Acres of Habitat To Be Restored:
Restore tidal flow to over 100 acres of brackish marsh that serves as productive feeding and nursery habitat for numerous estuarine dependent fish and wildlife species.

Project Description:

The Big Devils Bayou Culvert Repair project is a cooperative effort with multiple partners to restore tidal flow to over 100 acres of brackish marsh that serves as productive feeding and nursery habitat for numerous estuarine dependent fish and wildlife species. The existing culverts have collapsed causing a barrier that prevents tidal flow from reaching crucial marshland. The marshes and open water associated with the project area are highly productive for living marine resources in the Aransas Bay System. The project also has environmental education components as well, reaching out to students from the Tivoli High School to educate them about the importance of coastal marsh environments.

Project Goals:

• Restore tidal flow to over 100 acres of brackish marsh that serves as productive feeding and nursery habitat for numerous estuarine dependent fish and wildlife species
• Provide a positive educational experience involving coastal natural resources to seventh – tenth grade students, using a hands-on approach
• Educate students in the importance of conservation of natural resources along the Texas coast.

Final Progress Report:
by project leader Erin Holmes, August 31, 2004

Project Accomplishments/Benefits:
The collapsed culverts were placed with two 48-foot reinforced concrete pipes that were eight feet long. In addition, a vinyl headwall and extensive riprap were installed to provide erosion control, thus extending the life of the culverts. With the new and improved culverts in place, tidal flow has been restored.

Education was accomplished through student field trips to the project site. On four occasions, students from the Tivoli High School aquatic biology class made a trip to the project site. Biological staff from the Aransas Nation Wildlife Refuge met with the students to discuss the purpose of the projects, the refuge’s conservation effort and water quality monitoring techniques. The students were taught how to use various monitoring tools, such as data loggers, water temperature probes, kestrels and dissolved oxygen probes. The students also learned how to identify brackish fish species and to calculate a sequential comparison index value to measure biological diversity. Monitoring will continue long-term through use of remote sensing data loggers.

Project Evaluation:
Execution of this project proceeded as intended and expected. All partners involved were committed and participated fully. This was a highly successful project in which the partners successfully worked together, construction was completed without any problems, and the students were able to learn in the field hands-on biological conservation techniques and methods. Disturbance to the project area was minimal, and construction was completed in five days. The day after the project was completed, refuge biological staff observed a green heron foraging next to the culverts. The completion of this project aids in the natural resource goals and objectives of several coastal watershed management efforts. It supports the goals of the Gulf of Mexico Foundation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and the Texas Coastal Management Program.