04-17-2013, 11:10 AM
Ruskin, FL - Tampa Bay Watch is recruiting 100 community volunteers to plant 20,000 valuable salt marsh grass plugs to restore the shoreline of Bahia Beach on the morning of Saturday, May 4th. This project is family-friendly and open to all ages. Interested volunteers should register on tampabaywatch.org or call (727) 867-8166 x233.
The Bahia Beach Habitat Restoration project is a Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Mitigation Project managed by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD). This restoration effort is located in the town of Ruskin in Hillsborough County. The 144 acre parcel was purchased by Hillsborough County through its Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program. This planting event will restore estuarine marshes to improve habitat for native fish, invertebrates, birds and mammal species. The enhancement of these estuarine marshes will restore and offset historical losses of wetlands in Tampa Bay.
"The salt marsh planting project at Bahia Beach is part of a large restoration effort for restoring lost coastal marsh habitat," states Martha Gruber, Environmental Scientist who manages the salt marsh program for Tampa Bay Watch. "This project also allows the public an opportunity to take pride and ownership of our local environment."
The planting of Spartina alterniflora, saltmarsh or smooth cord grass protects and stabilizes low lying coastal lands and provides protection and food sources for estuarine and coastal fishery food chains of many species of fish and marine mammals. Salt marsh and other coastal habitat populations have declined more than 80% over the past 100 years -- due mostly to the dredging, construction and waste water discharges. This loss has damaged a crucial link in the bay's food chain for fish and wildlife resources, significantly impacting the bay's fisheries. Please visit www.TampaBayWatch.org and www.WaterMatters.org for more information on this collaborative project.
Tampa Bay Watch is a nonprofit 501 ©(3) stewardship program dedicated exclusively to the charitable and scientific purpose of protecting and restoring the marine and wetland environments of the Tampa Bay estuary encompassing over 400 square miles of open water and 2,300 square miles of highly- developed watershed. Tampa Bay Watch involves more than 10,000 youth and adult volunteers each year in hands on habitat restoration projects. For more information, visit www.tampabaywatch.org, or call 727-867-8166.
The Bahia Beach Habitat Restoration project is a Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Mitigation Project managed by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD). This restoration effort is located in the town of Ruskin in Hillsborough County. The 144 acre parcel was purchased by Hillsborough County through its Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program. This planting event will restore estuarine marshes to improve habitat for native fish, invertebrates, birds and mammal species. The enhancement of these estuarine marshes will restore and offset historical losses of wetlands in Tampa Bay.
"The salt marsh planting project at Bahia Beach is part of a large restoration effort for restoring lost coastal marsh habitat," states Martha Gruber, Environmental Scientist who manages the salt marsh program for Tampa Bay Watch. "This project also allows the public an opportunity to take pride and ownership of our local environment."
The planting of Spartina alterniflora, saltmarsh or smooth cord grass protects and stabilizes low lying coastal lands and provides protection and food sources for estuarine and coastal fishery food chains of many species of fish and marine mammals. Salt marsh and other coastal habitat populations have declined more than 80% over the past 100 years -- due mostly to the dredging, construction and waste water discharges. This loss has damaged a crucial link in the bay's food chain for fish and wildlife resources, significantly impacting the bay's fisheries. Please visit www.TampaBayWatch.org and www.WaterMatters.org for more information on this collaborative project.
Tampa Bay Watch is a nonprofit 501 ©(3) stewardship program dedicated exclusively to the charitable and scientific purpose of protecting and restoring the marine and wetland environments of the Tampa Bay estuary encompassing over 400 square miles of open water and 2,300 square miles of highly- developed watershed. Tampa Bay Watch involves more than 10,000 youth and adult volunteers each year in hands on habitat restoration projects. For more information, visit www.tampabaywatch.org, or call 727-867-8166.