Florida wildlife officials plan to spend $1.7 million in federal money to plant back more than seven acres of seagrass along Samsons Island in Satellite Beach. But they also will cover more than an acre of the Banana River Lagoon with limestone boulders to blunt waves, and with 165 cages to thwart hungry manatees and other grazers, to give the seagrass a fighting chance.
Because of global warming, like many islands in the Indian River Lagoon, half of Samsons Island could go under water by 2100 , or sooner, as predicted in a 2010 study of Satellite Beach and echoed by a consultant's flood analysis of the city last year.
But healthy plants on and/or along the island's fringes could help fend off that process.
So the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently applied for a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to install the seagrass, rocks, cages and seven pile-supported signs warning vessels of the restoration project.
Where does the money come from?
The Samsons Island seagrass project is part of the recently announced $9.4 million in NOAA (National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration) funding for the Indian River Lagoon, Ryan Sheets, a spokesman with FWC, wrote in an email.
FWC already has an Environmental Resource Program permit through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. "We have a pending $1.7 million in NOAA Transformational Fish habitat grant with the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program to construct the project," Sheets added.
'Why should I care?' Because seagrass brings big bucks to Brevard
Seagrass is the linchpin of the lagoon's ecology . Fish, shrimp, sea turtles and crabs are among the thousands of species that rely upon the bottom habitat to hide, feed and breed.
But resource managers say it will take another $5 billion and 20 years to save the stressed ecosystem. Advocates say all the time and taxpayer expense to clean up the estuary is worth it: The lagoon brings $7.6 billion annually to the six counties that border the waterway.
Only two years after that peak seagrass target growth of 80,434 acres was reached in 2007, cold snaps and algae blooms over the next few years wiped out more than half the lagoon's most important plant, and 90% of its coverage in some spots. Even in 2007, the density of seagrass wasn't that good, biologists say.
Are there any signs of progress?
Yes. Seagrass acreage grew back by 24% in just two years, to 24,521 acres in 2023, according to the district's most recent field surveys.
But that's up from a record low of 19,821 acres in 2021. And it's also only 30% of the 80,434 acres that grew in 2007, a level biologists say makes for healthy lagoon.
What would the Samsons Island project do?
According to the public notice of permit application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, FWC would install:
- 35 limestone/coquina breakwaters covering an area of 1.36 acres of lagoon bottom
- 165 herbivory exclusion cages (to keep manatees, turtles and others from eating the seagrass before it can grow)
- 5,125 planting units of seagrasses comprised of two native species: shoal grass and widgeon grass.
- Seven pile-supported aids to navigation warning vessels of the restoration project.
FWC must get the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit first, because the project would occur in navigable waterways.
Is this the first try at growing seagrass at Samsons Island?
No. An earlier phase of the project included a one-acre mix of seagrass, oyster and clam habitat, using a variety of materials and techniques. That first phase was funded by the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program in 2019 and completed by the city of Satellite Beach and its multiple partners in spring of 2021. The city also has received funding from the Brevard County Tourist Development Council for a second phase of the project, which provided for an additional acre of submerged lands restoration at the northern end of the island and supports public outreach and education.
In September 2022, the Brevard Tourism Development Council granted $49,839 to the city for a separate, unrelated phase of the Samsons Island submerged lands restoration project.
What happens next if FWC gets the Corps permit?
Sheets said that once the project begins, FWC staff plan on installing subtidal reefs along the historic deep bed edge of the seagrass along the west side of Samson’s Island "to stabilize the sediments, improve water column filtration by fouling communities (marine organisms that attach to hard surfaces) that establish on the reefs and buffering wave action from the west, north and south," he said.
Seagrass planting will be conducted if the water clarity improves and is found suitable for planting of "nursery-reared seagrass," Sheets added.
FWC staff also plan on planting clams in the area to the east of the reefs to add more "filter feeders" to improve water quality for seagrass growth.
"Staff are aiming to begin procurement of a contractor this spring or early next summer, after cooperative agreements are in place and fiduciary issues are resolved," Sheets added.
Where can I learn more?
For information about the Corps permit application, visit https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Public-Notices/Article/3856492/saj-2023-02012-sp-jaz/
For information about FWC's Samson Island project, visit: https://myfwc.com/media/29000/satellite-beach.pdf .
Contact Waymer at (321) 261-5903 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com. Follow him on X at @JWayEnviro.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Florida wildlife officials seek federal permit to plant seagrass off Samsons Island
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