8,000 acres in Mobile-Tensaw Delta to be renamed E.O. Wilson Land Between the Rivers Preserve
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation announced today that a nearly 8,000-acre preserve in Alabama’s Mobile-Tensaw Delta will be named in honor of famed natural scientist Edward Osborne Wilson. The announcement will be celebrated during a webinar discussion, focused on the role community, culture, and science play in caring for nature, on June 10, 2025, what would have been Wilson’s 96th birthday.
An internationally acclaimed leader for protecting biodiversity, Wilson’s lifelong love for nature began with his childhood in Alabama. The E.O. Wilson Land Between the Rivers Preserve is in the heart of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta where he first explored his fascination with the natural world and later launched an unmatched legacy of education and conservation.
“There is nobody more associated with the Delta than E.O. Wilson,” said Mitch Reid, Director of The Nature Conservancy in Alabama. “The Delta is as unique and iconic as Dr. Wilson, and it is fitting that his name and legacy be forever connected with the place that inspired him on his incredible journey.”
The Mobile-Tensaw Delta is the second-largest intact delta system in North America and is one of the most ecologically diverse places on the planet. Referred to as “America’s Amazon,” Wilson said the magic of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta and its uplands stayed with him all his life.
The vast expanse of wetlands and bottomland forests is a critical migratory corridor for birds and is home to Delta sawbacks, red-bellied turtles, the Alabama sturgeon and the state’s largest population of the American alligator. Additionally, the last breeding population of black bear in Alabama is found here.
“Nothing would have brought Ed more joy than knowing this extraordinarily important habitat will be protected,” said Paula J. Ehrlich, President & Chief Executive Officer of the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation. “This place inspired so much of the global conservation ethic he so keenly advanced. I’d like to imagine his spirit will always be there.”
With support from Patagonia’s Holdfast Collective in 2024, TNC acquired the land that will be named in Wilson’s honor. The region was traditionally the land of the Naniaba, the “people of the forks,” who were often known by other tribes and the Europeans as “the fish eaters.” Their land between the rivers served as an important neutral ground between the Choctaw confederacies and the Creek confederacies.
In celebration of one of the Delta’s greatest advocates, TNC and the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation are committed to preserving this unique place for people and wildlife to thrive today – and in the future.
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