Water district officials discuss Flagler marsh project

BUNNELL — If St. Johns River Water Management District officials hope to satisfy opponents of a planned salt marsh restoration project adjacent to Flagler Beach, it has more work to do.

District officials staged a well-attended workshop session Monday night in conjunction with the Flagler County Commission to present information about the project and answer questions.

But their attempts to establish that the 40 acres of coastal marsh west of Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area was impaired and needs to be restored left some audience members unconvinced.

“I’ve never been in such a thriving estuary in my life,” said Flagler Beach resident Rick Alford during the public comment portion of the meeting.

[READ: Flagler Beach marsh restoration plan stirs controversy]

And more than one person requested information beyond what was presented Monday.

“Before any work is started, we need specific, scientific data that says that we are not in fact a thriving estuary,” said one woman.

Matt Hathaway, whose property sits near the project site, said he wants to see “some real solid research of our specific area.”

Audience members raised a number of issues, including the project’s impact on boat access, fishing and water quality, as well as noise from the machines and a possible increase in mosquitoes.

Chuck Jacoby, supervising environmental scientist with the district’s estuary section, attempted to address these questions in the final five minutes of the meeting.

Perhaps the audience’s biggest response followed Jacoby’s claim that the work would have minimal impact on the mangroves. The audience erupted, clearly doubting this.

Representatives of the district, as well as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission discussed the history of the affected acres, the biology of the plants and animals in the area and the process for restoration.

Ecological project manager Chris Schlageter said he will identify oyster reefs for their protection and determine target elevations for the marsh.

He encouraged people to ask questions and offer information and insight when they see him in the field.

“I believe we are all stewards of this resource,” he said, “that this restoration team, myself, the public and this commission are all stewards of these natural resources. So I hope that we can all work together.”

[READ: Water district to try compromise with opponents to Flagler Beach marsh restoration]

The goal of the yearlong project is to restore the marsh, healing miles of 60-year-old dragline ditches along the Intracoastal Waterway. The ditches, dug in the 1950s, were designed to interrupt the lifecycle of the saltmarsh mosquito, but aerial photography from the past few decades shows a loss of wetland in the uplands between the ditches.

The project would level spoil piles, which were created when the ditches were dug. The ditches would be partially filled and shallower marshland would be created.

The cost of the project is $541,000. Of that, $316,000 would come from a competitive National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission would contribute a $100,000 match. Another $25,000 would come from the state Department of Environmental Protection and $100,000 would come from the district.

District intergovernmental coordinator James Troiano recommended people follow the progress of the project at sjrwmd.com/facts/flagler-wetland-restoration-project and send questions to Flaglerrestoration@sjrwmd.com

Residents will have opportunities to learn more during a pair of upcoming community meetings — on Oct. 4 and Nov. 7. Both meetings are scheduled to run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Flagler Beach City Hall.

Jacoby said the plan for the project will be presented to the district governing board in December. The board is scheduled to meet on Dec. 14.

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