Initial Trip to the Lower Neches Wildlife Management Area

I digress from my delicious iced coffee and reduced fat blueberry coffee cake from Starbucks (shameful plug, I know) to discuss my recent trip to the Lower Neches Wildlife Management Area (LNWMA). Out there I was able to examine where I would be spending much of the next 2 to 3 years of my life and take some notes to help me develop my research.

We arrived at the site around 9:45am after going through a terrible ordeal with the Galveston Ferry and the slightly incompetent labor force they were using at the time. The weather "on-site" was partly cloudy with a temperature I would say between 80°F to 85°F and a constant breeze that kept us cool at times. In total, five of us made our way around the East 87 study site where we took down hydrological data, personal questions and observations we might want to investigate in the future. The vessels we used to move us around the site were "canoe-like" but with a shallower draft than a normal canoe. To put it another way, it was as big as a canoe, it was shaped like a canoe, but it had the stability of a surfboard.

The first few stops we made were at sites of mounds created by in situ dredge. Questions were raised over what plants were actually planted voluntarily in the area and which came from seeds possibly found in the dredged soil. Some of the intentionally planted salt marsh plants were the Spartina alterniflora and Shoneplectus californicus (California bullrush). Other plants like the Ruppia maritima are native to the area and probably either came from the seeds in the dredge or colonized in the area on its own.

Another observation made was the fact that some of the mounds were located next to deep water areas. Now, this is certainly good for fish but what other impacts might it have when it comes to the interplay of plant and fish, Plants and nutrients, fish and inverts, plant and inverts, or fish and fish? This site sat directly adjacent to another area of mounds that were surrounded on all sides by terracing. How do these surrounding terraces benefit the excavated mounds, i.e. erosion barrier, barrier for larger fish, etc.?

The first of the next few stops made was in an area of S. alterniflora planted more recently (around April). Among all the site where we saw S. alterniflora, the species was much heartier and denser than any Spartina I've ever seen. I was certainly aware that two strains of S. alterniflora were planted in the area, but I would like to know, depending on nutrient content, how dense do the Spartina need to be planted and is this Spartina big and thick because of genetics or because of the nutrient content found in the water and soil? If it is because of the nutrients, than what is the plant's sustainability? How long can the plant survive with a certain amount of nutrients available to it? What are it's upper and lower nutrient limits?

We then continued on to the pilot site where the initial developers wanted to test the stability of the dredge material as soil for the species of salt marsh grass planted. Not much was taken from this area in terms of observations except for the fact that they did receive positive results using dredge material as soil for the restoration project.

Some personal thoughts:
1) If you are out at the site for longer than 20 minutes, wear lightweight long-sleeve shirts and pants more suitable for your trip; not a long-sleeve cotton shirt and jeans.
2) Watershoes or diving booties not hiking boots or crosstrainers.
3) Yes you can get burned on the back of your hands and fingers. Those areas deserve no less sunscreen than say your face, neck, and shoulders.
4) Standing up in an unstable watercraft = not too bright.
5) "Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink." Bring atleast 2 liters with you.
6) Finally, exiting the boat might = mud up to your waist.