MOBILE, Ala. — Nearly 8,000 acres of wetlands and forests in Alabama’s Mobile-Tensaw Delta have been permanently protected and renamed the E.O. Wilson Land Between the Rivers Preserve, honoring the late, world-renowned biologist and Alabama native Edward O. Wilson.
The land, once eyed for development as a wood pellet mill, was purchased for $15 million by The Nature Conservancy with support from Patagonia’s Holdfast Collective and an anonymous donor, securing its future as a haven for wildlife and a living tribute to Wilson’s legacy. The announcement, timed with what would have been Wilson’s 96th birthday, was celebrated by conservationists and scientists who credit Wilson’s childhood explorations in the Delta as the spark for his groundbreaking work in biodiversity and global conservation.
The Mobile-Tensaw Delta, often called “America’s Amazon,” is the second-largest intact delta system in North America and supports more species of freshwater fish, turtles, and mussels than any other river system on the continent. The newly named preserve sits at the confluence of the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers, a landscape long revered by Indigenous peoples and now recognized as one of the most ecologically diverse places on the planet.
The land’s protection marks a major victory for conservation in the South, ensuring that the forests, swamps, and wildlife that inspired Wilson’s life’s work will remain intact for generations to come.