Category Archives: Fermata

Ike Impacts on Galveston Bay Oyster Reefs

Conservation, ,

According to Texas authorities, at least 60% of the oyster reefs in Galveston Bay have been destroyed by the effects of Hurricane Ike. Reefs have been covered by debris and sediment churned up by the storm, and grass and other vegetation scoured from Bolivar now blanket reefs in East Bay. Similar impacts have been reported from coastal Louisiana. Combined, Texas and Louisiana produce 60% of the total domestic oyster supply in the U.S.

From the perspective of bird conservation, there are a number of issues to be considered. First, the impact on oyster reefs by Ike is evidence of much broader damage to the bay system in general. According to Houston Audubon Society’s Winnie Burkett, North Deer Island (the largest natural island left in the bay, and home to 40,000 birds of 17 different species) lost a third of its vegetation. Because of debris, Audubon Society members have not been able to get a boat to Evia Island (an island constructed of dredge materials) that, in 2001, was home to 3,000 birds, including terns, Black Skimmers, and Brown Pelicans. How these colonial nesters will fare once breeding season arrives (and many return from wintering in south Texas and Mexico) remains to be seen.

Second, what about specialists such as the American Oystercatcher that depends on healthy oyster populations for their survival? The oystercatcher has never been common in the Galveston Bay system, with this isolated population never exceeding (in my opinion) a couple of hundred individual birds. Combined with the direct impacts of the storm surge on their breeding beaches, what are the remaining oystercatchers going to eat as the bay slowly recovers from Ike’s insults?

Finally, we are all optimistic that the oyster population will recover with time. But what if their situation is further compromised by expanded resort development on the west end of the island? For example, the pending Marquette project proposes thousands of new homes on the west end, each with boats and their accouterments (canals, marinas, boat houses). Each boat in Galveston Bay will churn up additional sediments that are already suffocating these reefs. The USACE is now considering a request for a comprehensive environmental impact study concerning any additional development on Galveston’s west end. To ignore Ike’s impacts, I believe, would be unpardonable. Ike is the third most damaging hurricane in American history, and all involved in west end development, particularly the USACE, must recognize that fact.

See more about the plight of Galveston Bay oysters in this Houston Chronicle article. Also, read the testimony from the Galveston Bay Foundation at a recent legislative meeting in Galveston addressing these same issues. Finally, you can send your comments about the proposed Marquette project to the ACOE at their website. Please ask that the Corps conduct a cumulative environmental impact analysis on further development (including Marquette and Anchor Bay) on Galveston Island.

Ted Eubanks

TBCA Old News, New News

Conservation

The Texas Bird Conservation Alliance (TBCA), an ad hoc group of organizations and individuals interested in the conservation of Texas birds, last met in February 2008 in McAllen. That daylong session, held to correspond with the Partners in Flight International Conference, brought together a broad range of conservationists who dedicated the day to discussion Texas bird conservation issues. People left that meeting expecting a quick follow up on the next steps to be taken in the evolution of the TBCA.

Few of us expected to be still waiting, almost one year later. The reasons for the delay are complicated, but the simple truth is that any effort of this sort needs to gather a critical mass of interest and effort in order to move forward. Where we may have interest, in effort we have lagged.

Therefore I have decided to revisit this issue, and to begin to organize this effort in the blogsphere. Of course I have every intention of evolving to a more tangible form, but for the moment this is the perfect medium for pulling together those interest in this issue. With the Texas legislative session underway, and the coast still reeling from Hurricane Ike, the need for the TBCA has never been more acute.

For those interested in being involved, I suggest starting by simply subscribing to this blog. Over time we will build a community of bird conservationists in Texas that will have a physical presence. For now, though, this blog will allow us to jump start the effort and see how we might make up ground toward the promise so vividly exhibited last February.

To that end, I am (finally) making available the podcasts of last year’s sessions. There may be accessed by simply clicking on the links below. Thanks for your patience and understanding, and I look forward to seeing how far we might push this effort together.

Ted Eubanks

February 2009 TBCA Conference
McAllen, Texas

Podcast 1
TBCA Introduction – Ted Eubanks

Podcast 2
Questions for Ted Eubanks

Podcast 3
GCBO – Cecilia Riley
ABA – Dr. Richard Payne
Audubon Texas – Andy Kasner
Houston Audubon – Winnie Burkett

Podcast 4
TNC – Rich Kostecke
TPWD and BBS – Brent Ortego
eBird – CLO (Chris Wood)

Podcast 5
Valley Nature Center – Martin Hagne
Future of TBCA Discussion

Ike Impacts on Galveston Bay Oyster Reefs

Conservation,

According to Texas authorities, at least 60% of the oyster reefs in Galveston Bay have been destroyed by the effects of Hurricane Ike. Reefs have been covered by debris and sediment churned up by the storm, and grass and other vegetation scoured from Bolivar now blanket reefs in East Bay. Similar impacts have been reported from coastal Louisiana. Combined, Texas and Louisiana produce 60% of the total domestic oyster supply in the U.S.

Certainly we are all optimistic that the oyster population will recover with time. But what if their situation is further compromised by expanded resort development on the west end of the island? For example, the proposed Marquette project proposes thousands of new homes on the west end, each with boats and their accouterments (canals, marinas, boat houses). Each boat in Galveston Bay will churn up additional sediments that are already suffocating these reefs. The USACE is now considering a request for a comprehensive environmental impact study concerning any additional development on Galveston’s west end. To ignore Ike’s impacts, I believe, would be unpardonable. Ike is the third most damaging hurricane in American history, and all involved in west end development, particularly the USACE, must recognize that fact.

See more in the Houston Chronicle. Also, read the testimony from the Galveston Bay Foundation at a recent legislative meeting in Galveston addressing these same issues.

Ted Eubanks

A Burnham Plan for Galveston

Conservation, Sustainability, ,

The Galveston County Daily News (GCDN) published a guest column on December 30 (2008) in which I proposed that an urban park be created along the seawall. I suggested that automobile traffic be restricted along the seawall (such as between 25th and Stewart Beach) to let the park reconnect the city and its residents to the sea.

As expected, the column generated a flurry of comments and counter-proposals. And, not surprisingly, the article stirred up an, at times, emotional opposition (how will I get to Kroger?). When I first wrote the piece, my thoughts were more along the lines of Daniel Burnham and the 1909 City Plan of Chicago. The Burnham Plan, invested in the physical beautification of the city, established a series of parks and open spaces along the Lake Michigan shore. Apparently the example didn’t reach our founding fathers (who, interestingly enough, were faced with rebuilding after the 1900 Storm at approximately the same time). In contrast to Chicago, our “lake shore” has evolved into a highway.

There is another reason for considering such a drastic move beyond the esoteric notion of “beautification.” Presently our state and community (GLO and the Parks Board) are funding a multi-million dollar beach replenishment project along the seawall. Some 400,000 to 500,000 cubic yards of beach sand are being hauled from the east end of the island to the beaches fronting the seawall. Yet while the state and city are spending millions of dollars to rebuild the beaches, Galveston still bathes its beaches in polluted runoff from Seawall Boulevard.

Along the seawall there is no storm water retention. With every rain storm water washes pollutants off the road, onto the beach, and into the Gulf. The seawall extends well north of the paved road, and therefore the area being drained is far more expansive than Seawall Boulevard itself.

Is it possible to remake the seawall, remove the traffic, and build an urban park? Wouldn’t the removal of the pavement threaten to undermine the seawall itself? I suspect that the same technology being used in green roofs could be modified for a project such as this (an impenetrable layer covering the seawall, overlain with manufactured soil and plants). Interestingly, the present system of drains proved to be a weak link in seawall protection during Ike. Most of the damage to the sidewalk atop the seawall came from storm water undermining the pavement as it rushed through, over, and around the drains.

How would this park help our pollution problem? The park would serve as a buffer, and rainwater, percolating through the soil and plants, would either evaporate or slowly wash, without its pollutants, back to the Gulf. In a way the park would function like the wetlands that border much of the island, allowing runoff to be trapped and cleansed before it drains into the Gulf and bays.

2009 is the Burnham Plan centennial. As Chicago celebrates the occasion, perhaps Galveston can find hope in what can be accomplished with vision, inspiration, and commitment. As Chicago arose from the ashes of a great fire, Galveston can be reborn after a great hurricane. The place to begin is the nexus of the Gulf and the community – the seawall.

Ted Eubanks