Dauphin Island Reef Named After Blankenship

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources recently announced that its commissioner, Chris Blankenship, was recognized by Gov. Kay Ivey at the Alabama Wildlife Federation Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards. His efforts were honored by designating an area off Dauphin Island as the Christopher M. Blankenship Artificial Reef Zone. The zone, permitted in August, covers 63 mi.2 with water depths of 75-110 ft. It starts approximately 10 mi. southwest of the Sand Island Lighthouse and extends 16 mi. to the southwest. The department has many other ongoing conservation projects, including contracts being executed to deploy 456 “super pyramid” reefs standing 25 ft tall and built of concrete with embedded limestone rocks. Additionally, as part of an $8.135-million expansion of the Alabama Artificial Reef Program, 1,203 juvenile reef fish shelters are being deployed in a newly expanded 6-9-mi. reef zone.