MOBILE — A six-hour court hearing over Dauphin Island’s fox management plan concluded Thursday with the judge signaling he intends to dismiss the case brought by two residents against the animals' removal.

The lawsuit, filed by wildlife photographer Spencer Harrison and resident Duane Wood, challenged the town’s plan to work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to trap and remove red foxes from the island's West End Conservation Area — an effort officials say is necessary to protect endangered shorebirds and sea turtle nests.

Town attorney Robert Nash Campbell said Mobile County Circuit Court Judge Michael Youngpeter's "verbal ruling saying that there is no subject matter jurisdiction from the plaintiffs" effectively dismisses the case.

The written order was filed Monday.

He explained that the dispute centers on a federally guided conservation plan tied to land purchased with Deepwater Horizon restoration funds.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued the plan is inhumane and unnecessary and that officials could prevent predation through non-lethal methods. Harrison, known for photographing a red fox he named Roxy, testified about his personal connection to the animals and the role they play in Dauphin Island’s ecosystem.

Mary Beth Mantiply, attorney for the plaintiffs, said after the hearing that the decision ultimately lies with local officials.

“The buck stops with Jeff Collier and the city council members,” she said. “All they have to do is decide they don’t want all these animals killed, and APHIS can’t do it.”

Mantiply said the temporary restraining order halting the trapping remains in effect until the judge’s final ruling.

Expert testimony from the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and USDA APHIS described the fox management plan as a science-based, targeted effort to protect nesting sites from predation. Officials emphasized that the project is not an eradication campaign but a limited removal of foxes that have learned to predate on bird and turtle nests and reside on the west end of the island.

Harrison and Wood have the option to appeal to federal court.

Gabriella Chavez is a Report for America corps member who writes about growth and development in Baldwin County and our natural spaces for Gulf Coast Media. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://tinyurl.com/yaf8yf5n.