Fort Morgan bay side and Navy Cove: bulkheads, piers and shorelines

Get to know your waterfront

Fort Morgan's bay shore runs from Navy Cove to Mobile Point in unincorporated Baldwin County. Long waves shape every design. The shore takes in Saint Andrews Bay, Three Rivers and Little Point Clear, and ADEM treats the low shore as coastal area. Getting equipment out here is part of the job, because the peninsula has one road and a ferry.

TIGERweb Census Current (2026) Legal and Statistical Entities, Incorporated Places layer (January 1, 2026 vintage), point-in-polygon queries · Ala. Admin. Code ch. 335-8-1 Coastal Area Management Program (definitions and permissible uses) · Ala. Admin. Code r. 335-6-11-.02, Use Classifications (ADEM Water Division; amendment adopted 2025-04-11, filed 2025-04-15, effective 2025-06-14) · United States Coast Pilot 5, Chapter 7 (Mobile Bay; pages dated 25 Oct 2026) · Fort Morgan - Alabama Historical Commission

Bay-side permits, access and wall choices on Fort Morgan

What rules apply on the bay side?

ADEM's coastal area covers everything below the 10-foot contour. That takes in the low bay shore of Fort Morgan. ADEM coastal area rule

East of a line from Mullet Point to Engineers Point, the water is classed for shellfish harvesting, swimming and fish and wildlife. ADEM water use classification Muddy runoff from a rebuild matters near oyster water.

Piers and boathouses on pilings that let the tide ebb and flow count as a permissible use of riparian rights. Normal repair of walls and piers that existed on August 14, 1979 is also permissible, but ADEM still wants notice and review. ADEM permissible uses

Which offices touch a pier or bulkhead?

Four: the county, ADEM, State Lands and the Corps. The permit table below lists phones and fees, and the Alabama permit guide gives the order.

The county flood permit applies only in a mapped flood zone. Outside one, the other three agencies still apply. County checklist The county files piers, docks, boathouses, bulkheads and seawalls as a Marine Accessory permit. County marine accessory permit

How do State Lands rules shape a bay-side wall or pier?

The state owns the bottom below the high tide line, so a Request to Impact State Owned Submerged Lands comes first. State Lands rule

• A new bulkhead goes landward of mean high tide. When a wall is replaced, a Consent of Use lets it sit up to two feet seaward. State Lands bulkhead rule
• A dock for one single-family lot can qualify for a Consent of Use under 5,000 square feet. So can a marginal dock along an existing bulkhead. Consent of Use scope
• Other structures stay 10 feet inside your riparian lines. The state caps them at 25 percent of the width of the waterway and wants 100 feet from any federal channel. Riparian setback rule Waterway width cap
• Planning and Zoning charges $25 for each land disturbance, such as filling, grading or dredging. County planning fees

Should you build a wall or a reef breakwater?

Fetch is the open-water distance waves travel before they reach you. Here it is long, so a bulkhead takes constant wave energy and a weak toe can scour.

The Nature Conservancy tested the other path in 2012. It built 11 reef breakwaters of riprap capped with bagged oyster shell, about 80 feet offshore. They protect about 1,142 feet of shore for five private owners at two sites. TNC Fort Morgan Private Shorelines project

Results were mixed. Oyster settlement was limited, but the reefs drew blue crabs, shrimp and finfish. TNC monitoring results Grant funding was $201,996, roughly $180 per foot of shoreline.

• The Corps' living shoreline permit fits low to mid-energy shores. It needs a real biological component and keeps structures within 30 feet of mean low water. Nationwide Permit 54
• Restoration fill below the high tide line does not count as reclamation or change title. State Lands living shoreline rule
• Since 2024, digging sand in front of your lot for a living shoreline costs half the usual State Lands dredge fee. Joe Faust Living Shoreline Act

The living shorelines guide and the riprap and shoreline stabilization page compare the options.

What is different about Navy Cove and Mobile Point?

Navy Cove has a marina east of the fort with berths, fuel, a ramp and a 20-ton lift. Boats also anchor off the north and east sides of the fort. The Coast Pilot notes several piles and other debris on the bottom. Coast Pilot 5 Probe the bottom before you design a pier.

A buoy north of Mobile Point Light marks the wreck of a Civil War ship. The Coast Pilot reports it unstable, with ammunition aboard, and says not to anchor near it. Coast Pilot 5 wreck note Keep barge staging well away.

How do you get equipment to Fort Morgan?

By road or by ferry. Highway 180 ends at the Fort Morgan State Historic Site, 22 miles west of Highway 59. Alabama Historical Commission contact The state ferry to Dauphin Island runs 362 days a year, weather permitting. ALDOT ferry article

• County Fort Morgan Pier launch, 259 State Highway 180: two ramps, no fee, as listed in May 2026. The county’s new website no longer lists it, so confirm before you trailer a barge there. County launch page
• Historic Site ramp: $2 a day, $10 a week or $25 a month. Historic Site fees

The Historic Site's roughly 500-foot fishing pier closed in 2014. A state estimate to rehabilitate it was $3,075,000. That is a public project figure, not a homeowner price. Restoration fact sheet

What do bay-side storms do to a wall?

The peninsula's tip sits at the mouth of Mobile Bay, and exposure varies along the shore.

• Danny's eye passed over the tip in 1997. NWS Mobile Danny report
• Georges produced 11.9 feet of surge at Fort Morgan in 1998. NHC Georges report
• Farther east in Bon Secour Bay, Katrina's marks fell to about 5 feet. FEMA Katrina high-water marks

Wind can empty the bay too. After Sally passed, nearly all gauges around Mobile Bay fell below their low-water datum. NHC reverse surge note The storms guide covers repair after a surge.

Gulf-facing lots follow different rules. See the Fort Morgan Gulf side guide. For the working river upstream, see the Bon Secour guide.

What could the work cost?

Public fees: $75 for the county flood permit, $800 for ADEM's single-family pier review and $100 for the State Lands request. Build prices depend on length, fetch and access. The long haul adds mobilization cost.

These are published prices, not a quote. Local numbers come from Baldwin County public bids and Orange Beach permits. National guides fill the gaps and are labeled as national. Your wall depends on height, access, soil and permits.

Find the relevant permits and records

Prepare the questions for the responsible office.

Before you price a bay-side pier or wall

Four checks keep a bay job from stalling.

1. Confirm your shoreline owner

   The Alabama Historical Commission owns and runs the fort grounds. Call the site office at (251) 540-5257 if your lot touches its edge.

   Fort Morgan - Alabama Historical Commission · Fort Morgan Museum and State Historic Site

2. Probe the bottom

   Old piles lie in Navy Cove. Survey the bottom before you place pilings.

   United States Coast Pilot 5, Chapter 7 (Mobile Bay; pages dated 25 Oct 2026)

3. Compare a wall with a breakwater

   Ask each bidder to price a vertical wall and a reef breakwater over the same length.

   Living Shorelines: Fort Morgan Private Shorelines · 2026 Nationwide Permit 54, Living Shorelines, 91 FR 768

4. Start State Lands early

   The water bottom is state land. File the Request to Impact form while drawings are still being finished.

   ADCNR Admin. Code r. 220-4-.09 Placement and Configuration of Piers and Other Improvements on State Owned Submerged Lands · ADCNR Admin. Code Chapter 220-4 (State Lands Division), r. 220-4-.09 Placement and Configuration of Piers and Other Improvements on State Owned Submerged Lands

Keep planning

Nearby waterfront guides

Fort Morgan Gulf side, Bon Secour & the Bon Secour River, Little Lagoon south shore & west end

View the local guide directory.