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Built a Quarter Mile of Oyster Reef in Mobile, Alabama

Kicking off the first event with chilly, overcast conditions on January 22^nd and 23^rd, over 500 volunteers from Alabama and across the country came together in Mobile bay to foster the beginnings of oyster reefs. 16,000 bags of oyster shells were carefully dispersed along the shore with the goal of building 100 new miles of oyster reefs and 1000 miles of replanted marshlands along the Gulf in Alabama to make Alabama’s coastal areas more resilient to impacts from hurricanes, oil spill accidents, and climate change. The work was the result of a collaboration of more than 20 public and private partners including National Wildlife Federation, Nature Conservancy and NOAA.

Restored Native Ground Cover at Bald Point State Park

Next, volunteers gathered at Bald Point State Park on Florida’s Gulf Coast.  Park Ranger Kevin Patton introduced us to our work site for the next two days and we successfully worked in teams and planted 5,000 wiregrass plugs and disperse a dozen bags of seed. Bald Eagles and other migrating raptors, along with monarch butterflies use this area to rest before continuing south for the winter.  It is imperative to keep these lands healthy. Additionally, the Florida Wildlife Federation gathered signatures to petition for a constitutional amendment to prohibit oil and gas drilling in Florida’s near-shore waters.

Restored Dunes to Protect Nesting Wildlife at Perdido Key State Park

Next up, dune restoration in Perdido Key, Florida!  Joined by over 75 volunteers including the US Navy and Air Force at Pensacola, combed the beach to protect the critical habitat of residential and migratory nesting wildlife such as turtles and birds!  As the oil washed up on miles of beaches along the Gulf Coast, Perdido Key, home of the endangered Beach Mouse felt heavy impacts. Volunteers worked as temperatures reached the high 80s to rebuild and protect an important dune boundary to help native grasses and habitat for nesting shore birds, turtles, and the native beach mouse.

Conserved Acres of Beach and Recreation Trails

On March 25^th our next event was about 2 hours East of Perdido Key at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. University of California at Berkley students dedicated their spring break time away from examinations and study sessions to engage in hands on restoration work on some of the most beautiful beaches in the country. Joined by South Walton Community locals, we were able to accomplish clearing and marking 6 hiking trails, installing signs and effectively roping off over 3 miles of beach to protect the dunes and wildlife who nest there, and remove invasive exotic plant species to allow for native pitcher plant growth.

Restored the Marshes of Mississippi

Over 30 volunteers worked in Ansley Marsh which borders the Gulf and is a haven for migratory birds and many alligators.  Volunteers toiled in the sun with many insect friends to remove debris from Hurricane Katrina, plant marsh grasses and work on the removal of the very invasive Chinese tallow tree (popcorn tree).  The marsh is part of the gateway system protecting the open waters of the gulf from the shoreline homes of MS coastal communities.

Rebuilt Marsh in Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge

Last stop – West to Louisiana!  Tasked with planting over 20,000 grasses over two events (four days), National Wildlife Federation partnered with US Fish and Wildlife Service and  the Louisiana Wildlife Federation to make this goal a reality.  Just outside of New Orleans, Volunteers traveled to Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge to plant marsh grasses to restore lost habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife species.  This event almost fell exactly on the one year mark of the Gulf oil disaster. Ben Weber, NWF’s Oil Spill Response Coordinator for the Western Gulf said “Heightened public awareness, volunteer enthusiasm and support from NWF members is making a big impact.” On April 15^th and 16^th and over Memorial Day weekend, volunteers worked in high water levels on uneven muck and mud to space plants across the water five feet apart.  Mary Swantek who traveled with a group of 15 volunteers weighed in on her experience, “Working in the marsh just outside of New Orleans was a once in a life time experience.  We not only took an air boat ride to get to the work site but were surrounded by all kinds of wildlife, it was absolutely beautiful.  Crawling in 4 to 6 inches of water and planting marsh grasses was a bit intimidating at first but with adrenaline running high we were all there for one reason… to protect these lands and protect wildlife!” Margaret Mead once said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.   Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” Having had the opportunity to organize and travel to work hands on at several of these events, this quote takes on a new meaning for me.  The level of commitment, enthusiasm, and dedication to wildlife and wild spaces from volunteers who traveled near and far to work with National Wildlife Federation is astounding.  It is indisputable that our hard work from Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, to Florida made a difference to local habitat and wildlife.

UPDATE: On June 25, 50 volunteers planted 1,600 black mangroves in Grand Isle, LA as part of the the Gulf Coast recovery effort.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson Attended the First Meeting of the Gulf Restoration Task Force

The November 8 meeting of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force — created under an October 4 Presidential Executive Order to help the Gulf region address both damage from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the region’s longer term ecological decline — left me with two major impressions.

First, the people involved get the urgency of post-oil spill ecosystem restoration.  The Task Force had a chair (EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson), an Executive Director (former EPA Regional Administrator John Hankinson) and all of its members (including a Governor-recommended representative from the five Gulf States), and was holding its first public meeting in Pensacola, Florida a mere 35 days after the executive order was issued.

By government standards, that’s fast work.  And no wonder.  The Task Force has less than 11 months to propose a Gulf of Mexico Regional Ecosystem Restoration Strategy that includes a restoration agenda and how to implement it.

Second, the people of the Gulf region are paying attention and want to be involved.

With less than two weeks notice, more than 300 people showed up, representing businesses, community groups, NGO’s, local governments, state agencies and assorted others – all anxious to hear how the federal government can help a storm- and spill-battered region get back on its feet.

At stake, of course, could be the disposition of billions in fines and penalties that BP will inevitably pay as a result of the spill. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus recommended that a “substantial amount” of fines and penalties be dedicated to restoration, rather than be deposited in the Treasury or the Oil Spill Trust Fund.  This dedication may take Congressional action, but the Task Force recommendations are expected to shape both the “what” and the “how” of that restoration agenda.  So yes, it was standing room only.

All that said, it was a fairly ceremonial meeting.  Administrator Jackson opened with a passionate statement of her commitment to the health and vitality of the Gulf Region.  Federal agency members solemnly affirmed their commitments to conservation and restoration as well as to cooperation and coordination.  State actors gently laid down their markers—Florida wants to restore confidence in tourism and seafood; Alabama, with its tiny coastline, is more concerned about economic recovery than environmental restoration; Louisiana reminded everyone of its pre-spill problem of massive coastal land loss.  Then we all went to lunch.

Upon our return we organized into breakout sessions offering suggestions about how the Task Force should solicit input, communicate its findings and about what constitutes the substance of restoration.

Despite its 30,000-foot elevation, I think the meeting sent a good message.

There is broad consensus that the ecological and economic health of the Gulf region are intertwined, that the region contributes significantly to the national economy, and that the whole country has reason to invest in its recovery.

As Administrator Jackson said in her opening remarks, “This summer, during the spill, for a number of weeks, we lost the Gulf coast.  It made us all realize how valuable it is.”  Now it’s time to make sure we don’t lose it for good.

For more information about the Gulf Restoration Task Force meeting, you can read this article from the Times-Picayune or this recap from the Pensacola News-Journal.