On The Wild Side

On The Wild Side…
w. The Orange Beach Wildlife Center Staff

By Wade Stevens
City of Orange Beach Coastal Operations Manager
The City of Orange Beach believes strongly in the promotion and protection of our natural resources alongside the responsible development of our community and its tourism base.One of the many ways this is demonstrated is through the operation of our Wildlife Management Program. This program consists of several different elements: public education, habitat management, wildlife rehabilitation, and nuisance mitigation. Public education is first and foremost for good reason. The vast majority of the remaining three elements can be reduced or eliminated with consistent and effective education.
People and wildlife interact every day in our country, and our area is no exception. The interactions can be both positive and negative for those involved. Taking a look at how we influence and impact these events as well sharing the stories of our local wildlife and explore both the good and bad about wildlife and people.
Throughout this coming year, we hope you will all get something positive from each article or story and we look forward to your feedback along the way.
In the conservation of natural resources systems, wildlife rescue, rehabilitation (rehab), and conflict stories are considered especially interesting. In the City of Orange Beach, the dedicated staff who handle these critical tasks are members of an elite squad known as the Coastal Resources Department. These are their stories. Dun Dun! A little “Law and Order” humor for those that recognized it, but I digress.
This program is a division of the City of Orange Beach – Coastal Resources Department, which is tasked with many different roles in the community, including the management of our beaches, dunes, shoreline, islands, forest lands, recreational trails, and much more. We are the eyes, ears, and, in many cases, the hands and feet of the state and federal agencies that we work with closely to monitor and manage these environmentally sensitive resources. One of the most important of these resources is our diverse and abundant wildlife.
A quick introduction: these columns will be developed and written by Wade Stevens – Coastal Operations Manager, Melissa Vinson – Coastal Programs Coordinator, and several of our committed volunteers and interns.
Stay tuned for our first column next month and feel free to contact us with any questions or suggestions about wildlife topics you would like to see included in a future column. Email wstevens@cityoforangebeach.com or call 251-923-4912 or 251-747-5510