2009 Coastal Counties Restoration Initiative Grantees

Audubon California of Marin County, Calif. ($85,000): Aramburu Island Enhancement Project

Audubon California will restore a 30-acre tidal marsh and shoreline habitat at Aramburu Island in northern San Francisco Bay. Audubon California and its partners plan to do this by improving the shoreline for marine mammals, native oysters, birds, sea grasses and fish.

The project partners have established a new program for middle and high school students called Audubon Youth Corps, particularly focused on involving students from two underserved communities in Marin County, Marin City and San Rafael. Youth Corps members will assist project staff with removing debris and non-native plants from the island, and with native plant propagation.

Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation of Lee County, Fla. ($70,500): Restoration of Critical Marine Habitats in Coastal Lee County

The Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation will restore two acres of habitat including mangroves, submerged aquatic vegetation and oysters to provide feeding, refuges and nursery areas for a diverse group of native Florida fish and the endangered Florida manatee. Loss of the mangrove shoreline caused by recent hydrological impairments and Hurricane Charley choked a once healthy system.

Project partners will build on mangrove seedlings planted in 2006, which have established an ideal nursery habitat stabilizing shorelines. An educational outreach program in Lee County schools, initiated in 2006, will provide partners with a unique way to educate students about the ecology of the Back Bay Estuary system and the water quality issues impacting Southwest Florida.

Del Norte County, Calif. Community Development ($100,000): Brush Creek Migration Barrier Removal Project

Del Norte County is replacing two culverts on Lake Earl Drive to improve the freshwater habitat quantity and quality for the coho salmon, steelhead and coastal cutthroat trout.

This project will provide unimpeded access to 1.6 miles of quality spawning and rearing habitat surrounded by conifers and hardwoods, numerous pools and riffles, ample areas of spawning gravels and cool water temperatures. Public notices on the project in local newspapers, an interpretive sign at the sites and an educational event on the importance of restoring habitat will inform the local community about this project and the value of these restoration activities.

Upper Skagit Tribes of Skagit County, Wash.($75,000): Hansen Creek Alluvial Fan Project

The Upper Skagit Tribes and Skagit County will provide 140 acres of permanently protected, year-round refuge, forage and migration habitats for local fish species. The restoration site will offer breeding habitat for songbirds, amphibians and spawning salmon as well as important wintering and migration areas to waterfowl and shorebirds.

The large-scale restoration contributes towards Endangered Species Act-listed salmon recovery actions, support watershed water-quality improvements and improve flood control in the region.

Outreach to community partners includes the involvement of volunteers and high school classes in invasive species removal, and education about invasive species to landowners, students and other local stakeholders.   

NY-NJ Baykeeper of Monmouth County, N.J. ($40,000): Keyport Harbor Oyster Reef Restoration Project

The Baykeeper will restore the historical feeding, spawning and growth habitat essential to local species of fish by expanding an existing oyster reef in the Hudson-Raritan Estuary, a site that historically supported these living marine resources.

Volunteers will participate in all aspects of this project: oyster gardening and aquaculture, reef construction and planting, and facility preparation and maintenance. Local watermen are donating their time and boats to help during planting events as well as providing the education about the Hudson-Raritan Estuary that only one who has lived and worked on these waters can know. Volunteers participating in this program include families, school classes, senior groups and scout troops.

St. Lucie County, Fla. ($50,000): Spoil Island Wetland Reconnection and Native Planting Project

St. Lucie County and partners will reconnect a mangrove marsh to the Indian River Lagoon, remove non-native vegetation, replant with native species, construct a boardwalk and reduce health risks associated with an established mosquito breeding site. Wetland reconnection will foster mangrove habitat success, create habitat for marine organisms, and render the area unsuitable for mosquito reproduction. Establishment of native vegetation will protect the wetlands from degradation and encroachment by non-native species.

A public service announcement will be created and featured on St. Lucie County TV to highlight the project’s purpose and benefits. The county also provides public access for wetland and bird observation, and fishing and crabbing at the sites.