Baldwin County Wetland Conservation Plan - Alabama Department ...

Baldwin County Wetland Conservation Plan Final Summary Document
3.4 Research, design and implement wetland restoration/construction projects at
selected sites throughout the County
The Baldwin County Wetland Conservation Plan was involved with several wetland
restoration projects. Each of these projects explored innovative means of restoring wetlands and
provided BCWCP staff with insight for future projects. The successes and lessons learned during the
wetland restoration projects undertaken during the BCWCP project period are explained below.
3.4.1 Perdido Beach Shoreline Restoration Project
A shoreline wetland restoration project was initiated in the southeastern portion of Baldwin
County. This project involved the construction of offshore brush fence breakwater structures
designed to reduce the impact of high energy waves reaching the shoreline. Once built, the offshore
structures are filled with recycled Christmas trees. Waves are allowed to pass through the structures,
but their energy is greatly diminished. This mitigates the erosive forces attributed to high energy
wave action. Additionally, these structures promote accretion by allowing sediment to drop out of
the water column and be deposited on the shoreline. Once sediment accretion has occurred, native
shoreline wetland vegetation (i.e Juncus roemerianus and Spartina alterniflora) can be established through
plantings. Such establishment of vegetation should help prevent future erosion. This restoration
project is modeled after a Mobile Bay National Estuary Program Action Plan Demonstration Project
where a similar offshore brush fence breakwater structure was built on an eroding Weeks Bay
shoreline. That project resulted in the establishment of a beach/marsh area on the subject shoreline.
Construction of the offshore breakwater structures commenced on June 7, 2000 and was
completed by the end of the month. On July 17 and 18, 2000, recycled Christmas trees were placed
into the structures by County staff, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service employees, and Youth Conservation
Corps (YCC) members. The first post construction quarterly survey was completed on November 2,
2000. Generally, results showed significant accretion along the majority of the affected shoreline.
Small portions of the southwest shoreline, however, exhibited erosion once the structures were put
into place. This was probably due to the placement of the structures, the length of the structures,
and the presence of bulkheads adjacent to the affected shorelines.
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