Mobile Bay

The Dauphin Island ferry wasn't running, so I had to drive the long way around through Mobile, but that gave me a chance to check out the beaches inside the bay. Scott Douglass' paper "The Tide Doesn't Go Out Anymore" was based on seawalls in Mobile Bay and I was glad to get a chance to see an example or two. By Puget Sound standards, the tide is insignificant, but many of the environmental issues are the same (though some aren''t).

Dauphin Island

Dauphin Island was far to the east of Katrina's landfall, but it still got hammered - the western portion of the island is a low-lying barrier and parts were overwashed. They were busy building a steep, narrow, artificial dune along the beach when I visited - I suspect it will make any self-respecting Category 4 hurricane pause before leveling the beach the next time. Again, thank goodness for federal flood insurance! These poor folks would never be able to rebuild their homes out here without it. Maybe I'm just missing something?