Acreage Restored:
About 4,050 plants/acre used to restore a five-acre area.

Under excavation

Volunteers planting

Site on Aug 15, 2005

Site on Sept 7, 2005 (after Hurricane Katrina)

Restoration Plans:
The ACF plans to restore approximately 5 acres of the Phragmites-covered spoil site by stabilizing the bay side of the peninsula through the creation of a protective berm and the installation of a breakwater (phase II). The new marsh area will then be created on the top two-thirds of the peninsula by excavating down to natural marsh elevation and replanting with select indigenous marsh species. The result will be restoration of the original marsh system that existed on the site prior to its use as a dredge spoil area in the late 1970s and its characteristic at the Old Fowl River Channel.

Plans for the site include excavation of elevated areas to natural marsh elevation that will result in the removal of the majority of the Phragmites. The excavated material will be used to build a berm to help protect the site from wave action that is currently causing significant erosion. A tidal channel will be constructed through the site to increase tidal flow with the intention to restore the natural channel. Finally, three indigenous salt marsh grass species will be planted on the excavated area to replace the Phragmites.

A local environmental consulting firm, Barry A. Vittor and Associates, will provide the technical direction for this project. Dr. Vittor was chosen based on his 30 years of experience in marsh restoration projects. A contractor with expertise in marsh material removal will perform the excavation and build the berm and canal. Volunteers from the community will do the planting under the direction of the environmental consultant and ACF board member and wetlands expert, Ms. Gena Todia. Simultaneous with the work on the site, the local media will be kept informed of the progress, utilizing this opportunity to educate the coastal community on the value of Mobile Bay estuarine habitat restoration projects.

Monitoring Plans:
The site will be monitored for three years following the completion of the project, primarily to determine the success of the replanting effort. When the project is completed, the site will more closely resemble the original marsh ecosystem that existed prior to its use as a dredge spoil area and should help balance the ongoing loss of habitat due to development in the Mobile Bay area.

Future Restoration Plans:
The ACF has several objectives for the project in addition to restoration of the degraded marsh. Plans for the site that are not covered by this funding request include erecting and maintaining several osprey nests within the restored area and monitoring of nesting activity. The ACF also intends to use this restoration effort as a demonstration project to illustrate the importance and benefits of this type of marsh reclamation work. Future expansion of restorative efforts in coastal Alabama and the education of Alabama’s coastal community on the importance of the Mobile Bay estuarine system are some other objectives of this project.

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FINAL PROGRESS REPORT
submitted by project leader Cathy Barnette on April 30, 2005

Challenges
The biggest challenge of this project has been the timetable. The ACF firmly believed this project could be accomplished within a 12-month timeframe. In hindsight, the ACF would recommend to others to allow for 18-24 months. The project was immediately bumped off schedule due to the permitting process. ACF anticipated a three-month turn around; in fact, it took the Army Corps of Engineers and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management closer to five months to process the Corps Nationwide Permit 27 notice to proceed.

The second problem encountered was the site excavation. The ACF knew we were dealing with “mucky” soils; however, we did not anticipate the challenge of finding a contractor willing to accept the job. Due to the sensitive soils, the contractor had to place geo-textile mats out each day for the heavy equipment to be driven upon; otherwise the excavator would have sunk into the ground. After considerable frustration, Esfeller Construction agreed to take on the project. Additionally, once the contractor was hired, Hurricane Ivan blew into town and thwarted efforts for several months. The site was excavated after three weeks of work. However, the soils on site needed to stabilize in order to allow volunteers to plant safely on site.

The final challenge once again can be attributed to Mother Nature. The Gulf Coast is entering a wet weather pattern and the spring rains and high water made it difficult to coordinate a volunteer planting. Several planting days had to be rescheduled but finally on April 2, 2005, thirteen volunteers came out to assist ACF staff in the event.

The Mobile Register ran a front page story of the effort (view article) and our local CBS affiliate, WKRG TV 5, helped promote this event in their morning news show.

The ACF is aware of initial apprehensions to award this grant because the property is held in private ownership. Since the project conception, the ACF has been working with the landowners to acquire some, if not all, of the property. In March 2005, we submitted a grant to the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program to acquire the entire 8.6 acre parcel. The landowners are willing to discuss selling or donating the property, but the acreage remains unknown. The Mobile Bay NEP has granted this acquisition project so we hope to finalize a sales contract by Fall 2005. We are very excited about this project and appreciate the Gulf of Mexico Foundation giving us this opportunity to evolve this project for the public good.

The breakwater feasibility analysis has been completed. The report identifies information which needs to be acquired, notably wave fields and restorative material for loss marsh.

Project Objectives and How They Were Achieved

1. To restore degraded marsh through the removal of invasive, exotic or nuisance species and replant with emergent native species.
   This project to date has been very successful in removing Phragmites, an invasive species, from the site and replanting with black needle rush (Juncus romerianus), smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) and saltmeadow cordgrass (Spartina patens) to improve the marsh habitat. Additionally, we were pleased that three square bulrush (Scirpus) also naturally vegetated the site with significant coverage. The ACF stated our target coverage for the site is 80 percent. Based on the current site, we firmly believe that is an attainable goal. On August 10, 2005 ACF went back to the site to pull Phragmites. This will be done several times each year to ensure our target coverage.
   
   
2. To restore natural hydrology with the construction or demolition of site-a portion of the site will be excavated to marsh level which should restore natural water movement over the site.
   Before planting, the site was excavated to the natural marsh elevation and a tidal channel was constructed through the site to increase tidal flow. We have already seen a rebound in herons and osprey but have not yet surveyed the effect to fisheries.
   
   
3. To provide for shoreline stabilization with appropriate breaches in berm formed from excavated material.
   During site excavation, the excavated material was used to build a protective berm to help protect it from wave action that is currently causing significant erosion. Property continues to erode which highlights the need for wave attenuation devices. However, the ACF is pleased to report the berm and site is still intact after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, including the western shore of Mobile Bay.
   
   
4. To engage the local community to the significance of the habitat restoration project and the importance of our estuarine system.
   The excitement and ownership of the Mon Luis Restoration in the local area has perhaps been the most fulfilling aspect of this project. The restoration kickoff was done aboard a donated yacht (Mon Luis resident) to explain the project and develop community support. At the start of this project, the ACF was developing a variety of habitat restoration projects in the Fowl River area to coincide with this project. Eagle scouts were recruited to build six osprey nests and 50 wood duck boxes, and volunteers planted trees during the annual cypress tree planting project. Additionally, the Mobile County Commission awarded ACF with a bacterial monitoring project at six sites in the Fowl River watershed.
   The ACF developed a Fowl River edition of the Osprey Outlook. Thanks to ACF Board member Sam St. John, over 500 newsletters were delivered in November 2004 to apprise Fowl River residents of the Mon Luis project and of ways to become involved. The Mobile Register has printed several prominent stories on the project, and WKRG, a local CBS affiliate, promoted the planting event during their morning show.
   In addition to media outreach, the ACF made a presentation to the Fowl River Community Association on Jan 20, 2005. Strong relationships with area residents have been fostered through this project. Over 20 new members have joined from the Fowl River community since ACF began this project. Volunteers have come from scout troops and local businesses, including the Shell Yellowhammer Plant.
   The ACF continues to share with the community the results of this restoration project via the ACF website and civic presentations. The community has really embraced the tangible benefits of this restoration project and the ACF will be most pleased if we can facilitate this project becoming public land.

Project partners  include:

• Gulf of Mexico Foundation
• NOAA
• Shell Exploration
• Alabama Department of Conservations and Natural Resources
• State Lands Division
• US Army Corps of Enginerers
• Barry Vittor & Associates
• Mobile County Engineering Department
• Hand Arendall Lawyers
• Mobile Rotary Club
• Private landowners