by Rick Farren

It was a stunning sight! Rippling waves of green and yellow marsh grass spread before the afternoon wind. Two baby alligators hung half-submerged and motionless in a small tidal creek, paying little attention to a nearby small school of mullet scattering before an unseen predator, or a stately blue heron standing poised to strike at the water’s edge. Above the grass a marsh hawk dipped and tilted on the currents, its white tail patch plainly visible as it searched the marsh for an unsuspecting meal. Higher in the sky an osprey circled, perhaps considering the chances of catching one of the skittish mullet unawares.

Altogether it was a thriving ecosystem, as healthy a saltmarsh as can be found anywhere in Florida. Yet, less than three years ago this same land was barren and dry, a one-time tomato field that was being prepared to assume the roll of nursery and habitat provider for Cockroach Bay and the greater Tampa Bay ecosystem.

My wife Claudia and I were fortunate to be there in 1997 when the first sprigs of grass were planted. We parked in a dirt field that day, and trudged across the dry ground to join more than 200 volunteers at the CCA Florida assembly tent.

Lines of shovels and volunteers were getting ready to go to work. After a brief orientation, we broke into teams and spread out across the field. Planting rows had been laid out, and each team became a moving assembly line complete with diggers, planters and fertilizers.

The land had been cleared and contoured to imitate a natural ecosystem complete with a winding tidal creek. The grasses were planted about two feet apart, and the various species used were chosen according to elevation above the tide.

Today, the fruits of that half-day of labor and many hours of preparation are plain to see.

Part of an ongoing restoration project under the direction of Tampa BayWatch, the planting that day was actually just one of the dozens of planting days that have taken place over the years. After more than a decade of taking part in such programs, the CCA Tampa Chapter has developed a "planting day program" that includes tents and displays, T-shirts, water, lunches, soft drinks and other necessities for attracting and serving a large crowd of volunteers.

The Cockroach Bay project, which is located in Southeast Tampa Bay near Sun City, has a goal of restoring 640 acres of surrounding farm land and shell pits to native wetland habitat communities. When completed it will be one of the largest restoration projects of its kind in the country.

One of the most gratifying aspects of the planting, however, and of all the plantings, is the number of kids and teenagers taking part in the effort. Observed one CCA member, "The kids taking part will benefit some day from a cleaner and healthier environment, while for now they have the opportunity to have fun and at the same time learn about their responsibility as stewards of the planet."

Frank E. Duckwall Foundation —Making it Possible

The Cockroach Bay planting was one of two major plantings that year sponsored in-part by the Frank E. Duckwall Foundation with a designated gift of nearly $10,000 provided to CCA Florida.

In October 1998, the Foundation helped sponsor the restoration planting of six acres of saltmarsh at Emerson Point in Manatee County. More than 230 volunteers made up of CCA Florida members, Girl and Boy Scout troops, college students, and a middle school ecology club planted a total of 18,000 plants. The ecology club had actually grown 3,000 of the plants for the project.

Just a few months later, in April of 1999, again with the financial assistance of the Frank E. Duckwall Foundation, the volunteers returned to Cockroach Bay where they planted 23 acres of inter-tidal upland and open water habitat. In the process, the 260 volunteers set a new Tampa Bay record for a single day’s effort by planting 24,000 individual plants in one day.

by Ted Forsgren

In the summer of 1999, after hearing public testimony on the importance of sargassum as critical habitat for a variety of marine species, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) submitted a plan to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) that would phase out, and then prohibit, the commercial taking of sargassum vegetation in offshore waters.

Live, floating mats of sargassum vegetation are extremely important habitat in the Gulf Stream off Florida and other oceanic areas. Yet, the valuable seaweed habitat is currently being collected for use as an additive in hog and cattle feed.

The Council’s proposed management plan states that the sargassum vegetation is essential habitat for more than 100 species of fish, including juvenile marlin, sailfish and dolphin (mahi mahi), 145 invertebrate species such as crabs, five species of marine sea turtles and many marine birds.

Subsequently, in September, NMFS Southeast Regional Administrator Dr. William Hogarth provided written notice which implied that if the Council did not include a commercial take provision, they would reject the sargassum protection plan. Over the ensuing weeks, NMFS received 311 letters from individuals and organizations. All but three supported the Council’s plan.

On November 24, NMFS officially rejected the Council’s sargassum protection plan.

CCA Florida has expressed disbelief and concern over the NMFS decision. At a time when we should be entering a new era in marine species management, our federal fisheries agency is actually promoting the taking of a unique and vital fisheries habitat. We will continue to push for full and complete sargassum protection. The battle is a long way from being won.

In November, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, at the urging of CCA, adopted new regulations for Gulf red snapper, which could eliminate the sudden disruptive season closures experienced by recreational anglers and charter boats over the last few years.

The proposed regulations call for an April 15 through October 31 season, a four-fish bag limit, and a 16-inch minimum size. The National Marine Fisheries Service must still approve the rule.

"The CCA organization, with CCA Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas, worked together to develop and advocate recreational regulations which keep the four-fish bag limit, maximize the length of season and provide the critically-needed resource protection," said CCA Florida’s Ted Forsgren. "We’re pleased that our recommendations were supported by the Council."

Strong impetus for the federal regulations also came from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, which at its October meeting adopted the same proposals for state waters, and then enacted them as a final rule in December.