2003 Coastal America Partnership Awards | Special Recognition Award | 2003 Coastal America Spirit Awards | Awards from previous years

2003 Coastal America Partnership Awards

NERIT

OSV Anderson Partnership

In 2002 the OSV Anderson partnership ran four cruises, including two CWRP-sponsored trips. The OSV Anderson partnership is educating and involving the public, in order to garner the necessary support to protect and restore our valuable coastal resources. The backbone of the partnership is the EPA, as each year they make the OSV Anderson and a coordinator available to run educational trips with Coastal America and its partners. The marine education trips aboard the OSV Anderson provide a unique opportunity for students and teachers to get out on the water, conduct professional-level research, get their "hands dirty" in their local coastal habitats, and learn first-hand about the science and protection/restoration that is being conducted daily by Federal, state, and local entities. More than two dozen Coastal America experts participated in the 2002 trips, reaching more than 100 students and teachers as well as 100 citizens who came for a dockside "open house."

Smelt Hill Dam Removal Project

This dam removal project is the largest in a series of proactive dam removals in New England. This is a good example of how identifying ecological priorities to the Coastal America Team allows the projects to be best matched to appropriate federal programs for implementation. Removal of the dam will open up about seven miles of the lower Presumpscot watershed for passage of numerous species of migratory fish. Removal of this dam is another in a series of river restorations throughout the nation that is steadily improving the health of our coastal waters. The Coastal America NERIT process allows a priority to be placed on particular projects, such as this one, to gain the most ecological benefits to the nation, as well as providing "one stop shopping" for federal resources.

MARIT

Partners to Revitalize Glen Cove's Waterfront

Starting in 1995, the Partners to Revitalize Glen Cove's Waterfront have used a process consisting of two components: an area-wide approach to brownfields redevelopment planning, resulting in the Glen Cove Waterfront Revitalization Plan, combined with five "Commitments to Action" workshops involving the public and private sectors. As a result, Glen Cove has leveraged close to $40 million in public and private investment that is dramatically transforming a once blighted 213-acre area containing multiple brownfield sites and two waterfront miles back to productive use through environmental, economic, infrastructure, and recreational improvements. Based in part on Glen Cove's success, the New York State legislature is considering a brownfields reform bill that would provide funding opportunities to communities to address a range of problems posed by multiple brownfield sites and to establish the multi-agency partnerships necessary to leverage assistance to return areas back to productive use and restore environmental quality.

Poplar Island Environmental Restoration

The Poplar Island Environmental Restoration project is designed to reconstruct the island to its approximately size in 1847 using clean dredged material from the Chesapeake Bay approach channel of the Baltimore Harbor and Channels Federal Navigation project. Island restoration would create 1,140 acres of wildlife habitat by placing, shaping and planting approximately 38 million cubic yards of clean dredged material. The habitat created would include approximately 570 acres each of intertidal wetland and upland habitat. The construction of the Phase I perimeter dikes (640 acres) was completed in March 2000. The Phase II dikes (500 acres) were completed in February 2002. The first inflow of dredged material from the Brewerton Channel Eastern Extension was completed in 2001 and the second inflow in 2002. Four acres of SAV, wetlands and uplands were planted with a variety of native species of trees, shrubs and grasses.

SERIT

US Virgin Islands Marine Park Advisory Committee

As early as 1960 the Department of the Interior made recommendations to designate the East End of St. Croix as a Nature Preserve. The strategy to initiate a collaborative process among key agencies, guided by an advisory committee, was critical to the effort to enact new legislation for the protection of the resources in the Marine Park. Legislation to establish the St. Croix East End Marine Park, St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands was approved in January 2003. The St. Croix East End Marine Park, which is home to a magnificent barrier reef, patch reefs, colorful coral heads, a vast array of fish, sponges, endangered turtles, and one of the island's few remaining mangrove systems, utilizes a zoning strategy to allow for multiple uses within the boundaries of the Park while minimizing conflicting uses.

GMRIT

Cameron Parish – Brackish Marsh Creation Project

Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) has been planning improvements of hurricane evacuation routes in southern Louisiana and southern Cameron Parish for over ten years. In seeking to mitigate the minor to moderate wetlands impacts involved in this project, LADOTD identified the opportunity to use transportation impact mitigation to begin to enhance the sustainability of the surrounding salt marshes. Ducks Unlimited technical staff recommended the Duck-Wing design of the plowed terraces. This technique involves installing the terraces in a "V"-shape, so that no matter the wind direction the terrace provides dampening of wind and wave action, upwind of the terrace, thus providing a greater, more frequent calming effect in the open water areas upwind of the terraces. The total project, with multiple partners, has already protected over 3,226 acres of open water marsh lands, using 26 miles of plowed terraces, and protecting on the inland side more than 20 miles of salt marsh shoreline.

Project GreenShores

Project GreenShores came to life through the work of the Ecosystem Restoration Support Organization, Inc. (ERSO) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's (FDEP) Ecosystem Restoration Section. Project GreenShores is located in a large shallow area in the north part of Pensacola Bay and after years of human impacts such as dredging, the emptying of storm water drains, contamination and erosion eventually degraded this bay ecosystem until it could no longer sustain any type of wildlife. The EPA had even pronounced this site a "Dead Bay". FDEP and ERSO envisioned a multi-phase restoration plan that could be designed to address water quality issues, lack of critical habitat, and simultaneously promote community education and awareness. Restoration efforts began by creating nearshore oyster reefs, sea grass beds and saltmarsh habitat. The area closest to shore was regraded to an intertidal elevation to allow for the planting of 12 acres of native sea grass and saltmarsh vegetation. The accomplishments of the restoration component of this project have been amazing, but the community awareness, education and stewardship components that have benefited the surrounding community have become an equally important achievement.

NWRIT

Removal of Derelict Fishing Gear from Northern Puget Sound

Puget Sound has accumulated a century's abandoned and lost fishing gear [sunken nets and traps], which kills marine life unabated. In 2002, during the first-year pilot project, such "derelict" fishing gear was surveyed, located, photographed, mapped and removed from the marine environment of Northern Puget Sound. Operational guidelines and safety protocols were developed, tested and adopted; a cadre of licensed and certified divers became experienced at actual gear removals; and additional knowledge was gained about the level of substrate -and biotic- damage inflicted by gear in temperate waters. Community outreach was begun through implementation of a media campaign, and a reporting hotline was established. This organized, successful location and recovery effort was the first ever undertaken in the rich waters and marine habitats of Puget Sound, and the team plans to continue and enlarge its scope.

PIRIT

Alien Limu

Five alien species introduced to the Hawaiian Islands during the last 30-50 years have become invasive and now directly threaten Hawaii's coral reef ecosystems. University of Hawai'i scientists during the past three years researched the scale and potential mitigation measures for the problem through field surveys and studies of alien algal growth, reproduction, physiological tolerances, herbivore preferences, removal methods, and algal re-growth potential. Working with community groups, the Alien Limu Group is conducting on-going alien algae clean-ups at the Waikïkï Marine Life Conservation District reef fronting the Waikïkï Aquarium. In the four alien algae clean-ups at the Waikïkï MLCD to date, over 17 tons of alien algae biomass were removed from the reef and recycled. In addition to developing and implementing management protocols, community and political awareness has been increased via coverage by newspapers, TV news, educational, NGO and federal institution newsletters.

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Special Recognition Award

The Trustees of Reservations

This award gives special recognition to The Trustees of Reservations (The Trustees) for their leadership role in restoring salt marsh on their property at World's End Reservation in Hingham (known historically as Damde Meddowes), Massachusetts and at other Trustees properties. The World's End Salt Marsh Restoration Project sponsored by The Trustees has been nominated for a Coastal America 2003 Partnership Award. The Trustees has been conserving the best of the Massachusetts landscape since 1891, making it one of the nation's oldest conservation organizations. The Trustees is a nonprofit organization funded entirely by visitors, supporters, and more than 35,000 members. From the Berkshire mountains to the beaches of Cape Cod and the Islands, The Trustees has worked to protect more than 48,000 acres of land across Massachusetts including extensive salt marshes on more than a dozen coastal properties. The Trustees has been actively involved in coastal marsh restoration since the Massachusetts Wetlands Restoration Program (MWRP) was first established in the mid-1990s.

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2003 Coastal America Spirit Awards

NERIT

Damde Meddowes Salt Marsh Restoration Team

Damde Meddowes is located at The Trustees of Reservations' World's End Reservation in Hingham. In addition to the restoration of a functioning tidal salt marsh, the project had to respect the integrity of the interior dike, protect the portions of the outer dike, protect the scenic quality of the area and minimize the impact on visitor use of this very popular place. Perhaps the most significant achievement was forging the diverse partnership that supported this project to its completion. Restoring 18 acres of salt marsh and preserving the cultural integrity of the site while reversing a tidal restriction that had been placed 350 years prior were significant achievements. The Damde Meddowes Restoration project provides The Trustees of Reservations with an exciting opportunity to involve students of all ages to learn more about salt marsh ecosystems.

SERIT

IGFA-AmeriCorps Mitigation Project for Birch State Park

Birch State Park is located on the Atlantic Ocean and is the only remaining coastal hammock in Broward County. This project has helped renew the native flora and fauna, and eliminated invasive exotic plants. Over 400 native trees, understory plants, and grasses were placed in a three-acre live oak in the park. This project will enable native vegetation to re-colonize areas of the park that will be used for passive and recreational purposes. In addition, these areas will provide sites for naturalist led discussions about the flora and fauna found both historically and currently in the area. A byproduct of this project was a better understanding of the South Florida environment by the AmeriCorps workers.

GMRIT

Alabama Coastal Foundation Cypress Tree Planting

The Habitat Restoration Committee of the Alabama Coastal Foundation is responsible for the creation of conservation projects to enhance, restore, and preserve our area's environmentally sensitive estuarine and coastal habitats. The Foundation held the 3rd Annual Cypress Tree Planting Project on Saturday, February 1, 2003. Over 125 volunteers showed up to plant over 3750 trees throughout Alabama's coastal area. The steering committee evaluated the program effectiveness of years 1 and 2 and acknowledged the need for more community ownership in the planting areas. In project follow up, their public works staff are tending to the trees and keeping a watchful eye on their growth.

Baytown Nature Center

The City of Baytown and its partners took a condemned neighborhood, which had been plagued with flooding, and restored it to its natural wetlands habitat. Mitigation projects, grants, donations, volunteers and even a local sales tax have made the Baytown Nature Center a reality. To date, the City of Baytown and the members of the Baytown Nature Center Management Team have generated more than $4 million for the Baytown Nature Center, which officially opened in 1991. Four freshwater ponds were created, and 60 acres of marsh were planted. Several additional marsh-planting projects have been completed, for a grand total of approximately 80 acres. This project restored a 450-acre area to its natural wetland state, thus providing critical habitat for innumerable species. The City of Baytown, through its Eddie V. Gray Wetlands Center, has two outstanding educational programs that regularly utilize the Baytown Nature Center.

NWRIT

Karnowsky Creek Stream Restoration Program

Karnowsky Creekflows into the Siuslaw River Estuary, just nine miles from the Pacific Ocean on the Central Oregon Coast. Using the student proposal, a partnership of Forest Service, Siuslaw Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) and the Siuslaw Watershed Council (SWC) applied for and received grants totaling $350,000 to restore over two miles of stream channel and its adjacent wetlands, floodplains and tidally influenced areas. Work in Karnowsky Valley includes reconstructing over two miles of meandering stream channel with pools and riffles, constructing off-channel fish rearing ponds, installing wood complexes in the new channel for fish habitat and planting riparian vegetation throughout the project area. The student design team worked so well, the Forest Service wants to employ the same concept on its next large scale stream restoration. Coho, chum and cutthroat fish species will benefit significantly not to mention amphibians and waterfowl as the water table comes back and wetlands are restored.

AKRIT

Protecting Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitat on the Last Frontier

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Alaska Coastal Program is partnering with Alaska's four coastal land trusts in support of their efforts to collaborate with willing landowners to conserve important wildlife habitat in coastal Alaska. These land trusts work with willing public and private partners who wish to voluntarily conserve important natural ecosystems, open space near cities and towns, signature landscapes, and waters essential to a sustainable way of life and economic health. The outreach provided and the nationally competitive grants received for projects developed through this public-private partnership are allowing landowners to achieve their goals of protecting more than 2,000 acres of land for their families and for a diversity of coastal-dependent wildlife species. Among these projects is the protection of urban Anchorage's Fish Creek Estuary and Juneau's Herbert River Wetlands, both of which provide invaluable wildlife habitat and receive wide recreational use.

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