Bahia Grande, in eastern Cameron County , is one of the largest coastal wetland restoration projects in the United States . The public is invited to attend two events scheduled for Monday, September 19 to celebrate progress being made on the project.
National, state, and local partners are working to restore the natural tidal flow of sea water to this formerly productive estuary through a series of channels that will reconnect the Bahia Grande basin to the Laguna Madre and circulate water through additional basins. Native stands of mangroves and sea grass beds will eventually be re-established to provide wildlife habitat.
In the morning, officials from the Brownsville Navigation District and Cameron County will hold the dedication of the pilot channel that now reconnects the Bahia Grande basin with the Laguna Madre through the Brownsville Ship Channel. The dedication will take place at 9 a.m. on Texas Highway 48, across from the Bahia Grande basin. Immediately following the dedication, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will offer tours of the Bahia Grande Unit of the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.
Researchers studying the Bahia Grande wetlands restoration will present their work at the Bahia Grande Restoration Summit to be held in the afternoon at the Science and Engineering Technology Building Lecture Hall at UTB/TSC. From 1 to 4 p.m. the University will host the summit that will include the research presentations, as well as remarks from Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz, and officials from the Department of the Interior, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Ocean Trust, and other project supporters.
When completed, this project will reestablish, for the first time in over half a century, the estuaries of Bahia Grande on 10,000 acres of the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. Natural tidal flow of water to the Bahia Grande from the Laguna Madre was cut off by construction projects in the 1930s and 1950s.
Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, the Brownsville Navigation District, Cameron County , UTB/TSC, and many others are currently working together on this project for the benefit of the entire region. When restored, this wetland will enhance habitat for wildlife and fishery resources, provide opportunities for recreation and environmental education, improve environmental conditions in communities currently affected by blowing dust, and contribute to the local economy.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
Visit the Services website at http://www.fws.gov.
