The Black Warrior River
The Black Warrior River, formed by the meeting of the Locust and Mulberry Fork Rivers, is one of the hardest working rivers in Alabama. This workhorse of a river is home to several dams, hydroelectric generators and a source of reliable drinking water. Even with these intense alterations the Black Warrior Watershed remains home to two species of fish that occur nowhere else in the world, the Vermillion and Watercress Darters.
	The Black Warrior River begins where the Locust and Mulberry Fork Rivers converge. Near the city of Tuscaloosa the Black Warrior crosses the fall line, which is a geologic barrier representing the coast of an ancient sea. Historically the river was pristine, full of native mussels that served as a natural filtering system for the river. The Black Warrior River empties its waters into the Tombigbee River. The Black Warrior is an important avenue of transportation of goods/services prompted by the construction of low locks and dams. These dams are equipped with Alabama Power Company turbines that allow for the generation of hydroelectric power. The Black Warrior River is an invaluable natural resource to local citizens in addition to being significant for aquatic and plant life that depend on it for their very existence.
The Black Warrior Watershed is probably one of the most overlooked watersheds in Alabama. While industrial progress has benefited Alabama, the effects on this river and its ecosystem have been staggering. With the construction of the John Hollis Bankhead Lock and Dam the area formerly known as Squaw Shoals was completely flooded. This resulted in the loss of the world’s largest stand of shoal lilies, many species of fish and thirty species of freshwater mussels from that stretch of waterway. Because of the construction of the dams on the main stem, the Mulberry and Locust Forks of the Warrior remain as the river’s last large free-flowing tributaries.
With these facts in mind the Land Trust is working cooperatively with private landowners, local citizens, businesses, conservation organizations and government agencies to provide a working solution that benefits everyone but especially these endangered watersheds. By purchasing lands along these beleaguered creeks and rivers we are insuring the continued succession of plant and animal life as well as preserving a beautiful place for our families to enjoy.