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Why is Galveston Bay Important to You? / What You Can Do to Help Galveston Bay.
Why is Galveston Bay Important to You?
What you can do to help Galveston Bay?
Why is Galveston Bay Important to You?
 Galveston Bay is vital to the Houston-Galveston Area's economic well-being and quality of life. Its ports, transportation industries, and proximity to rich petroleum reserves form the core of the local economy. At the same time, the Bay is a rich and productive ecosystem, supporting several key water-based industries such as recreational fishing, commercial fishing and shellfish harvesting, and nature tourism, which contribute billions of dollars to the region's economy and employ tens of thousands of people.
The Galveston Bay Estuary also provides important ecological services! Its upland prairies and wetlands absorb flood waters and filter contaminated storm water runoff. Its bay waters, rivers, streams, and bayous naturally assimilate pollutants from wastewater discharges, streets, businesses, and homes.
Find out more About Galveston Bay.
Find out more about Galveston Bay's environmental challenges.
What you can do to help Galveston Bay.
 The most important thing you can do to help is to get involved. Educate local and state decision makers, your neighbors, and friends about the importance of protecting Galveston Bay's resources. Explore and learn more about the beauty and value of Galveston Bay by visiting the diverse habitats it offers.
We are providing you information specific to your stakeholder group where you can find out more about your particular relationship to the bay and GBEP. Seek out GBEP Partner Resources on our website and those of our GBEP Partners. There are resource protection professionals available to help.
Volunteer for trash pickups, or wetland plantings in your community. Develop environmental projects for your neighborhood. Specific examples include:
- Serving on local parks and planning boards, sharing with them the importance and need for parks and open space preservation.
- Volunteering for trash cleanups during the annual Trash Bash, Adopt-a-Beach or other events for which you can find information in GBEP Partner Resources.
- Volunteering with the Galveston Bay Foundation, Houston Arboretum, Scenic Galveston, or other GBEP Partners to help protect and restore wetlands and other habitats.
- Becoming a member of area land trust partners such as the Katy Prairie Conservancy, Legacy Land Trust, and Nature Conservancy of Texas, to help preserve important natural areas.
And finally, your choices at home have a great impact on the health of Galveston Bay. You can plant native trees, shrubs, and flowers to reduce water use, to minimize the amount of fertilizers and pesticides needed, and to provide food and shelter for birds and wildlife. Reducing your consumption of water through appropriate landscapes and in-home water conserving measures, you can help lower demand for fresh water that might otherwise make it to the bay. Similarly, you can recycle and minimize household waste to help to reduce the amount of habitat lost to dumps and landfills.
Find out more about solutions to Galveston Bay's environmental challenges.
Last, you can subscribe to receive GBEP News and Information, visit our site often, and provide GBEP feedback on our program!
You will become a GBEP Partner by doing so!
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