Controlled-Burn Study Improves Maritime Forest Health

An investigative project co-led by the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve is studying how prescribed fire can encourage marsh vegetation to migrate upslope into pine savannas. This project has already improved the environment of two maritime forest islands through the use of prescribed fire, and it is providing valuable data to inform pine savanna management efforts across the coast. (2016)

Partners: Grand Bay Reserve, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Red Cross Using NOAA Tool to Pinpoint Vulnerable Populations

The Red Cross is using a NOAA Digital Coast tool, the Coastal County Flood Exposure Snapshot, to communicate vulnerability information to its network members with easy-to-understand tables and graphs.

Mississippi and Louisiana coastal communities are susceptible to a variety of natural and man-made hazards. Many of the residents are particularly vulnerable because of age, income, or disabilities and require special assistance. The ability to visually communicate vulnerability data, such as the number of residents over age 65 living in a floodplain, is a big help to these first responders. (2016)

Partners: American Red Cross, Coastal Resilience Networks, NOAA Office for Coastal Management

Identifying the Environmental Impacts of Land Use Near the Grand Bay

The Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve partnered with Dauphin Island Sea Lab to investigate how future human activity and natural changes could influence economically important habitats and water quality. Researchers looked at the nitrogen content of oyster shells in ancient shell mounds to see the geologic record of human activity and its impact on ecosystems going back thousands of years. They also reviewed how land use changes have impacted water quality, historic and modern oyster populations, shifts in nitrogen sources, and pathogen accumulation.

Municipal officials and wastewater treatment plant representatives are using this information to make decisions about operations, and Mississippi’s Utility Authority and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are using project data to evaluate how local shellfish beds are impacted by effluent from the utility. (2016)

More information: www.nerra.org/projects/planning-the-future-by-exploring-the-past-in-mississippis-grand-bay

Partners: Auburn University Shellfish Laboratory, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, NOAA Office for Coastal Management, United States Food and Drug Administration Office of Food Safety, University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory

Advancing Living Shorelines along the Gulf Coast

Traditional hard erosion-control structures such as sea walls and bulkheads can increase erosion, damage habitat, and set the stage for expensive repairs in the future. Living shorelines, which incorporate natural structures and systems, are better for the beach and can be more effective and affordable.

The Weeks Bay and Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserves and their partners provide the science-based information needed to encourage living shoreline projects. Highlights from the partnership include the creation of a living shorelines user group website to share information with end users and property owners, the “Regional Living Shorelines Construction Technical Bulletins for Contractors” project, and a living shorelines workshop that has reached more than 80 participants. (2016)

More information: www.nerra.org/how-we-work/coastal-training-for-smart-decisions/advancing-living-shorelines-along-the-gulf-coast

Partners: Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, NOAA Office for Coastal Management, Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

Coordinated Disaster Response Planning in the Gulf of Mexico

With Sandy, Katrina, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, it’s clear the nation’s coasts are at risk from major natural and man-made hazards. Coastal resource managers in the Gulf of Mexico are taking steps to ensure improved preparation for these hazards by piloting a standardized approach for response in the five Gulf Coast research reserves. (2016)

Partners: NOAA Office of Response and Restoration; Grand Bay, Rookery Bay, Apalachicola, Weeks Bay, and Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserves; NOAA Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center