Galveston Island State Park: Coastal Wetland Restoration
Located on a coastal barrier island on the south shore of West Bay, Galveston
Island State Park’s intertidal marshes, submerged aquatic beds, salt flats and
high marshes provide sanctuary for migratory 
and resident waterbirds and other
biologically and economically important marine species. The Park's marshes have been disappearing. In 1994, when an offshore oyster reef began to break up
due to long-term decline in the health of the Bay, hundreds of acres of Park
wetlands lost their protective armor, and increased wave action caused wetland
loss to escalate rapidly. Between 1970 and 1995, biologists documented that 434
acres of salt marsh -- about half of the Park’s original wetland acreage --
had been lost.
In order to tackle the daunting problem of wetland loss at the Park, a coalition of concerned partners pooled their knowledge and experience to develop a restoration plan. Next, partners wrote grants and raised funds, provided logistical support and hired contractors to engineer and implement the project, and agreed to conduct monitoring.
A Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and
Restoration Act grant, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
directed to Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. provided $1.46 of the $2.16 million
needed to
complete the restoration work, along with funds from an oil spill settlement,
the USFWS Texas Coastal Program, and the Galveston Bay National Estuary Program.
The project consisted of the installation of 13,500 feet of geotextile tubes in
open water offshore from the Park to protect two lagoons totaling 740 acres and
simulate the oyster reefs that historically protected the Park’s marshes
from heavy surf. To restore emergent wetlands long, narrow terraces were
constructed in a section of shallow open water between the geotubes and the
shore -- in the region where original marshes had been lost. Terraces were
constructed in 100 foot, 200 foot and 400 foot square patterns. These terraces
were planted with smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) contributed by
Reliant Energy’s Natural Resource Center.
Biologists expect that the geotextile tubes will
minimize erosion in the 740-acre lagoons and improve water
clarity, permitting the establishment of seagrass meadows. Marsh terraces are
expected to be fully vegetation in two years. Partners project that the
biological
productivity of the marsh will be greatly enhanced, and a diverse array of
estuarine fish and wildlife will re-populate the restored emergent and subtidal
wetlands.
This restoration project illustrates how groups are
working together to address the serious and widespread problem of wetland loss
in Galveston 
Bay. The specific restoration techniques applied here have been piloted in
Holland and Louisiana, but they are new to Texas. In another section of the
lagoon at the Park, and at nearby Jumbile Cove, where substantial wetland loss
has also occurred, partners are planning another wetland restoration
project in which dredge material will deposited in circular disposal mounds
behind a protective barrier. Specific techniques will be different than those
already applied at the Park, so by monitoring and comparing results at these
three nearby restoration sites, partners hope to refine future wetland
restoration efforts. By pooling our expertise and funding, and by collaborating,
conservation-minded groups and individuals are restoring and protecting the
tremendous economic, recreational and biological values of Galveston Bay.