NATIONAL
ESTUARY
PROGRAM
HABITAT RESTORATION
The Port Aransas Nature Preserve, located along the western portion of Port Aransas, Texas, bordering the Corpus Christ! Ship Channel, features a diverse
collection of habitats including freshwater and brackish marshes, estuarine areas, and wind tidal flats. Unfortunately, prior to a recent shoreline protection
project, the preserve suffered from severe erosion, resulting in as much as 17 feet of shoreline retreat per year, according to reports commissioned by the
Texas General Land Office (GLO).
If shoreline erosion were to continue at this pace, a breach of the uplands would quickly result in the permanent alteration of hundreds of acres of wetlands, destroying essential
habitat for numerous species of finfish, shellfish, migratory and shore birds, wading birds, waterfowl, and four species of sea turtles. Further destruction would also threaten
coastal and nature tourism—a crucial element of the community's economy.
THE NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM IN ACTION Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program
To ensure the long-term protec-
tion of the area, the Coastal Bend
Bays & Estuaries Program
(CBBEP) forged a partnership to
take action. Together, the group
pooled funds and expertise to
launch a $6.35 million effort to
protect more than 1,000 acres of
wetlands.
To start, $2.9 million was issued
to the CBBEP by the National
Oceanic & Atmospheric Adminis-
tration (NOAA), which was used
to leverage additional funding
from the Texas General Land Of-
fice's Coastal Erosion Planning
and Response Act. The GLO
matched the NOAA funding with
$2 million and management as-
sistance.
With $4.9 million in hand, an
engineering firm developed a
feasibility, assessment and
design plan, but the project as
proposed would require an ad-
ditional $1.5 million. They turned
to the city of Port Aransas, which
had already initiated its own
project to preserve the eroding
shoreline. The city provided
$250,000 for this effort. The Air-
port and Channel Corporation
also got involved with a $1.2
million contribution. The corpo-
EFFECTIVE
EFFICIENT
ADAPTIVE
COLLABORATIVE
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ration's members, which include
many property owners near this
shoreline, have a vested interest
in preventing shoreline erosion
and keeping a public waterway
to the ship channel from silting
in. The collaboration between
the CBBEP and its partners re-
sulted in a cost-effective, effi-
cient and ecologically sound
plan. The plan called for installa-
tion of rocky barriers to preserve
the shoreline and provide hous-
ing structures for marine organ-
isms and places for algae and
other food sources to grow.
The project also includes the in-
stallation of carefully selected
erosion-control structures adja-
cent to the Corpus Christ! Ship
Channel near Piper Channel. En-
gineers built two 800-foot jetties
of rock and steel sheet pile at
the mouth of Piper Channel and
a 6,000-foot rock revetment
along the shoreline. The revet-
ment has low areas to maintain
natural water flow to the wet-
lands in the nature preserve.
This unique project completed in
June 2008 demonstrates how
successful NEP efforts can be
when local, state, and Federal
organizations collaborate to
achieve a common goal.
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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