The project will restore a beach and dune ridge barrier system that provides habitat for birds, and other beach and dune-dependent species.
The new beach and dunes will also act as a restored barrier protecting interior wetlands and coastal habitats of the Salt Bayou Watershed and the fish, invertebrates, and other life that use them.
The diverse array of habitats creates an extremely productive area for fish and wildlife. They also provide outdoor recreational opportunities, and are the first line of defense for coastal communities from tropical storm events. The Salt Bayou ecosystem is the largest continuous estuarine marsh complex in Texas.
The Trustees’ contractor is using methods that have proved highly successful in the past. The restoration project is modeled after a 2017 pilot project, which restored 2.9 miles of shoreline in the same area.
Decades of Work, in Its Final Phases
For decades, a group of state, local, and federal stakeholders worked to restore the Salt Bayou Watershed. In 2013, they completed the Salt Bayou Watershed Restoration Plan. Since that time, they’ve implemented four distinct restoration elements. The McFaddin Beach and Dune Ridge Project is the final piece of the watershed restoration plan.
Trustees Approve Budget Increase
The project was approved in the Texas Trustee Implementation Group’s Final 2017 Restoration Plan with an authorized budget of $15.8 million to contribute to the broader project supported by other programs and funds listed below. After the 2017 approval, the Trustees increased the authorized budget by $2.5 million, to a total of $18.3 million, due to price changes in the construction market since the project’s inception and additional technical modifications.
The Trustee Implementation Group’s analysis (PDF, 12 pages) includes more details about how the project’s changes do not affect its compliance with applicable policies and regulations.
