University of Alabama Student Chapter Guild Gathering
September 30 @ 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Cahaba River NWR. Photo By/Credit: Amelia Plemons/USFWS
September 30, 2023
8:30 am – 4:30 pm ET
We will paddle from the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge to Pratt’s Ferry. We will focus on the effects of forestry practices on the environmental health of the Cahaba River.
This trip is around 5.5 miles. Starting in the Refuge, we will see the flattened, foliated rocky shoals, the habitat of the Cahaba lily, Hymenocalis coronaria. We will also sample for fishes and aquatic macroinvertebrates here in the shoals. Assessing the biota in the river gives an indication of the health of the system. There are species which are intolerant to changes in the water chemistry which will die off with increased pollutant loads or habitat loss. We will look for these indicator species as well as intermittently testing the chemical composition of the water and discussing how land use, even miles away from the riverbanks, affects life in one of the most biodiverse rivers in the nation.
Contact Dakota Wagner with questions.
Accessibility: We will canoe a beginner-friendly route. Boats and gear are provided with the cost of registration.