San Jacinto Marsh:
Emergent Marsh Restoration
The San Jacinto Marsh, important for its biological and historical values, is
a 300-acre tidal wetland 
located in San Jacinto Battleground State Historical
Park. The marsh provided biological benefits for coastal fish and wildlife, and
it also played a pivotal role in determining the outcome of the Texas revolution
in 1836. However, due to rapid subsidence and erosion in the 1970's and 1980's,
much of the San Jacinto marsh was lost and converted to open water. Loss of the
marsh negatively impacted the biological diversity and productivity of the
marsh, and also made it difficult to interpret the historical battle at San
Jacinto to park visitors.
Beginning in 1993, groups interested in restoring
the San Jacinto Marsh, began working together. Texas Parks and Wildlife Deptartment,
San Jacinto Museum of History Association, USFWS Texas Coastal Program, Army
Corps of Engineers and the Gulf of Mexico Program developed a restoration plan,
applied for appropriate permits, and raised funds to complete the first phase of
the restoration project. In late 1997, marsh restoration work began. First,
levees lining the Ship Canal were repaired and reinforced to minimize the
potential for a catastrophic levee failure that would have made marsh
restoration impossible. Next, material dredged from the Houston Ship Canal to
maintain navigation was broadcast as a wet slurry into 40 acres of the original
San Jacinto Marsh. Dredge
material was deposited in the submerged marsh until the land was raised to an
elevation that would support wetland vegetation. Once the slurry dried and
stabilized, seeds of emergent wetland plants were broadcast over the site.
Today, the site has been re-established as coastal marsh. When additional
maintenance dredging is scheduled, 150 additional acres of marsh will be
restored at San Jacinto. The benefits of this pubic-private restoration
partnership -- for environmental and historical values -- demonstrates that
pooling resources and sharing expertise is key to completing successful habitat
restoration projects and protecting our natural and cultural heritage along the
Texas coast.
Another
goal of this project is the Interpretation, Public Program and Education Phase
of the San Jacinto Battleground State Park's Marsh Restoration Project, which
will provide the opportunity for the park's one million annual visitors to
experience high and low marsh, coastal prairie, and flood plain forest.
Visitors can now engage in an educational experience as they venture along a
1,500 foot trail through these habitats. Decks in the marsh and forest
will provide vantage points for wildlife watching, as well as student and adult
educational programs. The trail will include kiosk exhibits and in-situ
displays. The project will increase understanding of the importance of
coastal resources and will ultimately spark support for future restoration and
conservation efforts.