CCA Texas recently approved $246,000 for two habitat restoration projects along the Texas coast. $46,204 was funded for Phase I engineering for the Ayers Point Reef Restoration Project on the eastern end of Ayers Reef.
These funds will emanate from the $5 million CCA Texas Oyster Restoration Initiative. They will be combined with funds from other organizations, like the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program (CBBEP), which they have received to execute the phase one engineering portion of this project.
CBBEP and the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve system (NERR) have also jointly applied for a NOAA NERRS Habitat Protection and Restoration Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Competition grant for future construction.
This will be the first project and the top priority area as identified by members of the Mesquite Bay Complex Oyster Restoration Initiative.
CCA Texas and the Galveston Bay Foundation (GBF) have been long-time partners in several projects. The Oyster Lake Shoreline Protection Project is in Phase III of construction and CCA Texas has funded $200,000 to help extend the shoreline protection by an additional 300 plus feet.
The funds will be allocated from the grassroots fundraising efforts of local chapters for the Building Conservation Trust (BCT) Texas habitat funds. CCA Texas has now funded $430,000 to the restoration efforts to protect the sensitive Oyster Lake estuarine system, located at the very west end of West Galveston Bay.
CCA Texas looks forward to the lasting, positive impact these conservation efforts will bring and the continued critical partnerships that will help restore Texas’s coastal habitat.
