The Building Conservation Trust

Recognizing that Texas coastal wetland loss impacts everyone, CCA Texas, BCT, Ducks Unlimited and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department joined forces to restore Dagger Island and protect important seagrass beds in Redfish Bay.

The partners worked together to protect and enhance 5,236 acres of seagrass beds, intertidal wetlands and coastal islands in the Redfish Bay State Scientific Area. Redfish Bay contains the northernmost extensive stands of seagrass on the Texas coast and is one of only three bays that contain all five species of native seagrass in Texas.

Restoration and protection of remnant portions of Dagger Island will protect seagrasses and other essential estuarine wetlands from wave energy caused by winds and large vessel traffic on the Corpus Christi Ship Channel. These seagrass beds are important for waterfowl and fisheries resources, including finfish, shrimp, blue crab and sea turtles.

CCA Louisiana’s R.E.E.F. Louisiana Program built a set of new artificial reefs in Vermilion Blocks 119 & 124, an area where oil and gas platforms had been removed. Conservation partners built five individual reef sites using pieces of decommissioned platforms and a variety of concrete “materials of opportunity.”

The materials included recycled platform jackets, a helipad, a large concrete platform, and several highway barriers, catch basins and other concrete construction materials. The reefs replaced lost habitat in depths ranging from 75-80 feet, where oil and gas platforms have been removed. The sites in VR 119 & 124 were chosen by local anglers since the platforms that once stood there were favorites for red snapper and mangrove snapper anglers, as well as divers.

BCT partners with marine scientists on research that seeks a positive and statistically significant response in marine life as a result of a habitat project. While the results of projects to restore marsh or create oyster reefs are relatively easy to assess, offshore reefing projects are more of a challenge.

The research requires scientists to dive and methodically assess areas before and after the introduction of reefing materials. In almost every case, the reefing transforms what was previously an almost barren muddy plain into a thriving ecosystem, with some species taking up residence within days of deployment.

Floating island projects utilize an innovative technology that transforms recycled plastics into the foundation of new marsh. BCT and CCA Louisiana have partnered on several floating islands projects that have created tens of thousands of square feet of new wetland habitat. A typical floating islands project brings together local students, residents, employees of local companies and others to spend a day planting marsh grasses in floating mats which are then towed out and anchored in nearby estuary where wetlands are disappearing. Roots grow through the mats and into the water column, trapping sediment and dropping it to the bottom. Eventually new land forms around the mats, building the foundation for vibrant, expanding wetlands.

BCT focuses on engaging students through in-class and hands-on STEM programs that encourage environmental stewardship and one of the most successful programs is the reef ball building program run by CCA Maryland. A mobile reef ball building trailer brings concrete, molds and all the tools to multiple schools throughout the region, giving students a chance to roll their sleeves up, get dirty, and learn new skills.

Maryland students have built hundreds of reef balls which have been deployed in areas of the Chesapeake Bay suffering from degraded habitat. With massive support from local communities, corporations and school districts, the program continues to grow and has become one of BCT’s most well-publicized and effective teaching tools.