TIKI ISLAND, Texas — A team of state, federal and private partners, including the Kempner Fund and Houston Audubon Society, received the Coastal America Partnership Award Tuesday night for the North Deer Island shoreline restoration project. This story was brought to you thanks to khou.com’s partnership with The Galveston County Daily News.
The award, the only environmental honor of its kind given by the president of the United States, was presented by Eileen Soebeck, a deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior, in ceremonies at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. Recipients received a plaque and letter from President Barack Obama.
"A project and collaboration like this is important," Jamie Schubert, a biologist and project manager for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said. "North Deer Island is one of the largest nesting colonial water bird rookeries in the Galveston Bay system."
The state agency led the project.
The coalition worked for nine years to "armor" the island’s eroding shoreline by creating a stone breakwater. Barges hauled 24,100 tons of limestone from a Missouri quarry. Almost 2 miles of continuous rock now surround the island, tripping the waves and reducing wave energy that causes erosion.
The project spanned nine years. Conservation workers already have seen increased numbers of birds on the island that at one time provided habitat for up to 30,000 nesting pairs of birds, including the Brown Pelican.
"North Deer Island is emblematic of natural habitats that are not only critical for fish and wildlife but ultimately benefit the many people who live on and visit the Texas coast," Carter Smith, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department executive director, said in a released statement.
"This is only one of two natural islands left in West Galveston Bay. Without help, projections showed one third of it would have eroded away in 30 years."
The Coastal America Partnership Award recognizes outstanding collaborative efforts that combine resources to restore and protect coastal areas.
