Tucked inside the northern shores of Florida’s Old Tampa Bay, Mobbly Bayou has suffered the impacts of urban development.
Ditched and drained to control mosquito populations, and later subjected to dredge-and-fill activity, the tidal marshes and mangrove forests in the bayou have been invaded by exotics species, such as Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius), which have overgrown and displaced much of the native vegetation that has long served the needs of native coastal fauna. Excessive sedimentation has contributed to the loss of the bayou’s subtidal habitat that supports seagrasses and oyster beds. Degraded water quality –from waterborne pollutants in stormwater runoff – has not helped either, impacting not only the bayou itself, but also the greater Tampa Bay.
But today, the future is brighter for the Mobbly Bayou ecosystem. In the late 90s, efforts to restore Mobbly Bayou resulted in the creation and enhancement of nearly nine acres at the northwestern end of the bayou. Now, working with the Pinellas County Department of Environmental Management, PBS&J is developing a follow-up plan for an additional 200-acre ecosystem restoration project that includes constructing a mosaic of habitats – subtidal, intertidal, transitional, and upland – that are normally found in coastal/estuarine ecosystems.
The physical restoration and enhancement of vital intertidal habitat at Mobbly Bayou will also include an investigation of the hydrologic impacts that large-scale mosquito control ditching has had on the area’s salt marshes and saltern habitat. This work will make it possible to target specific mosquito ditches for filling, so that the maximum ecological benefit can be achieved.
The goal, according to Ray Kurz, Ph.D., PBS&J's West Florida Sciences Program Manager and project manager for the Mobbly Bayou effort, is to restore as much habitat as practical so that a more natural drainage regime can return to the area. “So much of Tampa Bay’s habitat has been lost to human impacts; many of the remaining undeveloped coastal parcels are rough gems that need a little polishing. This project will enhance the productivity of the bay for recreational fisheries and native wildlife, such as wading bird populations, that will leave a legacy for future generations in the bay area.”
Tucked inside the northern shores of Florida’s Old Tampa Bay, Mobbly Bayou has suffered the impacts of urban development.
But today, the future is brighter for the Mobbly Bayou ecosystem. In the late 90s, efforts to restore Mobbly Bayou resulted in the creation and enhancement of nearly nine acres at the northwestern end of the bayou. Now, working with the Pinellas County Department of Environmental Management, PBS&J is developing a follow-up plan for an additional 200-acre ecosystem restoration project that includes constructing a mosaic of habitats – subtidal, intertidal, transitional, and upland – that are normally found in coastal/estuarine ecosystems.
The goal, according to Ray Kurz, Ph.D., PBS&J's West Florida Sciences Program Manager and project manager for the Mobbly Bayou effort, is to restore as much habitat as practical so that a more natural drainage regime can return to the area. “So much of Tampa Bay’s habitat has been lost to human impacts; many of the remaining undeveloped coastal parcels are rough gems that need a little polishing. This project will enhance the productivity of the bay for recreational fisheries and native wildlife, such as wading bird populations, that will leave a legacy for future generations in the bay area.”