Wetland Loss in the Lower Galveston Bay Watershed

Wetland Loss in the Lower Galveston Bay Watershed

Galveston Bay Wetland Permit and Mitigation Assessment Lisa Gonzalez Dr. Erin Kinney Dr. John Jacob Marissa Llosa Transportation Stream & Wetland Mitigation Peer Exchange – June 5-6, 2018 Galveston Bay Watershed ~24,000 square miles ~Half of Texas’ population of 28M TXDOT Districts Beaumont Houston Population Growth 213 % 59 % 65 % * 119 % * 54 % 239 % 106 % 89 % % Change in Population 1990 to 2017 Data Source: U.S. Census, *Texas Demographic Center Population Projection Regional Habitat H-GAC Eco-Logical Map; Wetland Mitigation Opportunities white paper, 2014 Regional Land Cover Change; 1996-2010 • Growth in impervious (107K acres) & developed (254K acres) areas • Wetland net change -54K acres NLDC, NOAA C-CAP Coastal Bottomlands and Blue Elbow Mitigation Banks Mitigation Bank Mitigation Bank HUC8 ORMII Permits ORMII Permits Galveston Bay Mitigation Banks TCWP Ground-truth Wetland Mitigation Assessment • 17 sites: 4 permit mitigation sites not accessible, leaving 13 permits for site review (8 PRM, 5 MB). • Assessment criteria based on three-fold definition of a wetland (Tiner, 1989): – Hydrophytic vegetation (partially or completely submerged in water), – Evidence of hydrology, – Soil indicators consistent with wetland hydrology. • Conservative assessment: – Success: “reasonably wet” with recognizable wetland plants and hydric soils. – Failure: substandard compensatory mitigation site with a lack of any evidence for wetland mitigation TCWP Ground-truth Wetland Mitigation Assessment • Minimum 5% of the total mitigation site inventoried. • Plots (10 m x 10 m) representatively within the tract. • Plant species presence and percent cover assessed. • Cover of various biotic and abiotic surface materials collected in each plot. • Comprehensive list of species compiled. • Pictures of the site and the sample plot taken along with any notable site features. • Data collected in each sample plot included: – Species percent cover, – Species wetland status, – Species average height class, – Percent open water, – 3 water depth measurements, – Soil core collected, and – Observed hydrology TCWP Ground-truth Wetland Mitigation Assessment Taylor Bayou - Success Stevenson Slough road realignment – Partial success – quality wetland but mitigated acreage 0.6 ac less than impacted acreage League City Detention Basin - Unsuccessful Stafford Run Creek - Unsuccessful Greens Bayou Mitigation Bank • Smaller service area – watershed scale Greens Bayou Mitigation Bank • Managed by Harris County Flood ORMII Permits - Greens Bayou Control District • Est 1995; 1,400 Acres • Wetlands and Riverine credits • Criteria successfully met – Species percent cover – Species wetland status – Species average height class – Percent open water – Water depth measurements – Soil core – Observed hydrology Concerns From a Watershed Perspective Mitigation Bank • Service area size / distance from impact • Public transparency • Habitat not necessarily equal ILF • Risk of failure • Time lag between impact and mitigation • Preservation vs. creation - No Net Loss of wetlands • ILF program authorization plus each project/additional mitigation area authorization • Risk to ILF operator because Mitigation Banks are preferred PRM • Greater risk of non-compliance • More oversight required • Smaller parcels, habitat fragmentation • Lack of required conservation easement in some instances • Quality of wetland – erosion, vegetation, invasives… Eco-Logical FHWA-inspired framework for infrastructure planning Eco-Logical Advisory Committee • Galveston Bay Estuary Program • Harris County Flood Control District • Houston Advanced Research Center • Houston-Galveston Area Council • Katy Prairie Conservancy • Legacy Land Trust • Texas Forest Service • Texas Parks and Wildlife Department • Texas Sea Grant/Texas Coastal Watershed Program • The Nature Conservancy • The Park People • The Trust for Public Land • US Fish and Wildlife Service http://www.h-gac.com/community/eco-logical/ http://maps.harcresearch.org/WetlandTool/ Regional Conservation Plan Houston Parks Board - Bayou Greenways Source: Kinder Institute Rice University Thinking Creatively About the Future • Watershed-by-watershed impacts & strategies • Potential partners - who does mitigation well? – NGOs, land trusts, local government – Natural resource agencies - TPWD – Mitigation banks • Finding the right location – Modeling future projects, wetland impacts, environmental need, flood mitigation potential, habitat value (protected species, migratory birds…) – Land with high conservation value – Community/environmental justice value • Building a case for a new regional approach to wetland mitigation Thank You Lisa Gonzalez President Lgonzalez@harcresearch.org Phone: (281) 364-6044 Erin Kinney, PhD Research Scientist, Coastal Ecology Ekinney@HARCresearch.edu Phone: (281) 364-6040 HARCresearch.org HARC (härk), n. an independent research hub helping people thrive and nature flourish. .

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