Headwater slope wetlands are a ubiquitous forested wetland type located at the headwaters of coastal streams in Alabama and the southeastern U.S. Coastal Plain. There is concern that land use changes may alter hydrologic conditions and adjacent habitats that reduce the capacity for these wetlands to provide important services and functions (e.g., habitat, water quality improvement, and flood attenuation). We review past and recent work including an assessment of 74 headwater wetlands across coastal Alabama (i.e., Mobile and Baldwin County). These wetlands were assessed for important functional attributes (forest structure, soils, and hydrology) represented by various ecological measures. These data were compared to LULC data (i.e., % forest, urban and agriculture) from each wetland’s catchment over a range of surrounding landscapes typical of the Alabama coast. Functional assessments were conducted based on methodologies detailed in a Hydrogeomorphic Approach (HGM) tool previously developed for headwater slope wetlands in Alabama and Mississippi. Roughly 25% of the wetlands examined had significant hydrologic alterations that precluded them from functioning as headwater slope wetlands. The wetlands that retained indicative hydrologic conditions generally supported moderate to good wetland function and, in some cases, were related to the level of land use change in the watershed. For instance, urban land use was shown to be positively related to non-hydric soil conditions based on measured surface soil color values. A significant relationship was also detected between wetland shrub cover and agricultural/urban land use suggesting these land use changes may increase wetland midstories densities including invasive shrub species.  As part of this talk, we indicate how municipalities may support development that better protects headwater wetlands to ensure important benefits are provided in the future.