For
Immediate Release
Contact: Catherine Rogan
Hill and Knowlton, Inc.
713-752-1900
After hours, contact 832-265-7200
GALVESTON, TEXAS (February 28, 2001) - Red Fish Island, once a popular boater destination, had submerged in recent years and there was a loud outcry for its restoration. The public's voice has been heard and the result is Red Fish Island will be partially restored.
Part of a project creating wildlife habitat in Galveston Bay, 10 acres of the island will be rebuilt and will provide an anchorage for boaters and habitat for birds and oysters.
The project is sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Port of Houston Authority (PHA). The Beneficial Uses Group (BUG) assists with the design and monitoring of the project.
Members of the BUG attended various Bay user meetings seeking public input concerning the design of the island. Engineers and the BUG then used the information to accommodate the needs and interests of all Bay users.
"We are pleased to have the opportunity to restore part of Red Fish Island. The design of the island follows input given by people who use the Bay both recreationally and commercially. We look forward to the prospect of creating an island that people will enjoy, but will also provide some needed habitat for birds and oysters in the Bay," said Jim Edmonds, Chairman of the Port of Houston Authority Commission.
Construction will begin in mid 2001 and take approximately six months to complete. The island will be built primarily using limestone rock. By the end of the year Red Fish Island will be a place for all Bay users to enjoy.
Restoration of the island is just one component of a plan to utilize dredge material from the Ship Channel in an environmentally beneficial way. In addition to Red Fish Island, Goat Island in Buffalo Bayou will be partially restored. The PHA and the Corps are also creating approximately 4,250 acres of inter-tidal salt marsh, building a six-acre bird nesting and habitat island, constructing an underwater berm in the Gulf of Mexico to enhance fish habitat and creating access channels and anchorages for recreational boaters. All these improvements to the Bay use materials dredged during the current expansion and future maintenance of the Ship Channel.
The Beneficial Uses Group formed in 1990 to determine environmentally responsible uses for materials dredged during the expansion of the Houston-Galveston Navigation Channel.
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