A site restored by the SW Florida Water Management District and planted by the Tampa Bay Wetland High School Nursery Program. The technique used to plant the smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora, is to create a hole in the marsh using a dibble bar and insert the plant plug.

A brackish water site before the planting at Palmetto Estuary.

Before planting, some saltmeadow cordgrass, Spartina patens, is seen in the foreground.

After planting, smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora at high tide.

This image shows the Spartina alterniflora plants in the center of the island. This planting is intended to stabilize the marsh platform and is expected to help the marsh continue to expand.

The planted area in the center of the island is one of the restoration sites planted using wetland nursery grown smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora plants.

Before planting, the planting occurred seaward of the orange markers.

The restoration site after planting, during a high tide.

Before planting, looking from the planting area upland.

A stand of healthy smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora along the estuary.

Tampa Bay high school volunteers arrive to begin the planting of smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora, in the estuary. The students are using plants grown as part of the wetland nursery program.

Volunteers planting smooth cord grass, Spartina alterniflora at the restoration site.

Volunteers plant smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora, in rows. The areas to be planted are marked in advance and the plants are spaced at 3 feet intervals.

Volunteers plant at the water's edge out to the flags.

The students use dibble bars to create holes to plant the smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora, plants.

Volunteer team work, one student opens a hole to receive the plant and the other places a plant plug.

A student at the water's edge is using a dibble bar.

A group of volunteers plants at the water's edge.

A student posing with planting equipment.

Tampa Baywatch and NOAA staff observe the progress at the restoration site. The two staff are Peter Clark of Tampa Baywatch and John Iliff of NOAA.

Setting up planting sites at Barren Island for patchy and continuous planting areas. The sites were marked and designated in advance.

Marking the planting locations at Barren Island.

Barren Island before the planting. The work at Barren Island provided a valuable lesson. Geotubes were placed around the perimeter of the island to form a wave break but they failed and the dredge material was washed away behind the tubes. Wave breaks in the future will be constructed of rock, which is more expensive, but a better alternative.

Marking off the planting site, the large square is a quadrant to establish where the plantings should go.

The restoration planting site at high tide.

A restoration planting site designated to receive patchy plantings. The planting area is designated by flags.

Designated planting areas.

An existing naturally occurring high-marsh tide pool at Barren Island.

Geotubes filled with dredge material are made of polypropylene. The tubes were placed to protect the plantings at Barren Island.

A dredge tube is used to place dredge materials behind the geotubes.

A dredge pipe filling a geotube.

A filled geotube

The crew discussing the filling of geotubes.

A geotube, made of black polypropylene, at Barren Island.

Lee Crockett, formerly of NOAA, stands in front of a geotube being filled.

At Barren Island, a polyester geotube in the background.

A high-marsh tide pool at Barren Island. A mute swan is in the background.

Geotubes being filled at Barren Island. A crane holds the boom that is filling the bag.

A barge with a crane is filling a geotube, in the background of the image.

This is an image that shows Barren Island after the restoration work was completed. Dredge material was placed to support the planting. The planting was conducted to allow the marsh to fill in and establish itself before the geotube disintegrated. Prior to the restoration, this area was a high-energy shallow water environment.

A polyester geotube at Barren Island.

marking locations for patchy plantings

Restoration specialists mark areas to be planted.

When the World Prodigy tanker grounded on June 23, 1989 over 290,000 gallons of oil spread across more than 120 miles of Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound. To compensate for injuries, NOAA and the University of Rhode Island Sea Grant Program teamed up to install six cobblestone reefs to provide habitat for lobsters and improve the Bay's fishery. This diagram shows the sites

A site schematic showing the sites where cobble reefs were constructed and placed in Dutch Harbor, Narragansett Bay, RI.

Sifting rocks to ensure that appropriate size cobble was used in the creation of the reefs placed in the Bay.

Sifting rocks to ensure that appropriate size cobble was used in the creation of the reefs placed in the Bay.

Loading reef construction materials onto barges for transportation to the reef sites

Loading reef construction materials onto barges for transportation to the reef sites

Lowering the reef materials into the water to construct the reefs.