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| CCA FLORIDA HABITAT RESTORATION PROJECTS |
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CCA FLORIDA HABITAT RESTORATION EFFORTS SUPPORTED BY REDFISH NATION
AND FISHAMERICA FOUNDATION |
| [Return to Habitat Restoration Main Page] |
(from Seawatch Newsletter December 2004)
The FishAmerica Foundation (FAF) and Redfish Nation have awarded an $8,900 grant to CCA Florida for habitat restoration in the Indian River Lagoon. The donation was announced at the October 2004 Oh Boy! Oberto Redfish Cup Championship held at Bord du Lac Park in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
“FishAmerica is delighted that the first project funded through our partnership with The Redfish Nation will have both strong volunteer support and a profound effect on shoreline habitat,” said Johanna Laderman, managing director of FAF. “Through CCA, the project will engage the local community and anglers in an effort to conserve redfish populations and improve habitat in the Indian River Lagoon.”
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CCA Florida’s Orlando Chapter has been working to
reestablish mangrove habitats along the lagoon near Cape Canaveral since
2000. During a series of annual events that involved large numbers of
volunteers from CCA chapters, schools, and the local community nearly
60,000 mangroves have been planted as well as thousands of sprigs of
marsh grass.
The ongoing restoration effort has been spearheaded by Mark Carter,
Doug Blanton, Bob Epperson and members of the Orlando Chapter who turn
each event into an education opportunity for the youth participants
on the importance of mangroves and salt-marshes to the ecosystem.
“It’s estimated that a single mangrove tree will be home to
more than 10,000 fish during its lifetime including juvenile redfish
and other sportfish,” said Carter. “Mangroves also play an
important role in the nutrient cycles of the lagoon, yet less than one-third
of the original mangrove habitat remains along Florida’s Space
Coast.”
Trees used in the plantings are collected from the wild as propagules
(seeds) and grown into saplings by students from Rock-ledge High School
under the guidance of environmental science teacher Tom Stewart. Greenhouses
used by the students were renovated as part of the overall restoration
project. Students at both Rockledge and Titusville have also grown cord
grass sprigs for transplanting into the lagoon.
Since 2000, the FAF has awarded six grants to CCA Florida for coastal
habitat restoration. The newest donation will help continue the planting
projects through 2005. The Canaveral Port Authority, Boeing Management
Association, Backcountry Fly Fishing Association and NOAA have all contributed
to past projects.
FAF and The Redfish Nation launched their partnership in January 2004
to support redfish conservation and spotlight the growing popularity
of redfish fishing. The Redfish Nation donates $3 of every $40 in membership
fees to FAF for redfish conservation and to spotlight the growing popularity
of redfish among the nation’s anglers.
“The Redfish Nation is thrilled to partner with FAF in support
of CCA,” said David Healy of The Redfish Nation. “Now more
than ever, it is vital that we work together to assist in the restoration
of the areas of coastal Florida devastated by this hurricane season.”
The FishAmerica Foundation is the conservation and research foundation
of the American Sportfishing Association. Uniting the sportfishing
industry with conservation groups, government natural resource agencies,
fishing tournament trails, corporations and charitable foundations,
FAF provides matching grants that empower citizen conservationists in
their own communities. Since 1983, more than $6 million has been
distributed to more than 750 conservation projects nationwide.
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The Tampa Chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association Florida will use nearly $11,000 to restore fisheries habitat at Ballast Point Park, a popular spot for snook, redfish, sheepshead and black drum fishing. Volunteers will remove a concrete sea wall to prevent further shoreline erosion and destruction of wetland spawning areas. They also will create an artificial reef along 200 feet of shoreline, and plant native wetland vegetation and mangroves.
In 2001, FishAmerica Foundation awarded $34,400 to CCA Florida. The donation funded an oyster bar restoration project in Tampa Bay and a series of mangrove restoration projects on Florida’s Central East Coast under the direction of the CCA Florida Orlando Chapter. Both projects have been very successful.
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State Office: P.O. Box 568886 • Orlando, FL 32856
Phone: (407) 854-7002 • Fax: (407) 854-1766
e-mail: Marcia Dunfee |
Advocacy Office: 905 East Park Avenue • Tallahassee, FL 32301
Phone: (850) 224-3474 • Fax: (850) 224-5199
e-mail: Amy Harllee |
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