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Delehide Cove, TX - Galveston Bay Foundation
GALVESTON BAY MARSH PROJECT WINS WETLANDS AWARD
The Delehide Cove Protection and Restoration Project was recently selected a national winner for the 2005 National Wetland Conservation Award- Group Category. The award, the highest given by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, honors a team that included RAE-member Galveston Bay Foundation, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, the Texas General Land Office, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality-Galveston Bay Estuary Program, the West Galveston Island Property Owners Association, Reliant Energy, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Coastal Program of Texas. 
The Delehide Cove Protection and Restoration Project, partially funded through Restore America's Estuaries, conserved and enhanced approximately 400 acres of coastal habitat along Galveston Island's West Bay shoreline. The project began with strong local support by the West Galveston Island Property Owners Association and blossomed into a diverse partnership of State and Federal agencies, local non-governmental organizations, and industry. "This unique partnership resulted in a project with extraordinary benefits for Galveston Bay and the west end of Galveston Island," stated Galveston Bay Foundation President Bob Stokes. "We are fortunate to have such committed individuals and organizations working to protect Galveston Bay."
The Delehide Cove Restoration Project installed 8,100 feet of breakwater to protect the area from the threat of continued erosion. 173 acres of estuarine marsh, 7 acres of tidal flats, and 20 acres of uplands were protected as a direct result of the breakwater. Additionally, several critical areas within the cove were restored: 45 acres estuarine marsh; 3 acres of seagrass; and 3 acres of tidal flats. Volunteers with the Galveston Bay Foundation's annual Marsh Mania event planted marsh grass in this area in the spring of 2004. Finally, an adjacent 163 acres of estuarine open water has already benefited from the reduced wave energy of winter storms, a significant force of erosion in this region. The reduced wave energy has allowed the seagrass beds to expand into neighboring projects. It is anticipated that the seagrass habitat will continue to expand its range through the partially sheltered 163 acre cove. To learn more about this project or other Galveston Bay Foundation projects, please call 281-332-3381 x211 or email bstokes@galvbay.org.