Little Lagoon is an eight mile long saltwater lagoon connected to the Gulf of Mexico by a man-made pass. Major hurricanes periodically breach the lagoon’s southern shoreline and create a new pass to the Gulf that soon fills in naturally. Although it averages only a few feet deep, the lagoon provides important nursery habitat for marine life such as fish, shrimp, and crabs in an enclosed environment more protected from predators than the Gulf. Bald eagles, red-breasted mergansers, and cormorants frequent the west end near Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge during winter. The Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, and other refuge partners are restoring seagrass beds to provide habitat for native wildlife, including the endangered West Indian manatee, which occasionally visits the lagoon. Gator Lake formed from a sand spit that developed in Little Lagoon many years ago, and a narrow creek connects the thirty-two-acre lake to the lagoon and brings in saltwater during strong tides. Without major hurricanes, Gator Lake is mostly freshwater and supports largemouth bass, catfish, and bluegill, but the sixteen-foot storm surge from Hurricane Ivan in 2004 created a brackish environment ideal for redfish and speckled trout and inhospitable to freshwater fish. Over time, Gator Lake gradually reverts to freshwater with normal rainfall until the next storm begins the cycle again, and alligators are occasionally seen there along with herons, grebes, kingfishers, and other native wildlife.