Habitat Protection Action Plan

The Habitat Protection Action Plan advocates an ecosystem approach to habitat protection that will ensure the existence of an optimal variety and distribution of habitats, and will sustain the physical and hydrological connections required between adjacent habitats. The plan's specific goals are to:

The Natural Resource Uses Subcommittee of the Galveston Bay Council is charged with facilitating implementation of the Habitat Protection Action Plan through our GBEP Partners.

Results!

Additionally, GBEP and its partners, through ongoing projects, will have created, protected, and restored approximately 4,500 additional acres of wetlands and associated habitats between 2001 and 2005.

Habitat Protection Action Plan implementation highlights:

Jumbile Cove

In 1999, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas General Land Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Galveston Bay Estuary Program , Reliant Energy, and others partnered to install geotextile tubes (geotubes) around a large part of Jumbile Cove in West Galveston Bay to protect marsh areas within the cove from erosion. Thirty-two restoration mounds structures and two bird nesting islands were created in the shallow protected area by dredging and transporting sediments from nearby borrow areas.

Natural resource agency staff and volunteers planted hundreds of 1-gallon pots of Spartina alterniflora (smooth cordgrass) to stabilize the island mound structures and to provide habitat for birds and aquatic species. Overall, 2,800 linear feet of 3-foot circumference geotube was installed to protect 35 acres of intertidal marsh, 18 acres of intertidal mud flats, and approximately 15 acres of restored intertidal marsh. The project was completed in summer of 2001. Scores of shorebirds and colonial waterbirds began utilizing the site immediately, even while construction was underway. Find out more.

League City Nature Park

The City of League City has been actively seeking to acquire parkland and open space to meet the needs of its growing community. The City has also acted progressively in conserving wetlands and natural areas, both for their intrinsic value as habitat for wildlife, and for the enjoyment of members of its community and visitors. Recently, League City worked with Galveston Bay Estuary Program, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in assembling funding to purchase a 150-acre tract of land along the south shoreline of Clear Creek at Texas Highway 270.

The City, in keeping with its theme of protecting open spaces and valuable habitats within them, will develop the property into a nature park. It will install a system of carefully placed trails and observation areas, avoiding sensitive areas and keeping human presence at an appropriate distance from sensitive areas to protect their value as habitat while allowing for observation. The park will also feature educational and interpretive signs, describing physical features of the park, ecologically important plant species, and wildlife typical of the area. Through a grant from Galveston Bay Estuary Program, the City of League City will develop a master plan for the nature park, consulting with park design and natural resource experts. The design will be complete by spring of 2004, and work will begin on the actual facilities shortly thereafter. Find out more.

Conservation Assistance Program

One of the greatest threats to the Galveston Bay system is the loss of historically rich and diverse wetlands and natural areas associated with riparian zones and coastal prairie areas. A growing population in the Houston-Galveston area is placing increasing pressure on these valuable habitats.

In 2002, Galveston Bay Estuary Program and The Trust for Public Land began an initiative to educate local municipalities and the public about the economic and intrinsic value of preserving wetlands and natural areas associated with Galveston Bay and its tributaries, and involve them in conserving and restoring these natural areas for generations to come. The Trust for Public Land has facilitated regional meetings, convening officials from local municipalities interested in developing plans to conserve greenspace. The Trust for Public Land provides local and national examples of ways in which greenspace/recreational needs have successfully been incorporated into municipal development planning. And, The Trust for Public Land hosts workshops to assist in fund raising and grant writing for achieving greenspace conservation goals, providing technical assistance, and identifying economic benefits for such activities.

To date, the initiative has met with considerable success. In 2003, about 300 acres of bottomland and coastal prairie areas was acquired in partnership with the Harris County Flood Control District in the Spring Gully area within the Armand Bayou Watershed. Also, Texas Parks and Wildlife, The Trust for Public Land, the Estuary Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Texas General Land Office, and Galveston County partnered to secure nearly on million dollars in federal funding through the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Program for the acquisition, protection, and restoration of a variety of coastal habitats along the north shoreline of Galveston Island adjacent to West Bay. The Trust for Public Land also secured $600,000 in direct funding from Congress for the project. Additional funding is being pursued to acquire and protect as much habitat as possible. And, several additional projects are in the development and fund-raising stage.

Search for other Galveston Bay Plan implementation projects.

See more information on the Habitat Protection Action Plan in The Galveston Bay Plan.

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