GTM NERR Initiates Community Reef Building Project

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection's GTM Research Reserve is partnering with the local community to build living reefs with discarded oyster shell. The project is funded by a $150,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) awarded to the Friends of the Reserve support organization at GTM. The two-year project will restore 1,000 feet of eroding shoreline in the Tolomato River at Wrights Landing in St. Johns County.

With the help of biologists and volunteers, St. Johns Technical High School students are learning "hands-on" restoration science beginning this month by constructing an artificial reef with shucked oyster shells provided by local restaurants.

• More about Oyster Shell Recycling ...

Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas

The Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas manages more than 4 million acres of the most valuable submerged lands and select coastal uplands. The Office manages 41 aquatic preserves and, in coordination with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, three National Estuarine Research Reserves and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas
3900 Commonwealth Blvd., MS 235
Tallahassee, FL 32399-3000
(850) 245-2094
FloridaCoasts@dep.state.fl.us