ROOKERY BAY MANGROVE RESTORATION PROJECT RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT

Florida Department of Environmental Protection sent this bulletin at 01/11/2016 12:47 PM EST
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 11, 2016

CONTACT: DEP Press Office, 850.245.2112, DEPNews@dep.state.fl.us 

ROOKERY BAY MANGROVE RESTORATION PROJECT 
RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT

~Innovative project to restore 225 acres of mangroves in Collier County~ 

Mangrove Restoration

Mangrove forest at Fruit Farm Creek to be restored


NAPLES, Fla. — The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is partnering with China's Rilin Group to help restore 225 acres of mangroves in Collier County. The group has committed $5 million to restore and monitor the mangrove forest at Fruit Farm Creek within the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (RBNERR).

RBNERR and its partners have been researching causes of the mangrove die-off in the area, which includes construction initiated in the 1930s of State Road 92, to develop a plan to restore environmental conditions such as historical water flows in the estuarine area. This project will implement advances in research and restoration of water flows that support the conditions necessary for mangrove health.

The project’s first phase, which entailed permitting, engineering and design, site surveys, vegetation clearing, excavation and fill removal, was completed in 2012 and included funding from private donations, a grant from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and in-kind donations from local businesses.

“We are pleased to work with China's Rilin Group and our community partners to continue to restore this forest,” said Keith Laakkonen, Florida Coastal Office southwest regional manager. “Mangroves are not only vital to our local economy but provide numerous benefits worldwide. This innovative project and accompanying research may prove beneficial to restoring and protecting these critical ecosystems around the globe.”

“We want our investment in Rookery Bay to help restore that mangrove system, and other mangrove ecosystems in other parts of Florida and the United States,” said Wenliang Wang, chairman of China's Rilin Group. “We believe the results can also be deployed to China’s coastal areas where mangroves have been impacted, and urgently need to be restored and regenerated. The Rilin Group will continue to make strategic investments in environment and ecosystem preservation, and make its humble contribution to the protection of international ecosystems and the environment.”

Partners on the project include: Coastal Resources Group, Inc. (the project manager), the Ecology Group, Evans Engineering, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, the city of Marco Island, Friends of Rookery Bay and China's Rilin Group.

Mangroves are instrumental in protecting Florida shoreline and providing habitat for marine life that are the basis of the $7.6-billion fishing industry, which employs 109,000 people. The Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve encompasses 110,000 acres of coastal lands and waters on the Gulf Coast of Florida in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.