Featured Stories
Golden Mangrove Award Winner
TBEP Welcomes New Staff
RESTORE Act Funding
Nekton Index
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Oyster Recycling Project Wins Golden Mangrove Award
Solutions To Avoid Red Tide (START) received the Golden Mangrove Award for their project, Gulf Coast Oyster Recycling and Renewal, selected by TBEP's Community Advisory Committee as the best Bay Mini-Grant of 2017.
The project used a $5,000 TBEP Bay Mini-Grant to purchase equipment and engage partners in diverting oyster shells from landfill disposal by local restaurants and, instead, use them to restore habitats that improve the estuary's nutrient filtration capacity.
The award was presented to START's Sandy Gilbert and Mary Anne Bowie at the TBEP Community Advisory Committee's meeting on September 26. Bowie shared the project's accomplishments to date, including over 900 volunteers engaged, numerous partnerships developed and additional support leveraged, and a
whopping 26 tons of oyster shells
collected from just 3 restaurants!
"They really maximized the impact of the grant to gain its full advantage. They did an excellent job of creating partnerships and incorporating both volunteerism and environmental education into the project. It will have lasting impact since they plan to expand the project in the future, and they are making changes based on what they have learned to make the project even better as they move forward," noted Jan Allyn, TBEP Community Advisory Committee chair.
Gulf Coast Oyster Recycling and Renewal was one of 21 Bay Mini-Grant projects approved in November 2016 by the TBEP Policy Board. Bay Mini-Grants are funded by the sale of
Tampa Bay Estuary specialty license plates
.
Since 2000, more than $1.6 million has been distributed to support local organizations in their efforts to help restore and protect Tampa Bay.
For more information about the Gulf Coast Oyster Recycling and Renewal project, visit
START1.org
or contact Mary Anne Bowie at 941-321-0424.
For more information about TBEP's Bay Mini-Grants, visit TBEP.org or contact Misty Cladas at misty@tbep.org
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TBEP Welcomes New Communication and Outreach Coordinator
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We'd like to welcome our newest staff member, Joe Whalen!
A multipotentialite (say that three times fast!) with an eye for the environmental aesthetic; Joe has a passion for pairing communications with creativity. Since graduating from Eckerd College in 2014, Joe has cultivated an eclectic skill set here in the Tampa Bay area. He's interned with Audubon Florida and the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County and spent two years with Hashtag Creative as a social media marketing
specialist.
Notably, Joe has spent the past 3 years having an all around great time as part of a team that challenges over 6,000 Floridians a year to challenge themselves! During this time with the local experiential education focused non-profit Pathfinder Outdoor Education, Joe led canoe excursions, tree climbing expeditions, fire building classes, manatee skeleton reconstructions, empathy programs, environmental art workshops, and estuary explorations. Apart from his environmental interests, Joe enjoys contracted work as a videographer and music producer.
Staying true to his fast-paced New York roots, Joe recently began an academic venture seeking an Executive Certificate in Environmental Communications for Behavior Change with Duke University. As our new Communication and Outreach Coordinator, Joe is eager to apply what he's learned and aid in the continued restoration of the bay and its surrounding watershed.
Feel free to put Joe to work with any questions or ideas you might have. You can reach him by email at:
Joe@tbep.org
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RESTORE Funding Supports Habitat Restoration in Tampa Bay
The Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP) was awarded $1.5 million to support projects with local government partners that will restore coastal habitats, improve stormwater quality, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The money comes by way of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, which administers a trust fund created with penalties from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill as part of the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act).
These funds will be used to implement five coastal restoration and climate resilience projects within the TBEP's watershed boundary:
- Tidal recirculation & seagrass recovery at Ft. DeSoto Park (Pinellas)
- Restoration expansion at Robinson Preserve (Manatee)
- Invasive plant removal at Cockroach Bay Preserve (Hillsborough)
- Stormwater improvements at Copeland Park (City of Tampa)
- Biosolids-to-energy facility development (City of St. Petersburg)
Local benefits include habitat restoration for approximately 650 acres of coastal wetlands, 14 acres of coastal uplands, and 2 acres of freshwater wetlands - improving their capacity to support native wildlife and provide ecosystem services such as flood mitigation and pollution reduction in the Tampa Bay estuary. Additionally, St. Petersburg's project will reduce greenhouse gas emmissions by processing biogas (a gas mixture) from a wastewater treatment facility to use as an alternative fuel.
For more information, contact Maya Burke at mburke@tbep.org
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New Scorecard Measures Health of Nekton (Fish and Macroinvertebrates) in Tampa Bay
Environmental managers have a new tool to help communicate progress made toward protecting and restoring Tampa Bay. The fisheries health index, developed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for the TBEP, shows that fish, shrimp, crabs, and other macroinvertebrate communities (collectively known as “nekton”) in Tampa Bay are both resistant to large-scale changes and resilient to significant environmental disturbances.
The new scorecard uses catch data collected through the Fisheries-Independent Monitoring Program (FIM) for fish and selected macroinvertebrates. The FIM program, established in 1989, provides robust, long-term information about fish abundance and population trends in Florida’s estuaries. It is especially beneficial for early detection of environmental change because it
includes data for "nekton" in early recruit and juvenile life stages - the more sensitive life stages for most species.
The index focuses on the functional role each species performs in the estuarine environment, rather than on a single species and distills information about feeding relationships, habitat use, species composition, and diversity into a single numerical index to provide a snapshot of ecological health of the nekton. Annual index scores are grouped into broad categories to guide future management and research activities for each bay segment (Figure 1) and collectively baywide (Figure 2). Low scores (red) indicate that the nekton composition is profoundly different from ‘normal’ conditions and that additional management and research should be pursued; moderate scores (yellow) indicate the composition is slightly different from ‘normal’ years, and managers should closely monitor conditions closely and prepare for additional assessments and management actions, if warranted; higher scores (green) indicate the composition is in a general “healthy” condition and managers should “stay the course” in terms of consistent monitoring and assessments.
Report results were validated based on two historic events (2005 -2006 red tide and a 2010 snook cold kill event) but researchers caution that the index cannot point to specific causes of declining nekton health. Instead the scorecard highlights areas where more research is needed to guide management activities in Tampa Bay (Figure 3).
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Figure 1: Annual stoplight scores
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Figure 2: Small seine index scores 1998 -2015
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Figure 3:
OTB = Old Tampa Bay, HB = Hillsborough Bay, MTB = Middle Tampa Bay, LTB = Lower Tampa Bay.
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Moving Forward
Establishing a historical benchmark period for nekton communities in Tampa Bay was one of the greatest challenges to developing this scorecard, since information was not collected prior to 1989 - “Without similar monitoring data from an earlier time, unfortunately we can’t make a direct comparison to earlier periods when the bay was pristine” notes Gary Raulerson of the TBEP. However, the index can now be used to assess general ecological status to the Bay moving forward.
For more information or the full report, contact Gary Raulerson at (graulerson@tbep.org)
The report was prepared by Meagan N. Schrandt and Timothy C. MacDonald of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
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Give-A-Day for the Bay at Rock Ponds
When
:
Sat, January 12, 2019, 9am – 12pm
Where:
Rock Ponds Ecosystem Restoration Project, Old Hwy 41 S, Ruskin, FL 33570
Description:
We'll be working with SWFWMD/SWIM to pull out PVC poles that are currently marking the location of installed native upland plants. The plants have grown tall enough to be easily visible, so the poles are no longer needed. Follow the link below if you would like to volunteer for this event.
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Give-A-Day for the Bay at Clam Bayou Nature Preserve
When
:
Sat, March 23, 2019,
9am – 12pm
Where:
Clam Bayou Nature Preserve - Kayak Launch, 4099 34th Ave S, St. Pete, FL 33711
Description:
Come join us at a St. Petersburg gem - Clam Bayou Nature Preserve. We will be partnering with Keep Pinellas Beautiful for this Give-A-Day for the Bay. Volunteers will be needed for trash & debris removal, invasive plant removal, and planting trees. Potential opportunity to get out on the water in a kayak for an on-water clean-up. Lunch will be provided.
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Give-A-Day for the Bay at Stewart Middle Magnet School
When
:
Sat, April 13, 2019, 9:00am – 12:30pm
Where
:
Stewart Middle Magnet School, 1125 W Spruce St, Tampa, FL 33607, USA (
map
)
Description:
Join Tampa Bay Estuary Program and Ecosphere Restoration Institute, Inc. for a shoreline clean up event along Hillsborough River at Stewart Middle Magnet School. We'll provide all the tools for a great workday - even lunch! Ready to join us?
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About the Tampa Bay
Estuary Program
The Tampa Bay Estuary Program is an intergovernmental partnership dedicated to restoring and protecting Tampa Bay, Florida's largest open-water estuary. TBEP is one of 28 "Estuaries of National Significance" designated by Congress.
Our Policy Board is comprised of representatives from Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco and Pinellas counties; the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater; the Southwest Florida Water Management District; the Florida Department of Environmental Protection; and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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YOUR OPINION MATTERS!
When it comes to Bay restoration, your input and interest is priceless. By taking the poll below, you can help us better direct our efforts while giving you more of the stuff you want to see!
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As a Tampa Bay resident, which services provided by the TBEP do you value most?
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Scientific Findings and Data
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Florida Friendly Living: Tips and Tricks
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Ethical Boating Information
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CRITTER CAM
Terrance Community Middle School catches locals enjoying the new native plant areas on campus, a product of our Bay Mini-Grants!
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Edited and produced by Joe Whalen and Maya Burke.
Content curated by Andy Fairbanks, Maya Burke, and Joe Whalen.
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