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Gulf Guardian Award Winners 2007
Partnership Category - 1st Place
| Company: | Galveston Bay Estuary Program |  Click on the picture to view a larger size. |
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| Project Name: | East Bay Wetland and Water Quality Protection Project | ||
| Location: | Houston, Texas |
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| Category: | Partnerships |
In Spring 2006, project partners placed 17,000 feet of erosion control structures to protect and restore 7984 acres of diverse coastal habitats along the East Bay shoreline at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), one of the most pristine areas in the Galveston Bay system, from several erosion and saltwater intrusion. Local citizens, students, and Boy Scouts planted cordgrass to restore marshes behind the erosion control structures. Partners included Gulf of Mexico Program, USFWS ANWR and Texas Coastal Program, Galveston Bay Foundation, EPA, NRG Texas LLC, National Fish and Wildlife Federation, Shell Oil, NOAA, Restore America’s Estuaries, Galveston Bay Estuary Program, USDA/NRCS and TCEQ. Eighty two local citizens, students and Boy Scouts planted smooth cordgrass at Marsh Maniaevents in 2006 and 2007 in an effort to involve and educate and educates participants on the functions and values of wetlands. 16,802 feet of concrete erosion control structures, and 200 feet of reef domes were placed, totaling 17,002 feet of shoreline protection. Project partners monitor and compare the effectiveness of the rip-rap and reef ball shoreline protection techniques. The breakwaters protected 400 acres of intertidal marsh, and subsequently protected 301 acres of brackish marsh, 5,675 acres of intermediate marsh, and 1,601 acres of salty prairie from saltwater intrusion and habitat degradation. Eighty two volunteers planted smooth cordgrass behind 1,500 linear feet of the breakwater to restore 7 acres of intertidal marsh. As of summer 2007, marsh continues to rapidly accrete behind the breakwater structures, and in some areas has actually extended beyond them.
