8 million metric tons of plastic leak into the world’s oceans every year. Unless the tide of trash to sea is stemmed, there will be an estimated one ton of plastic for every three tons of fish by 2025, creating massive environmental, economic and health issues.   Beach visitors on the Alabama Gulf Coast can make a difference every day [...]

Sea turtles on the Alabama Gulf Coast face a variety of threats, including the development of prime nesting beaches, artificial lighting, commercial fishing gear, boats, debris and erosion. Each May to October, Sea turtles - including loggerhead, green and Kemp’s ridley - make pilgrimages to where they were hatched to lay their own clutch of eggs.   Share the Beach, the Alabama Gulf Coast’s sea turtle protection program, administers the Alabama Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network. Each year, hundreds [...]

Slather on the sunscreen and don your comfortable walking shoes. It’s time for a walk on the wild side.   More than just beaches, the Alabama Gulf Coast is home to wildlife refuges that offer a haven to birds, flora and fauna.   Named as one of the ten natural wonders of Alabama, the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge serves as a living laboratory for students and scientists and a safe place for endangered sea turtles that nest on our [...]

Artificial lighting may be the best thing since the discovery of fire for human beings, but for sea turtles coming ashore it can cause them to lose their way, ultimately resulting in the loss of nests and future sea turtles. Sea turtles come ashore to build nests and lay eggs from May to October along the Alabama Gulf Coast.   “The light disorients the nesting mama sea turtles,” said Mike Reynolds of Share the Beach, the sea turtle volunteer program. “When the eggs [...]