NATIONAL
ESTUARY
PROGRAM
WETLAND ENHANCEMENT
Matagorda Island National Wildlife Refuge, which includes a section of the barrier islands that run from Galveston to Brownsville, consists of more than
56,000 acres along 38 miles of the Texas coast. Habitat types within the refuge include tidal marshes, wetlands, grassland, sand dunes, and beaches that
provide essential refuge and breeding ground for thousands of migratory birds and native wildlife, including the endangered whooping crane, one of the
rarest colonial birds in North America.
Unfortunately, an estimated 15,000 acres of marsh habitat on Matagorda Island suffer from degradation after landowners sectioned off large portions of the marsh many years
ago to install levees and pumps to dewater the area for cattle grazing, build roads, and install a variety of artificial barriers, ditches, and control structures.
Eventually Matagorda's bay system began to function less and less like a natural estuary, adversely affecting the habitat of crabs, shrimp, insects, and other natural resources that
whooping cranes—still struggling to repopulate—and other estuarine species need to thrive. Land managers with good intent tried to help by installing numerous culverts
throughout the marsh during the 1970s but they were ill planned and poorly constructed. Most had failed within a short period, resulting in the area reverting to its current state
of poor natural water flow and circulation patterns, marsh habitat, wildlife abundance and diversity, and water quality.
THE NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM INACTION Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program
Working with the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, a private engi-
neering firm, and the Refuge,
Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries
Program (CBBEP) is implement-
ing an ambitious, multi-year
Whooping Crane Recovery Plan
to restore circulation and bring
back functional wetland habitat
to the island.
After assessing the island and
identifying and prioritizing areas
for levee removal and culvert in-
stallation, CBBEP examined aer-
ial photos dating back to the
1930s, before the levees were
built, to determine what had
been filled and altered. CBBEP
identified control structures
at approximately 30 locations
throughout the site that existed
in varied states of function, fail-
ure, and maintenance. These
sites showed signs of scouring,
erosion, and sediment deposi-
tion, providing evidence that the
culverts did not facilitate natural
flow rates. Approaching the proj-
ect from the waterside and look-
ing inland, they also discovered
some separation of sections of
marsh between which water
used to flow freely, and decided
to prioritize those areas first.
During CBBEP's first call for a
restoration master plan proposal,
engineers suggested a need to
collect vast amounts of field data
in an attempt to characterize the
entire site and base restoration
actions on that information. The
scope of services was expensive
— nearly $90,000 just for data
collection — and did not include
any data analysis, action item
recommendations, engineering
design, or follow-up monitoring.
This was a concern, as CBBEP
knew that when working in such
a large system, changes made in
one area would affect other ar-
eas and much of the initial data
would be of little use.
CBBEP decided that an adaptive
management plan (AMP) would
be critical to their success and
EFFECTIVE
EFFICIENT
ADAPTIVE
COLLABORATIVE
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would also save them time, ef-
fort, and cost. Taking a learn-as-
you-go approach would also al-
low for better understanding of
the physical and ecological pro-
cesses and more informed deci-
sion-making. The team conduct-
ed investigations to prioritize
locations that needed improve-
ment, based on data collected at
each "bottleneck" location — a
process that has ensured sug-
gestions are always based on
current field data.
With the first phase of the AMP
finalized, construction is well
underway. The CBBEP is provid-
ing all of the technical support,
meeting with the engineers and
landowners, and giving guidance
on the best way to approach the
construction activity. Refuge
staff and contracted labor are
carrying out the plans, which,
among other activities, include
installing solid culverts designed
to last. Using rock to stabilize the
levy right at the culverts will
avoid undercutting—something
that was not addressed previ-
ously—and all the soil they re-
move during assembly is stabi-
lized with a cement mixture of
clay and rock before it is put
back.
CBBEP and its partners have
completed some sections of the
marsh with new culvert installa-
tions and set up some water
monitoring stations to determine
the water flow. The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service is collecting data
from monthly surveys and map-
pings of the whooping cranes
during the winter season, which
will provide an index of crane
use in the area so the CBBEP can
better assess restoration efforts.
Working from the AMP has cut
costs measurably, from the orig-
inal proposed budget of $90,000
(which included data collection
only) during the first phase to
$60,000 (including fieldwork,
prioritization of action item loca-
tions, and restoration recom-
mendations). Depending on how
much work the Refuge is able to
complete in-house, CBBEP esti-
mates each phase of monitoring,
analysis, and new recommenda-
tions for actions will cost be-
tween $10,000 and $30,000.
CBBEP and Aransas National
Wildlife Refuge are currently im-
plementing the second phase of
improvements recommended by
the Adaptive Management Plan.
When complete, the first two
phases will have addressed
seven action item locations
throughout the marsh, restoring
almost 2,000 acres of impacted
wetland.
In addition to the Whooping Crane
Recovery Plan, the AMP will play
a major role in maintaining diver-
sity in the coastal barrier island
community, enhancing objectives
and strategies using new ideas
and techniques to achieve the
overall habitat goals of improving
and restoring the western marsh
on Matagorda Island. The AMP
will also serve as a step-down
plan of the overall Comprehen-
sive Conservation Management
Plan for the Aransas National
Wildlife Refuge Complex.
Visit www.cbbep.org to learn
more about this and other
CBBEP efforts.
EPA's National Estuary Program
(NEP) is a unique and successful
coastal watershed-based program
established in 1987 under the
Clean Water Act Amendments.
The NEP involves the public and
collaborates with partners to pro-
tect, restore, and maintain the wa-
ter quality and ecological integrity
of 28 estuaries of national signifi-
cance located in 18 coastal states
and Puerto Rico.
For more information about the
NEP go to www.epa.gov/owow/
estuaries.
The NEP: Implementing the Clean Water Act in ways that are Effective, Efficient, Adaptive, and Collaborative.
EPA-842F09001
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