Protecting a nationally recognized estuary in a rapidly developing coastal area can be a bit like putting together a puzzle where the pieces are constantly being shuffled and changed. This is exactly the challenge faced by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Managed by the ADCNR State Lands Division (SLD) and funded in part through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Weeks Bay Reserve is part of a network of thirty protected estuaries around the country. The Reserve System was…