Lower Perdido Islands Restoration

The islands are heavily visited, with millions of locals and tourists frequenting the area each year. This high recreational use, combined with storm impacts and boat wakes, has contributed to shoreline erosion, seagrass damage, and disturbance to nesting birds and other wildlife.

Moffatt & Nichol led final engineering and design, incorporating stakeholder input, hydrodynamic and morphological modeling, and strategies to avoid impacts to existing seagrass beds. The project included placement of dredged sediment to rebuild dunes, marsh, and upland habitat, along with planting native vegetation to stabilize restored areas.

The completed restoration created a mosaic of habitats, including dunes, marshes, forested uplands, and subtidal areas, that support shorebirds, wading birds, migratory species, and estuarine finfish and shellfish such as blue crab, speckled trout, and redfish. Walker Island remains closed to foot traffic to protect sensitive habitats, while Robinson Island provides controlled public access to beaches and nearshore areas.

Funding for the project came through Alabama Trustees’ Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment funds, as well as support from the NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation. The restoration balances long-term ecological protection with recreational opportunities, enhancing resilience for both wildlife and coastal communities along Alabama’s Gulf Coast.

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