2024-305 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

A TRUE COPY CERTIFICATION ON LAST PAGE RYAN L. BUTLER, CLERK Contract# IRL2024N-08 Encumbrance# GLO1-2309 Big Slough Restoration Site: Big Slough, Map site 7a (27.8179800, -80.432373°).) Sebastian Inlet. Primary contact: Melissa Meisenburg, Sr. Lagoon Environmental Specialist, IRC Parks and Conservation Resources, IR County, 5500 77th Street Vero Beach, FL 32967 mmeisenburg@indianriver.gov (772) 559-5330 Big Slough (Indian River County, FL) is located three miles south of Sebastian Inlet on the eastern side of the IRL surrounded by Melba Island and Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge (figure 1). The site's proximity to the inlet allows for improved water flow and water quality needed for successful seagrass restoration projects. The natural islands adjacent to Big Slough shelter the site from wave energy, reducing sediment transport and ultimately improving seagrass establishment. Design: Indian River County will work with Sea & Shoreline to cultivate, plant and maintain 12.8 acres of seagrass within Big Slough (Figure 2). The seagrass utilized in the project is a pure strain cultivar of Halodule wrightii, originally collected from previous projects within the IRL. Seagrass will be harvested from an upland nursery and packaged into Mechanical Planting Units (MPU) and four -inch peat pots. MPUs are pre -rooted plants in biodegradable mesh containers containing 1-3 apical meristems and a proprietary blend of sediments promoting seagrass growth. Peat pots are larger planting units containing up to 25 shoots, pre -rooted in a 4"x4" biodegradable fabric pot. Sixty-four thousand MPUs will be installed on three-foot centers across the site. 1,600 peat pots will be installed in groups of five and planted below GrowSAVTM herbivory exclusion devices. GrowSAVTM herbivory exclusion devices will be deployed in clusters of five placed on 15 -foot centers for a total of 320 devices (Figure 3). The legs of the device bury in the sediment anchoring and keeping it flush with the seafloor to prevent entrapment. Each cluster will be staked with PVC pipe to mark its location. The exclusion devices will protect an area of seven -square feet preventing grazing from herbivores and allowing the establishment of the peat pots. Seagrass educational signage will be installed at the site to protect the newly installed MPUs and educate users. Maintenance: During GrowSAVTM deployment, monthly maintenance events will remove drift algae and biofouling organisms from the exclusion devices to ensure ample light penetration. GrowSAVTM Herbivory Exclusion Devices will be removed from the project site after twelve months. Page 15