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This is an email I got today form Galveston Bay Foundation. I'm not sure anything will change unless we all keep and eye on the dredge operator next fall.
"First, I wanted to thank you and the other West Bay fishermen for your concern and action on the West Bay seagrasses and serving as eyes on the water. It is invaluable.
I have a follow up to our December/January communications about the West Bay seagrasses. Philip Smith, GBF’s Director of Conservation and I met with Seth Jones, Aron Edwards and Brenden Somlinsky of the Corps on Jan. 23rd about GIWW dredge material placement and the impact/response of the seagrasses. Seth is the project manager. They were very responsive, helpful and answered our questions.
As far as the past impacts to seagrasses from the placement of dredged materials, he showed us the Digital Globe imagery that I have attached in both jpeg and PDF formats. Digital Globe provides imagery to government agencies including Department of Defense and for other commercial applications. It is much better than the Google Earth imagery, and being from October as opposed to May, is more recent. That imagery shows that the seagrasses have come back quite back nicely. We, the Corps, the state and federal resource agencies, will certainly keep an eye on things. And you all can continue to help with that.
Going forward, we are optimistic that temporary impacts will be minimized by applying lessons from the last dredging cycle’s placement and by the materials being used beneficially for marsh creation/restoration where possible. An interagency coordination team of state and federal agency experts collaborate with the Corps to find ways to minimize negative impacts and try to find beneficial uses. The Corps is already working with Ducks Unlimited and others to use the materials in locations that are relatively close to the dredged areas. We also talked about the possibility of GBF using some of the material in the upcoming cycle beneficially in our Pierce Marsh complex off of Jones Bay, but that is tough logistically due to the distance and the cost. We are not sure if we can make that happen this upcoming dredging cycle, but we will do our best to work out logistics and find funding.
I also understand that the dredge volume will be lower this coming cycle. The volume the last cycle was much more than normal due to delays in the dredging which allowed more sediment to build up in the channel and thus more having to be placed on and adjacent to the islands. So, there should be a thinner layer placed this year between the reduced volume and beneficial use.
I do understand that the Corps, to keep the channels navigable needs to shore up areas where the islands have been eroded away and that their plan is to restore/place barrier islands that run to the south towards Chocolate Bay. I also understand that, if done right, this placement to the area south actually has the potential to provide the depth that is needed for more seagrasses to grow in this area of West Bay.
So bottom line, we feel encouraged by what we are seeing and grateful for the collaboration between all the parties. To me, the West Bay seagrass issue is a microcosm of Galveston Bay. We are all trying to balance the needs of humans and the environment. If we can continue to communicate, we can minimize negative impacts while we all carrying on with our daily life and commerce."
"First, I wanted to thank you and the other West Bay fishermen for your concern and action on the West Bay seagrasses and serving as eyes on the water. It is invaluable.
I have a follow up to our December/January communications about the West Bay seagrasses. Philip Smith, GBF’s Director of Conservation and I met with Seth Jones, Aron Edwards and Brenden Somlinsky of the Corps on Jan. 23rd about GIWW dredge material placement and the impact/response of the seagrasses. Seth is the project manager. They were very responsive, helpful and answered our questions.
As far as the past impacts to seagrasses from the placement of dredged materials, he showed us the Digital Globe imagery that I have attached in both jpeg and PDF formats. Digital Globe provides imagery to government agencies including Department of Defense and for other commercial applications. It is much better than the Google Earth imagery, and being from October as opposed to May, is more recent. That imagery shows that the seagrasses have come back quite back nicely. We, the Corps, the state and federal resource agencies, will certainly keep an eye on things. And you all can continue to help with that.
Going forward, we are optimistic that temporary impacts will be minimized by applying lessons from the last dredging cycle’s placement and by the materials being used beneficially for marsh creation/restoration where possible. An interagency coordination team of state and federal agency experts collaborate with the Corps to find ways to minimize negative impacts and try to find beneficial uses. The Corps is already working with Ducks Unlimited and others to use the materials in locations that are relatively close to the dredged areas. We also talked about the possibility of GBF using some of the material in the upcoming cycle beneficially in our Pierce Marsh complex off of Jones Bay, but that is tough logistically due to the distance and the cost. We are not sure if we can make that happen this upcoming dredging cycle, but we will do our best to work out logistics and find funding.
I also understand that the dredge volume will be lower this coming cycle. The volume the last cycle was much more than normal due to delays in the dredging which allowed more sediment to build up in the channel and thus more having to be placed on and adjacent to the islands. So, there should be a thinner layer placed this year between the reduced volume and beneficial use.
I do understand that the Corps, to keep the channels navigable needs to shore up areas where the islands have been eroded away and that their plan is to restore/place barrier islands that run to the south towards Chocolate Bay. I also understand that, if done right, this placement to the area south actually has the potential to provide the depth that is needed for more seagrasses to grow in this area of West Bay.
So bottom line, we feel encouraged by what we are seeing and grateful for the collaboration between all the parties. To me, the West Bay seagrass issue is a microcosm of Galveston Bay. We are all trying to balance the needs of humans and the environment. If we can continue to communicate, we can minimize negative impacts while we all carrying on with our daily life and commerce."
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