Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Safe habitat for waterfowl
 |
| Whitmire Canal |
BY CHARLYN FINN
Migrating waterfowl will have a safe habitat at Indianola thanks to a joint project between The Whitmire Trust, the Guadalupe/Blanco River Authority Foundation, the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife.
About 750 acres of the 3,440 Whitmire Unit of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge was allocated for a canal for the migrating waterfowl plus the shorebirds.
The project was completed the past summer just in time for the migrations of birds that now have no habitat in upper Texas or Louisiana due to the recent hurricanes.
The new water supply canal was dedicated during a 10 a.m. ceremony at the Bauer Community Center Thursday. Afterwards those attending were bused to the site where the canal gate was opened.
“We are very proud of the partnership between the trust, GBRA and the Fish and Wildlife,” said Bill West of GBRA. “The trust provides a vehicle for preservation for key property on the statutory area. Some area needs to be preserved for kids in the future.”
Joe Saenz of USFW said the Whitmire portion of the refuge is specifically for migrating waterfowl and that rice farming on the refuge is an organic tool to make the refuge work.
Janae Reneaud, GBRA conservation specialist, said half of an old levee was used for the project. Nine canal control structures were put into the project. The canal system is 2.6 miles long beginning on the John Hubbard private property.
The Whitmire Unit in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is located in Calhoun County on lands that were once part of the historic Indianola port area. That port was an important point of entry for European immigrants in the 19th century, but was destroyed by devastating hurricanes in the 1880s.
The Whitmire Unit now serves as an important estuary that provides food, water and shelter for a significant portion of the Central Flyways waterfowl population. About 300 different wild waterfowl migrate to the Texas Gulf Coast in the fall each year.
The Whitmire Unit is located at the end of the GBRA’s Calhoun Canal System (Bolling Canal).
The Bolling Canal was built in the early 1950s to provide water to the Whitmire Unit. It stretches 18,000 feet plus on a flat pastureland.
Maintenance and repair of the levees is difficult and expensive due to extensive levee damage from livestock and limited access to the canal. To further complicate matters, rice farming has declined significantly in this area, resulting in reduced water usage within the canal system. This reduced water flow increases silting in the existing canal and allows invasive aquatic plants to proliferate.
The Whitmire Unit lies within the Texas Mid-Coast Initiative area of the Gulf Coast Joint Venture. The Gulf Coast is the terminus of the Central Flyway and Mississippi Flyways and is therefore one of the most important waterfowl areas in North America, providing both wintering and migration habitat for significant numbers of the continental duck and goose populations. The coastal wetlands of Texas are the primary wintering site for ducks using the Central Flyway, wintering more than half of the waterfowl population.
Project Partners and contributors include Conoco Phillips – SPIRIT of Conservation Migratory Bird Program, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Coastal Coordination Council of Texas’ Coastal Management Program, Friends of Aransas Wildlife Refuge, Formosa Environmental Trust Fund, ALCOA and Tetra-Tech.
The bird sanctuary is usually closed to the public but is opened sometimes for events like annual bird watching events and the dedication on Thursday.
About 750 acres of the 3,440 Whitmire Unit of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge was allocated for a canal for the migrating waterfowl plus the shorebirds.
The project was completed the past summer just in time for the migrations of birds that now have no habitat in upper Texas or Louisiana due to the recent hurricanes.
The new water supply canal was dedicated during a 10 a.m. ceremony at the Bauer Community Center Thursday. Afterwards those attending were bused to the site where the canal gate was opened.
“We are very proud of the partnership between the trust, GBRA and the Fish and Wildlife,” said Bill West of GBRA. “The trust provides a vehicle for preservation for key property on the statutory area. Some area needs to be preserved for kids in the future.”
Joe Saenz of USFW said the Whitmire portion of the refuge is specifically for migrating waterfowl and that rice farming on the refuge is an organic tool to make the refuge work.
Janae Reneaud, GBRA conservation specialist, said half of an old levee was used for the project. Nine canal control structures were put into the project. The canal system is 2.6 miles long beginning on the John Hubbard private property.
The Whitmire Unit in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is located in Calhoun County on lands that were once part of the historic Indianola port area. That port was an important point of entry for European immigrants in the 19th century, but was destroyed by devastating hurricanes in the 1880s.
The Whitmire Unit now serves as an important estuary that provides food, water and shelter for a significant portion of the Central Flyways waterfowl population. About 300 different wild waterfowl migrate to the Texas Gulf Coast in the fall each year.
The Whitmire Unit is located at the end of the GBRA’s Calhoun Canal System (Bolling Canal).
The Bolling Canal was built in the early 1950s to provide water to the Whitmire Unit. It stretches 18,000 feet plus on a flat pastureland.
Maintenance and repair of the levees is difficult and expensive due to extensive levee damage from livestock and limited access to the canal. To further complicate matters, rice farming has declined significantly in this area, resulting in reduced water usage within the canal system. This reduced water flow increases silting in the existing canal and allows invasive aquatic plants to proliferate.
The Whitmire Unit lies within the Texas Mid-Coast Initiative area of the Gulf Coast Joint Venture. The Gulf Coast is the terminus of the Central Flyway and Mississippi Flyways and is therefore one of the most important waterfowl areas in North America, providing both wintering and migration habitat for significant numbers of the continental duck and goose populations. The coastal wetlands of Texas are the primary wintering site for ducks using the Central Flyway, wintering more than half of the waterfowl population.
Project Partners and contributors include Conoco Phillips – SPIRIT of Conservation Migratory Bird Program, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Coastal Coordination Council of Texas’ Coastal Management Program, Friends of Aransas Wildlife Refuge, Formosa Environmental Trust Fund, ALCOA and Tetra-Tech.
The bird sanctuary is usually closed to the public but is opened sometimes for events like annual bird watching events and the dedication on Thursday.
 |
 |
|
| Accident kills Bay City man | City eyeing new subdivision annexation |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of portlavacawave.com.
