PRESS
RELEASE: June 1, 2015
DEP AND PARTNERS RECEIVE PROCLAMATION FOR RESTORATION PROJECT
~Agency is recognized for its contribution to the Grassy Flats restoration project~
 A list of partners accepting the proclamation: (left to right) are Tom Twyford, executive director of the West Palm Beach Fishing Club; Ken Warren, public affairs officer for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Rob Robbins, director of the Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management; Commissioner Priscilla Taylor, Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners; Eric Anderson, environmental analyst for the Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management; Colonel Alan M. Dodd, Jacksonville district commander for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Alyssa Freeman, operations director of the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County; Jamie Monty, manager of the Florida Department Environmental Protection Coral Reef Conservation Program; and Ernie Marks, south region director for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Photo credit: Palm Beach County.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Palm Beach County Commission awarded a Proclamation to Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Coral Reef Conservation Program for the agency’s contribution to the Grassy Flats Restoration Partnership. Located within Lake Worth Lagoon adjacent to the Florida Reef Tract, the Grassy Flats project created more than 12 acres of wetlands by restoring seagrass, mangroves and oysters to what had previously been barren muck bottom. Through a multi-agency partnership, the department’s program restored Grassy Flats enabling the natural resource area to provide environmental, recreational and economic benefits and services to Palm Beach County residents and tourists.
“By pooling our resources, the partners were able to accomplish something that none of us could have completed individually,” said Jamie Monty, manager of DEP’s Coral Reef Conservation Program. “Through our collaborative efforts, this important restoration project will be able to provide services to the citizens and visitors of Palm Beach County now and into the future. I am grateful for the recognition that Palm Beach County Commission’s proclamation has bestowed on the department and our partners.”
Restoration efforts have been taking place since 1990 and this partnership serves as a prime example of how working together can garner the support needed to achieve goals for long-term restoration endeavors. DEP worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, town of Palm Beach, city of Lake Worth, West Palm Beach Fishing Club and the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County. This particular project is a Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative Land-Based Sources of Pollution project.
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