ORANGE BEACH — Robinson Island and Walker Island in Perdido Bay will receive restoration work from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) after entering an agreement with the City of Orange Beach for …
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ORANGE BEACH — Robinson Island and Walker Island in Perdido Bay will receive restoration work from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) after entering an agreement with the City of Orange Beach for access.
While plans have been made by TNC, a global environmental organization, for the Lower Perdido Islands, the permit for entry needed to complete the work had to be approved by Orange Beach City Council. It was unanimously approved at their meeting Jan. 7.
"This is a big deal right here," Mayor Tony Kennon said. "We appreciate it."
Katie Baltzer, coastal projects manager with TNC who is the project manager for the restoration, said the project has an expected completion date of early summer with construction wrapping up on Walker Island and construction starting on Robinson Island within the next few weeks.
The islands and adjacent waters have hosted over 500 boats at a time with "beautiful blue-green waters" that provide "easy access to sandy beaches and unique wildlife" increasingly attracting more boaters to the undeveloped islands, according to TNC.
Baltzer said the area surrounding the islands is "extremely popular" for tourists and residents to visit. She said these islands also provide refuge in a "heavily developed" region for several "birds and aquatic species that depend on healthy habitats to survive."
"Our primary goal for the Lower Perdido Islands Restoration project," Baltzer said, "is to protect and sustain the biodiversity (habitats and wildlife) of the natural communities on and around the islands while maintaining recreational opportunities for the public.
An increase in the islands' popularity and increasing pressures from storms, Baltzer said, have "taken a toll on the vulnerable habitats." She said several species, like blue crabs, shrimp and fish, use the area for a nursing ground.
TNC has a widespread restoration plan working with the waterways within the Perdido Bay Watershed that covers Baldwin and Escambia counties. Lower Perdido Islands' restoration is a part of this larger restoration plan.
In order to determine needs and concerns for the islands, the project went through a design phase where local organizations, agencies, funders and community members gave feedback on the plan developed by TNC alongside the City of Orange Beach and the project engineer, Moffatt & Nichol.
"The design phase was lengthy to ensure we were capturing all voices while also meeitng both conservation and recreational goals," Baltzer said. "Ultimately, the final designs wree selected with consideration for stakeholder input, modeling results, optimization of restored or created habitat and avoidance of seagrass impact."
One part of the project, previously reported by GCM, was seagrass transplants that work to expand and potentially connect each Lower Perdido Island (Bird, Robinson and Walker). The seagrass transplants were mostly focused on parts surrounding the islands that have suffered from erosion and habitat loss due to human activity and natural forces.
Walker Island will receive subtidal marshes, scrub habitat and adjacent upland habitat on the east and west ends.
According to Baltzer, the work on Robinson Island will include the creation of one acre of subtidal (underwater) habitat "for birds to forage and juvenile fishes to utilize," three acres of marsh as "the existing marsh on the island is drowning" and three acres of dune to extend the land habitat for birds. There will also be a retaining wall feature added "to help stabilize the northeastern corner."
Baltzer said these upgrades will "target critical areas for enhancement" of marsh, upland, beach and dune habitats. She said the sediment used in the upgrades will be collected from "two local borrow areas," ensuring that "all sediment stays within the same system."
"Once restoration is comlete," Baltzer said about Robinson Island, "the public will be able to enjoy the island for recreation as before with more areas to explore."
Walker Island, according to Baltzer, will remain "off limits to boats and people" as it is "reserved solely for wildlife." She said Walker Island will see restoration primarly in two locations.
"An addition just west of the island will provide four acres of subtidal habitat and six acres of upland habitat," said Baltzer on Walker Island's restoration. "On the east end of the island, we will create about one acre of subtidal habitat, one acre of restored marsh and 11 acres of upland habitat with varying elevations to support different types of plants."
TNC received a grants administered from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to fund the project. Baltzer said the project was funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act and the Natural Resources Damage Assessment. The memorandum on the permit request from Orange Beach's Coastal Resources states the project will receive $8.3 million from the Natural Resources Damage Assessment fund from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The TNC website states that TNC has partnered with Orange Beach-based contractor MD Thomas Construction to "soon break ground for construction" and "lead restoration efforts" on the islands.
"During this time, dredging pipelines will impact normal navigation, so boaters are encouraged to navigate the area slowly and cautiously and to look for buoys and signs marking the pipelines," TNC's website states.
The website also states that TNC will post signage and regular social media status updates on construction, "which will initially look 'ugly,'" before the habitats' natural look has been fully restored.
The City of Orange Beach's memorandum lists the organizations involved with the Lower Perdido Islands Restoration Project, which includes the City of Orange Beach, ADCNR, Pensacola and Perdido Bays Estuary Program, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Moffat and Nichol, Mississippi State University, Troy University, University of South Alabama and The Nature Conservancy.
"Our efforts should help provide more space for both people and wildlife to spread out a bit," Baltzer said, "hopefully reducing some of the negative impacts on these delicate systems. As one of the few undeveloped spaces in the area, we want to make sure these islands are around for years to come for residents and millions of seasonal visitors."
To keep up with progress on the Lower Perdido Restoration project, TNC regularly updates their website page on the project at www.nature.org.