Projects
Shaw Tract Tidal Wetland and Seagrass Compensatory Mitigation
The Shaw Tract is managed by John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park on the west shoreline of Largo Sound on the island of Key Largo. The project area consists of approximately 13 acres of mangrove wetlands and shallow water seagrasses that were dredged and filled during the 1950s for private development. The objective of this proposed project is to restore tidal wetlands, primarily mangrove and seagrass habitats, to historic shoreline conditions through the removal of fill and the backfilling of a deep dredged shoreline canal. Keys Restoration Fund is working with the state park and regulatory agencies to further develop this project.
Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park Seagrass Restoration
Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park and Aquatic Preserve is part of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary located in the waters of Florida Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The park encompasses approximately 10,800 acres of shallow water and tidal channels surrounding the islands of Lignumvitae Key, Indian Key, and Shell Key. Our Keys Restoration Fund team worked with the state park and regulatory agencies to install new channel markers, buoys, and signs to better inform boaters of the extensive shallow seagrass banks and to help prevent propeller scarring and boat groundings. In addition, approximately 10,000 sq. ft. of an unvegetated shallow depression on a seagrass bank along Indian Key Channel was filled to restore elevations needed for natural recruitment of seagrasses. Work was completed in 2022. Monitoring the success of these techniques will help land managers better define management activities that can reduce boating impacts to natural resources in the area.
Crane Point Hammock Hydrological Enhancement
The Crane Point Hammock Hydrological Enhancement Project is located at the Crane Point Museum and Nature Center, Marathon, Florida Keys. The site supports a variety of natural features including tropical hardwood hammock, palm hammock, transitional wetlands, mangrove wetlands, and natural sinkholes. Nature trails and boardwalks provide public access to these areas, and programs supported by Crane Point Hammock help educate the public on these habitats and the benefits of habitat restoration. Our Keys Restoration Fund team worked with Crane Point staff and regulatory agencies to implement restoration and enhancement of 10 acres of impaired and dead mangroves in the center of the property. Construction included clearing debris and vegetation from tidal creeks, installing new culverts under roads, and reconnecting mangroves to open water through a new trench drain system. Construction was completed in March 2019.
Education and Outreach
Coastal Resources Group is committed to ongoing educational outreach for the restoration and sustainability of Florida’s coastal environment. We offer a variety of presentations and information to schools, civic groups, and local government. Most recently we participated in the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve’s Science Nite to share information regarding mangrove loss and our restoration plans at Fruit Farm Creek near Marco Island. We talked with a packed audience about public benefits gained by protecting and supporting science-based management for increased resiliency of mangroves and other coastal wetlands in South Florida.
Castillo Bird Nesting Platforms
Coastal Resources Group worked with the National Key Deer Refuge and Audubon of Florida in 2016 to implement the construction of shorebird nesting platforms at the Castillo Pit, Big Pine Key, Florida Keys. The project’s purpose was to provide alternative nesting sites for the federally listed threatened roseate tern (Sterna dougallii) and state listed threatened least tern (Sternula antillarum). Both species have suffered from the loss of nesting habitat in the Keys due to development, disturbance, and recent building practices that favor hardening roof tops in lieu of using gravel. Our team worked with partners and stakeholders for the construction of two 24 feet by 50 feet gravel-top bird nesting platforms placed at a height of 15 feet. The height of the platforms was designed to attract tern species and provide protection from predators such as feral cats, raccoons, and iguanas. This design was unprecedented and provides important information for future artificial nest creation opportunities. Recent monitoring has documented over 100 nests on the platforms.
Fruit Farm Creek Mangrove Restoration
The Fruit Farm Creek Mangrove Restoration Project is located along San Marco Road approximately one mile west of the town of Goodland on Marco Island, Florida. The project site is part of one of the largest mangrove forests in Florida and is managed by the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Since 2010, our team has worked with Rookery Bay NERR, local government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the public to develop plans to restore 64 acres of collapsed mangrove forest and enhance another 159 acres of surrounding stressed mangrove. The first phase of the project was completed in 2012. The remaining phases of work include installing new culvert systems under San Marco Road and clearing blocked tidal creeks of debris south of the road to improve the hydrological connections and restore mangrove habitat. Construction is expected to be completed in 2022.
Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge Island Stabilization
In 1903, Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge in Sebastian, Florida, was the first land in the United States to be set aside by the federal government as a National Wildlife Refuge. Today, the refuge encompasses 5,413 acres of coastal habitat including coastal hammock, mangrove forest, and salt marsh. Pelican Island, located offshore of the mainland refuge, is a mangrove island and a critical wildlife area providing bird nesting habitat for a diversity of Florida bird species. Like many Intracoastal Waterway islands, Pelican Island long suffered from severe erosion problems, resulting in a decrease in size from approximately 5.5 acres in 1943 to 2.2 acres (60% loss) in the 1990s. Coastal Resources Group team members have worked with the refuge since 2004 on four nature-based living shoreline projects to reduce erosion to the island. Our work includes constructing and maintaining an oyster breakwater around the northwest side of the island, planting tidal wetland species to encourage sediment accretion, and restoring critical nesting habitat for birds. Today the island’s shorelines are stable and the island has expanded to 3 acres.