Living Shoreline Project At St. Petersburg College Gets Assist From Grant

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — St. Petersburg College was recently awarded a grant from the Tampa Bay Environmental Restoration Fund to support the Living Shoreline Project at SPC’s STEM Center campus in St. Petersburg.

The Tampa Bay Environmental Restoration Fund is a competitive grants program with the goal of funding projects which restore and protect Tampa Bay and its watershed. It is managed through a strategic partnership between the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and Restore America’s Estuaries, which work together to encourage local and national contributions from the public and private sectors and achieve measurable conservation outcomes.

The founding partners of TBERF are the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Restore America’s Estuaries, Southwest Florida Water Management District and The Mosaic Company. TBERF would not be possible without the commitment and generosity of the many organizations. Please take a moment to visit the sponsors page to view some of these committed partners.

The goal of the TBERF is to establish the habitat, species, and nutrient reduction priorities that have been developed by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and its partners, and outlined in the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan Charting the Course. Eligible projects will advance the following priorities:

• Recover an additional 5,103 acres of seagrass over 2010 levels, while preserving the bay’s existing grass beds and reducing propeller scarring of seagrasses.
• Prevent increases in nitrogen entering the bay and assist in maintaining nitrogen loading at 2003-2007 levels by implementing innovative stormwater management projects and programs.
• “Restore the historic balance” of coastal wetland habitats by restoring an additional 1,918 acres of salt marsh, including low-salinity tidal marsh, as approved in the TBEP 2010 Habitat Master Plan Update.
• Restore an additional 840 acres of salt barren (saltern) habitat in Tampa Bay.
• Restore and protect connectivity and function of fisheries habitat in the bay’s tidal streams and creeks.
• Benefit declining, threatened or endangered species at the state or federal level, or as identified in the CCMP, through addressing long term solutions to the conservation of a species and/or restoring associated habitat.

To date, TBERF has received over $7.3 million to support 72 projects throughout the Tampa Bay watershed. This interactive map shows the locations and descriptions of TBERF funded projects. Click on a site-pin map to learn more about the project.

This press release was produced by the St Petersburg College News. The views expressed are the author's own.