The Cahaba River
The Cahaba River, part of the Mobile River Basin, flows through five counties in central Alabama and is our state’s longest free-flowing river. The diversity of aquatic and plant life in and around the Cahaba makes it an invaluable resource for research, conservation and recreation. The Land Trust hopes to raise awareness through recreation and education about this great river and focus the attention of concerned conservationists towards its protection.
The headwaters of the Cahaba River begin in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in St. Clair County. Along its 191 miles it crosses the fall line into the Gulf Costal Plain of Alabama giving the Cahaba two very different ecosystems and contributing greatly to its tremendous biological diversity. It empties into the Alabama River southeast of Selma. Along its fall line you find the largest remaining stand of the imperiled and beautiful Cahaba lily (shoals lily), a spectacular and delicate flower that once graced most southeastern rivers but whose range has been diminished to a handful of rivers. Scientists have documented 131 species of fish in the Cahaba. Of the 131, 18 species are known to occur nowhere else in the world except within the Mobile River basin. These numbers put the Cahaba River on the national map as having the most fish species per mile than any other river its size in the United States.
	Approximately 1 million people in Central Alabama get the majority of their drinking water from the Cahaba River. The Cahaba River is important to the wealth of animal and plant life it supports but also to the many Alabamians who rely on it as their source of drinking water. Alabamians share a strong love for the outdoors and with the Cahaba practically in our backyards we are blessed with excellent recreational opportunities resulting in the Cahaba playing host to the largest number of recreational canoeists in the state.
The Cahaba River has the unfortunate distinction of flowing through Alabama’s largest city, thus the threats to this remarkable river are significant. As a result of the encroaching development, much of the plant and animal life associated with the Cahaba have disappeared or are listed on the federal endangered species list. A recent survey on the Cahaba River noted a 20 – 40% decline in the number of fish species in some locations. For example, the Cahaba shiner was historically found in 60 miles of the Cahaba. Today it can be found in small 15 mile stretch of the river. Several other species such as the Blue shiner, the Alabama sturgeon and the Southern studfish have all been eradicated from the river with declines starting in the 1960’s and continuing through the 1980’s.
The Land Trust is working to insure the health of the Cahaba for future generations by purchasing critical buffer strips along its bank that will filter pollutants and sediments, thus improving overall water quality. Working in partnership we can insure future generations can share in the beauty and rich diversity that is the Cahaba.