FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 23, 2003
CONTACT: Sally Cooey, (850) 595-8300
Project
Greenshores Nears Completion
--Community partners assist with final
stages of environmental restoration--
PENSACOLA BAY - Volunteers today put the finishing
touches on a $2 million public-private partnership to restore
marine habitat in Pensacola Bay. The Department of
Environmental Protection launched Project Greenshores in 2001
to restore 15 acres of salt marsh off the coast of the
Panhandle city.
“Volunteer involvement in restoration projects fosters
environmental stewardship and strengthens protection," said
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary David
B. Struhs. “Restoration of this sensitive marine habitat
serves as a model for other communities.”
Volunteers planted thousands of Spartina alterniflora, a
smooth cord grass, bringing the total number of planted
grasses to 50,000, and added 40 reef structures to the site's
eastern end to protect the newly created saltmarsh. Over
20,000 tons of recycled concrete and limestone rock safeguard
aquatic plants from wave damage and provide the foundation
for 3 acres of oyster habitat.
“Project Greenshores improves the health of the bay and
contributes to the local economy by preserving and enhancing
one of Pensacola’s most cherished natural resources,” said
DEP Northwest District Director Mary Jean Yon. “The success
of this project is a direct result of this community's
commitment to restoring and protecting the environment."
The man-made reef provides a rest stop for migratory and
local birds and shelters a diversity of marine life including
thousands of oysters, which help filter water and improve
water quality in Pensacola Bay.
Since Project Greenshores began two years ago, thousands
of school children have experienced Pensacola Bay from aboard
the American Star, an environmental educational tour
sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Project
Greenshores is managed by the Department of Environmental
Protection with the support of over sixty local and national
entities, including the Environmental Protection Agency’s
Gulf of Mexico Program, the City of Pensacola, and Escambia
County.
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