Monthly Meeting and Lecture
Monthly MEETING and LECTURE: “Lake Worth Lagoon Restoration and the American Oystercatcher” with David Carson, Senior Environmental Analyst at Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management Habitat Enhancement and Restoration
Date and Time
June 4, 7:00 p.m. meeting & lecture.
Light refreshments at 6:30 p.m.
Rooms 101 and 102 at FAU Pine Jog Environmental Education Center, 6301 Summit Blvd, (near Jog Road) in West Palm Beach. Meeting is free and open to the public.
Program Overview
David Carson, Senior Environmental Analyst at the Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management Habitat Enhancement and Restoration Division, will review how the mangrove, seagrass and oyster restoration efforts in the Lake Worth Lagoon have enabled a pair of American Oystercatchers to establish a permanent new resident “colony” with annual nesting efforts in the lagoon.
The Lake Worth Lagoon was a freshwater lake until the late 1800s, when an inlet connecting it to the ocean was created. In the 1920s, sediment was dredged from the lake to create the Lake Worth golf course along 1.2 miles of lake shoreline. Dredging the lagoon created deep pockets in the lake that collected muck over time, resulting in the loss of oxygen, fish, plants and habitat.
The restoration of the Lake Worth Lagoon began in 2004 by partners Palm Beach County Environmental Resources Management, Florida Inland Navigation District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Port of Palm Beach, West Palm Beach Fishing Club, and the City of Lake Worth. Completed in 2012, Snook Islands is 1.2 miles of restored shoreline that includes over 11 acres of mangroves, 2 acres of oysters, 3 acres of salt marsh grass, and 60 acres of seagrass habitat north and south of the Lake Worth Bridge.
“The restored areas have created increased feeding, nesting, and roosting opportunities for fish and wildlife, along with some improvement to water quality, but the greatest success of the project is the overall contribution of increased biological productivity to a highly impacted lagoon, and the American Oystercatchers are just the most visible manifestation of the improved habitats,” said David Carson. The American Oystercatcher pair have successfully raised 7 chicks in the past 5 years.
David Carson has a B.S. in Forest Resources and Conservation from the University of Florida, a Juris Doctor from Nova Southeastern University, and is a member of the Florida Bar. He has been working for the Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management Habitat Enhancement and Restoration Division since 1992.
More Meeting Information
Meeting and program is free and open to the public. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for light refreshments, in rooms 101 and 102 at FAU Pine Jog Environmental Education Center, 6301 Summit Blvd (near Jog Road) in West Palm Beach. We look forward to seeing you there!
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