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Galveston Bay Ecology and Integration of Coastal Protection and Restoration Introduction • This presentation addresses • Galveston Bay ecology and coastal barrier attributes of Galveston Island, Texas and integration of coastal protection and restoration, And sets the stage for the following discussions on tools of restoration, protection, and setting local policies and regulations for both. Galveston Island Gulf of Mexico Bolivar Peninsula Presentation Outline • Formation • Features • Functions • Foreseeable Future Formation Coastal landforms and characteristic features in a coastal zone are subject to riverine and marine processes which include deposition and erosion. Formation Galveston Bay, Texas lies within the upper Texas coast zone along the Gulf of Mexico primarily formed as drowned river mouth systems of the San Jacinto and Trinity Rivers and is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula. Formation Bay attributes include inputs from the San Jacinto River and Trinity River, which formed the Trinity Bay lobe and Galveston Island, characterized by changing shorelines over time shown as series of parallel ridges and swales. Galveston Island is separated from the mainland by a lagoon called West Bay of Galveston Bay and the Bolivar Peninsula is separated by East Bay. Formation Landscape Ecology • “Landscape”, from a Dutch word meaning a land area, comprising the visual, physical, and living elements of flora and fauna that characterized the area, and includes changing elements such as weather conditions and lighting, with the land form, flora and fauna present all responding to a combination of processes. • “Ecology”, from a Greek word for household and knowledge, so it describes the systems and interactions of living organisms with their surroundings, therefore the relationship of organisms to the environment. Features Scrub Shrub Salt Flats Thickets Coastal Prairie Bayous Salt Marsh Tidal Deltas Swash Zone and Near Shore Bars Wooded Motts Beach/Dunes Remnant Ridge and Swale Wetland Complex Features Near Shore Bars—Swash Zone—Tidal Deltas Features Beach and Dune Features Salt Marsh and Beach/Dune Helmers, D. L. 1992. Shorebird Management Manual. Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, Manomet, MA. 58 pp. Features Salt Marsh and Salt Flats Features Coastal Prairie and Tributary Bayous Features Remnant Ridge and Swale Wetland Complex Features Wooded Motts and Scrub Shrub Thicket Functions • • • • • Shoreline protection Water quality protection Nutrient and energy cycling Human use support-commercial fishing, recreational, residential, etc Habitat and animal life cycle support Functions Interdunal Ridge and Swale Wetlands Functions Wetlands • Freshwater • Intermediate • Brackish • Saline Functions Scrub shrub thicket, coastal prairie grassland, interdunal and back dune wetland swales Functions Scrub shrub thicket and coastal prairie grassland edge Functions Landscape Ecology Landscape Assessments Mapping Applying landscape principles and ecological concepts Hydrologic cycle Species populations-plant & animal Growth, competition, predation Variation, selection, specialization Community- spatial structure Layout, pattern, distribution Niches, edges, zones, transitions Biodiversity, sustainability, recovery Energy/matter cycling- food chains, ecosystem webs Corridors, linkages Dependency Matrices Interactions Cumulative Impacts Foreseeable Future Formal Informal Straight Built Not Built Grazed Not Grazed Landscape Health/Quality assessed differently by artists, scientists, engineers, economists, sociologists, planners, developers, and the individuals who are collectively known as “the public”. Foreseeable Future • Landscape Conversion • Reduction/total loss of habitat, biodiversity, and processes Foreseeable Future Source: Bureau of Economic Geology Coastal Studies Group, J. Gibeaut, et al, 2007. Foreseeable Future Foreseeable Future Wetland Protection: adequate buffers greater than 100 feet Foreseeable Future Galveston Bay Physical System Galveston Bay Ecological System Galveston Bay Human System Hurricane Ike Foreseeable Future Integrated Coastal Protection and Restoration for the upper Texas coast Applicable Regulations National Environmental Policy Act Clean Water Act Rivers and Harbors Act Coastal Barriers Resource Act Coastal Erosion Act Coastal Erosion, Planning, and Response Act Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act Texas Open Beaches Act Dune Protection Act Endangered Species Act Migratory Bird Treaty Act And others Integration of Coastal Protection and Restoration • Comprehensive • • Master Plan for Coastal Louisiana Engineering Tools for the Upper Texas Coast Gulf Coast Response and Recovery District
