On June 1, 2004, work was completed on John's Island, an Audubon-managed spoil island located within the Town of Palm Beach, southeast of West Palm Beach, and immediately east of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The project was a coordinated effort between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Palm Beach County, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Town of Palm Beach, and the Audubon Society.
Historically, the island was approximately 3 acres in size as depicted in the 1884 U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey but was later expanded to approximately 7 acres as a result of fill placement from numerous dredging projects. The additional fill placement made the island vulnerable to an invasion of exotic plant species most notably seaside mahoe and Australian pines that now occupy 5 acres of the 7 acre island.
The restoration project included the following features: 1) restoration of approximately 1.7 acres of existing mangroves, 2) creation of approximately 3.3 acres of red mangroves, and 3) enhancement of approximately 1.4 acres of maritime hammock. All exotic plant species were removed and chipped on site with the mulch used as a ground cover for the new maritime hammock plantings. The flushing was enhanced by constructing a tidal channel system with a total length of approximately 0.25 mile that included excavation, grading to wetland elevation, and removal of approximately 17,000 yds3 of spoil material. The clean spoil was removed from the island by barge and placed within the Snook Islands Natural Area used in the creation of mangrove islands and seagrass habitat. Approximately 500 tons of 1-3 foot diameter boulder rip-rap was used to stabilize the the entrance to the tidal channels. Planting consisted of: approximately 8,000 red mangrove seedlings (Rhizophora mangle), 11,400 plugs of smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora), and 1,000 maritime hammock trees and shrubs.
The mangrove seedlings for this project were collected by many volunteer groups including the Forest Hill and Jupiter High School Environmental Academies. Volunteers were utilized to plant the newly restored wetland areas when final elevations were achieved. The $826,000 in funds for project construction will come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Lake Worth Lagoon Partnership Program and Palm Beach County. The contractor for the project was Pete and Ron's Tree Service. Mangrove planting is anticipated for early June and volunteers can contact Palm Beach County's Department of Environmental Resources Management, Volunteer Coordinator Anne Mathews at 233-2452.
For further information, please contact Carman Vare at 561-233-2444, the Department of Environmental Resources Management at 561-233-2400 (or) the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Public Affairs Office at 904-232-2236 or 904-232-1238 (or) Town of Palm Beach 561-838-5440 (or) Audubon Society 941-623-6826.
Coastal Resources
