Cahaba River, Alabama

Part of the larger Mobile River basin, the Cahaba River is nationally recognized for its rich biological diversity and scenic beauty. Its headwaters flow across rocky shoals in the ridges and valleys of the southernmost reaches of the Appalachian Mountains; the lower portion of the Cahaba slowly winds through the coastal plain among cypress swamps creating large sandbars, eventually joining the Alabama River and the Gulf of Mexico. The Cahaba stands out as the longest, essentially free-flowing river in Alabama, and most of its course is navigable by canoe at some time of the year.

Impacts associated with encroaching development from the Birmingham metropolitan area have resulted in the disappearance or endangerment of much of the plant and animal life associated with the Cahaba. For example, the Cahaba shiner was historically found in 60 miles of the Cahaba, but today it can only be found in a small 15-mile stretch of the river. Several other species, including the Blue shiner, the Alabama sturgeon and the Southern studfish, have been entirely eradicated from the river with declines starting in the 1960s and continuing through the 1980s.

Cahaba lily © Chris Oberholster

Ecological Importance: The Cahaba River watershed supports 69 rare and imperiled species, including 10 fish and mussel species that are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Partners: Congressman Spencer Bachus; Senators Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby; Bibb County Commission; U.S. Alliance Forest Products; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; Cahaba River Society; Black-Warrior-Cahaba Rivers Land Trust; private landowners

Conservation Action: The Nature Conservancy currently manages three preserves covering almost 500 acres of the watershed and worked with a host of partners to establish the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge along a 3.5 mile stretch of the river in Bibb County. The refuge protects 3,500 acres of land, including a portion of the river that is home to the largest remaining stand of the imperiled shoals lily and several rare fish, mussel and snail species. Efforts are underway to expand the refuge to approximately 30,000 acres.   

Along the river, the Conservancy and several partners and landowners are working to restore eroding streambanks and remove a small dam in an ecologically sensitive area. In the uplands preserves, the Conservancy and nearby landowners have begun efforts to reestablish the once-dominant, fire-dependent longleaf pine ecosytem.

Cahaba River, Alabama © Harold E. Malde

Cahaba River Facts

• Location: A major tributary to the Alabama River, the Cahaba River drains portions of eight counties in central Alabama. The Cahaba River shares watershed divides with the Black Warrior and Coosa rivers and Bogue Chitto creek
• Size: 191 miles long and draining 1870 square miles. 
• Plant Species: The Cahaba hosts 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 locations. In 1992, eight new species of plants were found in the Bibb County Glades along the Little Cahaba River. 
• Animal Species: More than 130 species of fish have been found in the Cahaba, which is more than any other river its size in North America. The river is also home to more than 40 species of freshwater mussels and 35 species of freshwater snails. In 2002, at a Conservancy preserve along the Little Cahaba River, a species of dragonfly (Septima's clubtail) was spotted for the first time in Alabama in about 50 years.

How to Visit
The Cahaba River is one of the most popular canoeing destinations in Alabama.

• The Nature Conservancy has three preserves along the Cahaba River which you can visit Barton's Beach Preserve, Pratt's Ferry/ Cahaba River Preserve, and Kathy Stiles Freeland Bibb County Glades Preserve 
• Several new canoe launching sites are being planned along the course of the Cahaba River. The Cahaba River Society hosts regular canoe outings; call (205) 322-5326 for information or to make reservations