A gift from the University of South Alabama (USA) Foundation to the University of South Alabama ensures the protection of more than a quarter mile of bayfront shoreline on fragile Dauphin Island.

The 63-acre parcel, valued at $1.92 million, is on Dauphin Island’s Aloe Bay. Much of the property is submerged in shallow water, but there is also sandy beachfront and marshland.

“It’s a perfect living laboratory,” USA Foundation Managing Director Maxey J. Roberts said in a news release. The USA Foundation purchased the property about 35 years ago, with the intention of eventually donating it to the university. The donation was announced during a Wednesday news conference.

Roberts said the parcel will enhance opportunities for teaching and research at both the Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences and USA’s College of Engineering, which is expected to help support restoration work at the site.

An aerial view of the land on Dauphin Island, including submerged property, donated to the University of South Alabama. (University of South Alabama)

“It’s going to have an immediate impact on our ability to teach our students,” added USA President Jo Bonner. “It’s really a gift that ties into the mission of the university.”

“We’re really appreciative of the USA Foundation having the vision to pass this land on to the university,” said Sean Powers, director of the Stokes School. “Our plan for this piece of property after the restoration is to hold as much of it as possible in a preserve. It will really be the island’s first preserve right on the water’s edge.”

Plans call for the town of Dauphin Island to dredge the Aloe Bay channel up to a developed area just south of the Dauphin Island bridge, using federal grant dollars. The dredged sand will then be used to extend the beach area of the property up to 150 feet, back to its historical shoreline.

Powers said the uplands of the newly donated property will be restored to their natural salt marsh state while oyster reefs will be installed just off the shoreline. Sand will be placed beyond the reefs, offering a “double layer of protection” for the shoreline, according to the news release. The shallow water environment just offshore will provide a safe area for students to work and conduct research.

The Stokes School has education and research facilities on USA’s Mobile campus and at Dauphin Island Sea Lab. The university is a consortium member of the Sea Lab.

Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier, USA Foundation Managing Director Maxey Roberts, Sean Powers with the Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences, and USA President Jo Bonner at the news conference announcing the land donation. (University of South Alabama)

Lance Crawford, USA director of media relations, said the university will plant native grasses to help restore the property’s shoreline. Plans also call for construction of a small amphitheater for educational lectures and other teaching opportunities, “not only for USA students, but K-12 students as well.”

“We’re grateful that we have a Foundation whose sole interest is in advancing the University of South Alabama,” Bonner said. “It’s a great partnership, and the best is yet to come.”