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| CCA FLORIDA HABITAT RESTORATION PROJECTS |
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THIRD ANNUAL MANGROVE FESTIVAL
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CCA Florida Leads the Way in Restoring the Habitat of the Indian River Lagoon
CCA Orlando Chapter members continue through hands-on work to restore the mangrove shoreline of the Indian River Lagoon.
CCA Florida members of the Orlando Chapter, in April, along with students from Rockledge High School spent many hard-working hours planting mangroves along the shoreline of the Indian River Lagoon ecosystem in Brevard County. The Third Annual Mangrove Festival culminated with the planting of nearly 7,000 mangrove seedlings.
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| The Third Annual Mangrove Festival culminated with
the planting of nearly 7,000 mangrove seedlings. |
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| "We’ve been planting mangroves along the Indian River for the past two years, but now, thanks to an infusion of funds, we’re initiating a much larger effort that began with that first planting in April 2002," said Mark Carter, a member of the Orlando Chapter and a vice president of CCA Florida. |
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| Mark Carter |
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Previous mangrove-planting efforts were undertaken solely with the support of volunteers and the Orlando Chapter. They included a planting two years ago of 2,000 mangroves at Manatee Park in Cape Canaveral. In 2001, they planted another 3,450 mangroves at the park.
The group already has three other plantings scheduled in the Cocoa Beach area for 2002 on July 27, September 28, and November 16. When completed they will have planted more the 20,000 mangroves.
The widely-expanded program has been made possible because of a $24,400 grant from the FishAmerica Foundation (FAF), through a partnership with the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Community-Based Restoration Program. Additional support came from the Canaveral Port Authority.
"We plant mangroves because of their overall importance as the engine that fuels the entire marine ecosystem," said Capt. Doug Blanton, conservation chair of the Orlando CCA Chapter.
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Blanton pointed out that red mangroves (Rhizophora mangle) are one of Florida’s most important aquatic plants. The roots provide shelter for a vast array of large and small organisms and the leaves shed by the plants play a vital role in the nutrient cycle of the lagoon. Within hours of a mangrove leaf falling into the water, it becomes part of the system by providing food for microscopic marine organisms, which in turn become food for larger and larger species until reaching top predators such as birds, mammals and gamefish.
"It’s been estimated that each mangrove will be the temporary home to over 10,000 fish during its lifetime of 20 or more years,? said Blanton. ?When you multiply that times the thousands of trees we’ve planted, it’s easy to see the impact we can have on the resource."
The additional financial support has not only allowed an increase in the frequency of the mangrove plantings, but Carter and Blanton have been able to team up with local high school science clubs to develop a marsh grass component to the overall lagoon restoration effort. The students grow marsh grasses for transplanting as part of a school nursery project.
The students also provide the mangrove seedlings for the big planting days. They collect the propagules from the wild, plant them in five-gallon buckets and tend them until they sprout and are ready for transplant.
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| We need all the help we can get. It’s fun, educational, family-oriented and only takes half a day . . . |
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There’s plenty of room for more volunteers,? adds Blanton. ?We need all the help we can get. It’s fun, educational, family-oriented and only takes half a day. That’s very little time to give up for the chance to give a little something back to Mother Nature.?
For more information on the East Coast habitat restoration efforts contact:
Capt. Doug Blanton
(321) 504-1075
e-mail: mangrove@indianriver.cc
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Mark Carter
(407) 699-0572
e-mail: oarlocki@aol.com.
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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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