April 28, 2008

Contact: Randy Smith

South Florida Water Management District

Office: (561) 682-6197

Cellular: (561) 389-3386

SFWMD Helps Restore Habitat in Caloosahatchee

Tape Grass Seeding Project to Enhance Aquatic Life in River and Estuary

Fort Myers, FL – To help restore aquatic habitat in the Caloosahatchee River and Estuary, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) launched an experimental project this week to learn if tape grass planted upstream of the Franklin Lock and Dam (S-79 water control structure) on the Caloosahatchee River can help re-seed the estuary downstream. Beds of tape grass provide prime habitat for native juvenile blue crabs, fish and other species that spend early developmental stages in shallow estuaries where they can hide from large predators.

District scientists and contractors will plant tape grass, Vallisneria americana, in circular beds at five locations in the Caloosahatchee River. The native wide-bladed grass typically grows in Florida’s fresh or mildly saline waters.

By planting the tape grass upstream of the Franklin Lock and Dam, the new plants will be less vulnerable to changes in salinity levels nearer the coast and so may continue providing seed stock to downstream areas. It will take three months to complete the $49,000 study. Tape grass for the study is being harvested from an experimental pond at Lee County Hyacinth Control District, which is providing the plants at no cost.

Workers will be planting three beds at each location. Two of the beds will be surrounded by a wire mesh cage to help prevent turtles and fish from eating the fresh grass. The third bed at each site will be left unprotected as a study control.

The multi-year rainfall deficit has dramatically reduced the amount of freshwater runoff and river flows available to help maintain the right salinity balance for tape grass to grow in the Caloosahatchee Estuary.

Since 2000, Florida has invested close to $2 billion in the state-federal partnership to restore the Everglades. The District’s budget this year dedicates $790 million for the restoration of the Everglades, including $480 million for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, nearly $200 million to benefit the Kissimmee, Lake Okeechobee, Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie watersheds and $111 million to further improve the quality of water entering the Everglades Protection Area. Investments in environmental restoration represent a full two-thirds of the District’s FY2008 budget.

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The South Florida Water Management District is a regional, governmental agency that oversees the water resources in the southern half of the state – 16 counties from Orlando to the Keys. It is the oldest and largest of the state’s five water management districts. The agency mission is to manage and protect water resources of the region by balancing and improving water quality, flood control, natural systems and water supply. A key initiative is cleanup and restoration of the Everglades.