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Corkboard Event
April
26 and May 31
Galveston Bay Foundation Schedules Tenth Annual Marsh Mania Planting Event
(Date – Webster, TX) The Galveston Bay Foundation will host its tenth annual
“Marsh Mania” planting event on Saturday, April 26 and Saturday, May 31,
working to restore the wetlands in seven locations around the Bay. This
program is the nationally recognized, signature, community-based wetlands
restoration and education event of the Galveston Bay area. The goal of Marsh
Mania is to involve local citizens in hands-on wetlands restoration
activities while increasing awareness and appreciation of wetland habitats
and functions.
“Galveston Bay has lost more that 35,000 acres of wetland habitat since the
1950’s, and The Galveston Bay Foundation is committed to restoring wetlands
across Galveston Bay, in part through our heralded Marsh Mania project,”
explained Foundation president Bob Stokes. “Marsh restoration helps protect
finfish and shellfish that are important to our community and our state,
both commercially and recreationally. These marshes also provide natural
protection from storm surges and help reduce coastal erosion,” Stokes said.
The first Marsh Mania was held in 1999, and was known that year as "Marsh
Bash." This one-day event set a national record when 1,500 volunteers
planted nearly 70,000 stems of smooth cordgrass to create 14.5 acres of new
habitat at eight sites around the bay. In the nine years since it began,
more than 4,700 Marsh Mania volunteers from throughout the region have
worked 11,488 hours to restore the wetlands in forty-one coastal sites
around Galveston Bay. Almost 320,500 stems of grass have been planted in the
restoration of 107 acres of vital wetlands.
To register for Marsh Mania, please send an e-mail to
marshmania@galvbay.org or visit
our website at www.galvbay.org .
2008 Marsh Mania Planting Sites
April 26, 2008
Pierce Marsh (Hitchcock)
North Deer Island (West Bay)
Clear Creek (League City)
May 31, 2008
Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge (Anahuac)
Armand Bayou Nature Center (Pasadena)
Chocolate Bay (Alvin)
Texas City Prairie Preserve (Texas City)
Marsh Mania is supported through a grant from the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Galveston Bay Estuary Program (GBEP) and US
Environmental Protection Agency.
The mission of the Galveston Bay Foundation is to preserve, protect and
enhance the natural resources of the Galveston Bay estuarine system and it
tributaries for present users and for posterity. The Foundation was
incorporated in 1987, and is a non-profit organization under Section 501
©(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code. GBF is located at 17330 Highway 3
in Webster, TX. For further information contact GBF at 281-332-3381 or visit
the website at www.galvbay.org for
additional event and volunteer information.
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