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Oyster Habitat

Anthropogenic and Environmental Impacts on Estuaries and Methods Used to Mitigate These Impacts. Oyster Habitat. Coastal Wetlands. What kinds of wetlands ?. Estuarine Tidal Wetlands Riverine Wetlands Palustrine Emergent Wetlands Palustrine Forested Wetlands. References:

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Oyster Habitat

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  1. Anthropogenic and EnvironmentalImpacts on Estuaries and Methods Used to Mitigate These Impacts Oyster Habitat Coastal Wetlands

  2. What kinds of wetlands ? • Estuarine Tidal Wetlands • Riverine Wetlands • Palustrine Emergent Wetlands • Palustrine Forested Wetlands References: Classification of Wetlands and Deepwater Habitats of United States Cowardin et al. USFWS 1979. Texas Coastal Wetlands Guidebook Moulton and Jacob http://texaswetlands.org/estuarine.html

  3. Why are wetlands important ? • Nursery Habitat for Fish, Crabs, Shrimp and Other Aquatic Species • Wildlife Habitat for Mammals and Waterfowl and Migratory Birds • Water Quality – Filtration and Biogeochemical Interactions • Water Storage – Natural Detention • Flood Buffer • Shoreline Erosion Protection

  4. Economic Value • Wetlands have inherent value – existing capital – are valuable asset ~$20,000/acre (Woodward and Wu 2001) • Direct use benefits to fish and wildlife species. • Direct economic benefits to humans for recreational wildlife viewing, hunting, and fishing (2 billion annually). • Direct economic benefits to commercial fisheries ($400 million annually). • They are a commons that we all benefit by their existence.

  5. COASTAL WETLANDS LOSS IN USA: 50%

  6. Texas Coastal Plain Was Once 25% Wetlands

  7. Wetland Losses from Multiple Factors

  8. Coastal Wetland Habitat Losses • Galveston Bay is located in the Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes Ecoregion. • Net loss of over 14,000 acres of emergent marsh between 1950’s and 2002 for West Bay, a sub-bay of the Galveston Bay ecosystem (White et al. 2004). • This loss has been attributed to severe erosion, conversion to agricultural lands, and vegetation drowning due to subsurface fault activation and subsidence (White et al. 2004). White, W.A., T.A. Tremblay, R.L. Waldinger, and T.R. Calnan. 2004. Status and Trends of Wetland and Aquatic Habitats on Texas Barrier Islands, Upper Texas Coast, Galveston and Christmas Bays. Texas Coastal Coordination Council Report pursuant to Texas General Land Office Contract 03-057-R

  9. Land Classification and Habitat Types

  10. 1995 NAPP Aerial Photograph Freshwater Non-tidal Wetland Loss – Jacob and Lopez 2005

  11. NWI 1992

  12. 2002 HGAC Aerial Photograph

  13. Most palustrine wetland loss in the lower Galveston Bay watershed is due urbanization

  14. 40% OF ALL U.S. RIVERS, LAKES, AND ESTUARIES ARE NOT CLEAN ENOUGH FOR BASIC USES LIKE SWIMMING OR FISHING TEXAS: 34%

  15. 70% OF ALL U.S. RIPARIAN CORRIDORS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED TEXAS: 60%

  16. What was population in past ? • 1900 – Texas Population ~ 3 Million 1900 – 122,000 Houston Residents • 85% – Texas Rural Residents

  17. PARTS OF THE TEXAS COAST WILL DOUBLE IN POPULATION 34 MILLION TEXAS STATS ON POPULATION 2000 20 MILLION • 2000 – 20 Million Texans • Houston in 2000 – 4 million • 18% Rural Residents on 94 % of the land.

  18. LANDSCAPE CHANGES1916 AND 1985

  19. 2000 – 20 Million Texans • Houston in 2000 – 4 million • 18% Rural Residents on 94 % of the land.

  20. Mitigation for Habitat Losses Under CWA - Compensatory Mitigation is required for habitat losses from development in Coastal Wetlands • Mitigation is defined as the Restoration, Establishment, Enhancement, or Preservation of aquatic resources to offset unavoidable impacts to waters of the U.S. • 2008 Mitigation Rule (33 CFR Part 332) New regulations established standards and criteria for compensatory mitigation

  21. PRE Mitigation Rule : • Preference for “permittee-responsible” mitigation (e.g., on-site wetland creation) • Resulted in many, small mitigation • POST Mitigation Rule : • Preference for mitigation banks • Intent is to consolidate mitigation into fewer, larger areas with long-term conservation and management strategies • Interagency Review Team reviews all bank establishments, operations, use, and credits

  22. Texas Mitigation Banks Under Review or Authorized for Compensatory Mitigation by USACE

  23. Conservation Status of Estuarine Wetlands • Significant portion are on Texas submerged lands, FWS Refuge lands, TPWD Wildlife Management Areas, or lands held in trust by Conservation groups (TNC) • Several layers of state and federal protection

  24. Conservation Status of Estuarine Wetlands • Direct link to commercial and recreationally important fisheries species • Most significant threats are relative sea level rise and cumulative impacts by development • Public funding available for restoration

  25. Coastal Habitat Program Restoration Projects-Past 10 Years • Depend on state-federal-local partnerships • 550 acres of marsh restored, 300-400 acres of seagrass restored • Over 1,100 acres of coastal habitat protected from erosion Jumbile Cove Restoration Project

  26. Galveston Island State Park Restoration geo-textile tubes seagrass marsh terrace fields 125 acres of intertidal marsh complex 247 acres seagrass

  27. 8 acres of intertidal marsh created 49 acres of estuarine marsh protected 8 acres of shallow water habitat 25 acres of rookery habitat protected

  28. Conservation Status of Riparian Wetlands • Conservation areas in State Parks, WMAs, FWS Refuges, River Authority lands as well as Conservation groups. • Wetland areas within FEMA mapped floodplains are primarily protected by Clean Water Act

  29. Conservation Status of Riparian Wetlands • Recognized for their wildlife value for decades; e.g. hunting clubs • Most significant threats are timber extraction, reduction of natural flooding regime by manipulating flows or by drainage improvement, and development. • Private landowner incentive programs like WRP are most effective in this landscape due to large tracts and ease of restoration.

  30. Conservation StatusPalustine Emergent/Forested Wetlands • Distributed as a smaller feature of a larger upland landscape. • Only wetland areas adjacent to navigable waters and/or within FEMA mapped floodplains are protected by CWA. Estimates range from 40% to 60% of all Texas wetlands no longer under regulatory purview. • Most significant threats are land use conversion either to agriculture or from agriculture to development.

  31. Regulations in Palustrine Wetlands • 40-50% of Texas wetlands only recognized connection to interstate commerce is migratory birds. • Water quality and flood protection benefits provide no federal nexus for regulation by federal government. • Includes 303d list of impaired water bodies. • Includes watersheds where federal dollars are expended for flood control purposes.

  32. High Rainfall, High Runoff, Ample Pollution Sources • 30% of Galveston Bay’s freshwater inflow comes from the surrounding coastal plain • 15% of its nitrogen input is from aerial deposition • Many sanitary sewers leak into storm drains due to high shrink/swell soils • Year-round cattle grazing is ubiquitous on undeveloped lands

  33. Acquisition ProgramsPalustrine Wetlands • TPWD has Land, Water, and Recreation Plan that identifies land acquisition strategy – Coastal Prairie is a targeted landscape • Funding always an issue • State funding to local governments has been reduced for Park funding. • Federal funds available however conservation landholder funds are not readily available. • Non Government Organizations – Critical partner for this type of conservation tool.

  34. Landowner Incentive Programs • Wetland Conservation Plan provided a blueprint for landowner based conservation program. • Texas Prairie Wetland Project. • Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for this type of landscape conservation is limiting for landowners.

  35. Texas Prairie Wetland Project Funding Partners • Ducks Unlimited, Inc. • Texas Parks & Wildlife • U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service • Natural Resources Conservation Service

  36. Texas Prairie Wetlands Project Habitat Conservation Accomplishments • 27,145 acres completed • 321 individual wetland agreements • Technical assistance provided on over 400,000 acres • $4.96 million dollars spent $183/acre)

  37. Texas Prairie Wetlands Project Completed Project Acreage / County as of 11/4/02 Orange 1331 ac. Waller 168 ac. Liberty 1895 ac. Austin 41 ac. Harris 223 ac. Jefferson 2965 ac. Chambers 2793 ac. Colorado 967 ac. Fort Bend 585 ac. Lavaca 699 ac. Wharton 5345 ac. Brazoria 2335 ac. Galveston 231 ac. Jackson 845 ac. Matagorda 2923 ac. Victoria 2234 ac. Refugio 179 ac. Calhoun 1050 ac. San Patricio 19 ac. Aransas 7 ac. Nueces 70 ac. Kleberg 18 ac. 0 Acres 1 - 100 Acres Brooks 0 ac. Kenedy 19 ac. 101 -500 Acres 501 - 1000 Acres Starr 0 ac. Willacy 12 ac. 1000+ Acres Hidalgo 0 ac. Cameron 123 ac.

  38. What Anticipated Changesin Future ?

  39. “Superstition is seeing patterns that aren’t really there… and denial is not seeing patterns that really are there.” Murray Gell-Mann, 1969 Nobel Prize in Physics

  40. Sea level Rise Predicted for Gulf Coast Over Next 25 years

  41. The Big Conflict Ahead • Minimal regulation of palustrine wetlands • Rapidly growing population • Sea level rise impacting those either regulated (estuarine) or held in public trust. • For Texas to retain a functional and sustainable natural heritage, we will have to radically change the way we either regulate or provide incentives or set aside lands for conservation.

  42. What is required of us ? • All stakeholders will need to actively engage in conservation • Cooperate, collaborate, and compromise • Develop strategies that effectively conserve resources for the future that respect individual rights and the public trust • Agreement to change

  43. Because of the natural resource bounty inherent in the Texas landscape we have been able to sacrifice part of that bounty for many benefits. However, we cannot expect to continue at the present rate without reducing that bounty disproportionately and affecting our individual choices and quality of life

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