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Our Story

The Work Continues for King’s Bay Restoration Project

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The Work Continues!

As the end of manatee season nears, we are excited to dive back in full swing! While the project may have slowed down over the winter months, rest assured our workers with Sea & Shoreline have still been actively cleaning and making progress in our approved winter permitted areas. This ensures our favorite snowbirds, the West Indian manatee, can continue their annual migration undisturbed. It also means progress continues!

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Winter Progress

So what have we done? Week by week updates on our work can always be found on our Neighborhood Update page. This past winter we have focused mainly on the areas of 2B3, 2B4, and 2B5 (see map in the sidebar). These areas have been cleaned, planted, and caged! We are excited to see the growth and spread of these plants as we head in to the warmer Spring and Summer months.

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What’s next?

April 1st marks the end of the 2019/2020 manatee season and gives us the green light to begin working back in our other permitted areas. As of this date we will be utilizing our former pilot project site near Hunter Springs as “Mini-Mobilization” site for some extra maintenance that will begin in the Hunter Springs Basin (see map to right). Follow along on our Neighborhood Update page.

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We will also begin vacuum cleaning 2A1, which is highlighted in orange on the map to the right. This map outlines the projected timeline for our upcoming stages.

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What about COVID-19?

While considered Essential Workers, the staff with Sea & Shoreline are taking special precautions to ensure the health and safety of their team while maintaining the ability to continue cleaning our waterways.

Sea & Shoreline has instituted an extensive program to limit the exposure and/or transmission of infection to its employees and local residents. During daily operations, Sea & Shoreline employees work in boats on the water and have no need to interact with community members.  If any necessary interactions need to occur, they are at a distance of greater than six feet.  Sea & Shoreline employees also occupy independent housing, separate from local hotels and lodging. They have an in-house food program that excludes the need to visit grocery stores or interact with local residents.  Employees utilize their own fuel cell so there are no interactions at fuel stations, and there is no impact on local fuel supplies.  Our worksites are gated with no access to the public, and work areas are outside with social distancing precautions being observed.  These work areas have handwashing stations with soap and hand sanitizers, and we also have hand sanitizers on all of our boats.

We are very proud of our contractor and their staff for their dedication to this project and our ecosystem.

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Where the Eelgrass Grows

It’s no secret that the eelgrass in King’s Bay is plentiful and abundant. Once planted, the baby grass is kept in a Grow SAV Exclusionary Device  for about a year. This insures the roots are established and those eelgrass plants are ready to take on the aquatic world! But what happens before all of that? Where do those baby plants come from?

Growing Eelgrass!

Before the eelgrass plants take a dive into their new home they are cultivated by our contractor Sea & Shoreline in an eelgrass nursery! While seeding is one of eelgrass’ reproductive strategies, our Rockstar and Salty Dog varieties are grown in their nursery mostly through vegetative reproduction.  Taking care of eelgrass is a lot like taking care of terrestrial grass. It requires sunlight, fresh water, nutrients and even mowing!

Eelgrass Nursery

Prepping to Plant

Once the nursery stock is mature, the eelgrass plants are harvested, separated into individual shoots, and carefully packaged into planting units! Instead of going straight to a project, the packaged units are then given several months to become pre-rooted and acclimated to conditions similar to those of King’s Bay. During this process the plants will grow tall, strong, and start to expand.

Eelgrass growth stages

The Final Eelgrass Destination

When it’s time for installation, the planting units are given a final inspection and placed in transportation trays. They usually look quite different by this point! Trays are loaded into a truck and covered to avoid any damage along the way.

Once they arrive on site plants are loaded into mesh bags and planting begins! Our divers take excellent care of the plants during installation making sure to swim slowly and be gentle!

Eelgrass Planting

And this is where our eelgrass journey brings us back to now. Flourishing grass in our successfully restored areas. It’s not without tremendous support that our project is thriving though. Our residents play a massive role in the success of this restoration. Please remember this grass does not grow overnight. As you now know, a lot of time and thoughtful effort goes in to preparing these little eelgrass plants for life in King’s Bay. Minding your anchors and advocating for our mission are some of the most important ways you can help us succeed.

October 2019 - Pilot Project year 4

Photo Credit

  • Featured Photo: River Ventures 
  • Nursery Photos: Sea And Shoreline
  • Pilot Project: Lahonna Bridges

 

Save Crystal River Kings Bay

The Future

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Save Crystal River plans to restore a whole lot of the area at the edge of Kings Bay within the next five years, .  The goal is 92.4 acres.

How Big is our Goal?

How big is 92.4 acres? The answer: roughly 70 football fields. We might have to think about huge spaces like this if we were looking at a major sports complex.  But what if all that was under water? And instead of sports, we want a place where marine life and people lived together?

These 92.4 acres are the areas within the City of Crystal River that consist of coves and canals. The source of spring flows is deep in the canals and headwaters surrounding the bay, and practically speaking, it makes sense to clean and restore those areas first.

How Does it Work?

When Save Crystal River restores an area we take some important ideas into account.  First and foremost, where is the water coming from?  Citrus County has First Magnitude (1) springs, which (according to SWFWMD) discharge of 64.6 million gallons per day or more.  By working near the locations of these spring flows, we gain a number of benefits:

  • The springs themselves keep restored areas clean.
  • The heavy water flow from the springs increases due to vents and boils that are unclogged during “muck removal”.
  • These are high impact, high visibility areas. Gaining exposure from both high residential populations and a steady flow of visitors who enjoy our waters.
  • Small areas are easier to manage.
  • Ongoing maintenance and studies after planting are achieved at a lower expense because our work areas are near the waters where we work.
  • And finally, a beautiful bay is a significant economic impact. Visitors enjoy seeing manatees, and fishing a flourishing marine life.  This work benefits the hospitality and tourism industry, adding hundreds of millions of dollars of annual economic impact for the county.

Save Crystal River is as good for the local economy as it is for the environment

Going Into High Gear

We’re now running at a rate of about 9 -11  acres per year, at a cost of $5-6 million.  We finished planting 15.45 acres through the end of 2017.  Remember, that includes removing all the material from the bottom (as much as 6 feet thick), then planting. This is followed by protecting with cages and then maintaining and monitoring the area for the next year.  The Lyngbya is not all “gone” in the first year, but if we stay at it, spot cleaning for several years, we will eventually get it fully under control.  We are committed to ensuring the project is sustainable so the grasses can expand on their own.

Our plantings from the 2015 pilot are not only established and spreading to new areas every day, but they are flowering and reseeding themselves with the tides.  Large areas where there was no grass before, and no grass was planted, now have meadows of grass.  In the next few years, we plan to finish out the 90 acres we originally envisioned.

Our goals for the future:

  • Continue to gain funding of $5 million per year, both from the Florida Legislature and the DEP Springs Restoration initiative.  We are seeking other funding from private philanthropic organizations too.
  • Advancing knowledge through science.  The entire project is based on the best science available.  We continue to engage with experts in spring flow, fresh water ecology, measurement, geographic information systems (for tracking and even letting boaters know where we are working) and a variety of other related fields.
  • Provide outreach to the local community. We will continue to partner with Duke Energy to provide a year-long, hands-on experience to all students at Crystal River Primary School on the value of protecting the environment. (See how YOU can help further education)

What’s Next:

We are working hard to find the funding to reach our goal to finish these areas by July 2, 2023 on the centennial anniversary of Crystal River. Then, we hope to turn our sights to the remaining canals to the northwest of the bay and ultimately the bay itself. We invite to you continue to follow our progress and help us in meeting these goals. Together we can Save Crystal River.

Baby alligator

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Three Sisters Springs Neighborhood

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It costs about $500,000 to move a massive vacuum operation to a new location.  Save Crystal River moved its heavy equipment and water processing gear to a lot on Paradise Point Road in 2017, behind the Sun Bank on US 19 in Crystal River.

Why Move?

Imagine a hose that is 8 or 10 inches across. It looks like a city water main. We need a hose this large to vacuum out lyngbya and several feet of decay at the bottom of the canals.  We save energy by keeping the pumps that run the vacuum close to where work is being conducted. The area around Three Sisters Springs was a long way (in clean-up terms) from where the 2015 and 2016 work occurred. The whole system was picked up and moved about a mile. Ground was cleared, clean surface material was brought in, and a safety fence was erected around the worksite. Then we brought the heavy equipment in.

Three Sisters Neighborhood

In the late 1950s, and early 1960s in Crystal River, Florida, a neighborhood was created next to the property currently containing Three Sisters Springs. These springs are part of the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge. Now, hundreds of homes are within a few blocks of the springs. Many are on man made canals, carved out of lime rock with draglines.  Many of these canals are also spring fed, creating a lattice of residences close to the refuge. For decades, the water was so clear that seeing the bottom was possible almost all the time.

But like other parts of the bay, these areas fell victim to storm surge which killed the vegetation.  Then Lyngbya, a filamentous algae that fed on the nutrients of decomposing plant matter on the bottom of the canals, became dominant. During summer months, Lyngbya bloomed from the bottom to the surface in tall columns that turned the water green, and left its slime on everything.

Work Begins

Two ideas describe the areas cleaned and replanted in 2017:  close to the highway, and previously measured. The first canals cleaned in 2017 were close to US 19, and west of Three Sisters Trail. This work exposed 11 large vents – holes from which water gushed, that were a foot wide or larger. These vents are large water emitters. Part of the strategy for cleaning near the large springs first is to increase water flow. The more water coming out of the ground near the source of the river, the greater the washing action to flow nutrients and waste away. It might seem impossible for a foot of muck to clog a spring, but water follows the path of least resistance. A deep bed of detritus (decomposing matter) is capable of forcing water to go elsewhere.

Canal Cleaning

The second area was previously measured.  As part of the 2015 pilot work, a canal between 3rd and 4th Avenues was measured so that it could be a “control” for the work done near Hunter Springs.  This canal had feet of rotting debris covering the bottom, and while it had turtles and smaller fish, little else was there.  This canal was the focus of work in late September and October.

Full Force 2017

By the middle of November 2017, work was completed on two canals and the run that passes under Three Sisters Trail.  Trained crews then planted grasses and put in place exclusion cages to give the eelgrass time to put down roots and begin spreading. Scientists visited the area every week for the next month, and twice in the month after that, taking care of the cages, removing more Lyngbya. This work ensured a good start for the young grasses. The young plants got a boost because regular monthly cleanings for the cages, and spot cleaning for the canal gave the project a great chance for success.

Grass meadows were growing, fully established in several of the canal areas by mid 2018. By that time work started on the canal closest to the west side of  Three Sisters Trail.  That canal was full of rotting debris. Many “feet deep” of muck was removed, revealing some large spring vents. The work progressed to the next canal over, and now two vacuum barges worked in tandem, preparing the bottom for planting as September began.

You Can Help

Save Crystal River plans to continue cleaning canals in 2018.  The graphic below shows progress, with green areas cleaned, red areas in process, and blue areas planned for later in 2018.  Please follow our efforts on this website and on Facebook, to learn what we are doing.  We will ask when we need you to chip in a donation, call your representative, or share our message.  Our organization secures funding for the clean-up and restoration.  But we can’t use those funds to run our offices, keep you informed, and do all the work needed to keep our project moving forward.  If you can spare even $10, please donate.

Three Sisters Canal Progress
As of August 2018, this work around Three Sisters (top) has made significant progress.

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Exploring the Science Behind the Project

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Save Crystal River is committed to using science to make our Kings Bay Restoration Project successful. Our goal is a bay that stays pristine for generations to come. That’s why Save Crystal River partnered with scientists to study this project and to learn from it.  We keep our science team involved so we can keep making the best decisions possible, and create new information for others who want to restore their waters.

Developing a Winning Team

We work hard to understand the science behind habitat restoration. This means we talk to many experts and work with many scientists.  Staying linked to the scientific community ensures that the Kings Bay Restoration Project uses the most up-to-date information about the technology and processes that can deliver success. We’re publishing articles to share knowledge about some of the ways cutting edge science is being utilized to save Crystal River.

Underwater Farming!

Growing eelgrass is very similar to growing sod – it’s just underwater!  Sea & Shoreline scientists carefully grow eelgrass plants for this project in their aquatic nursery. The plants that end up in Kings Bay are  grown in inland ponds.  Here’s why:  We won’t harm another ecosystem by harvesting eelgrass to plant in Kings Bay. All our plants are lovingly farm raised! Growing plants inland means they are healthy because they can be fertilized and cared for in controlled conditions, exactly as needed.  Finally, but importantly, farm raised plants won’t introduce a pest into Kings Bay. We would hate to accidentally transplant another invasive plant, animal, or bacteria into our waterways. By growing plants in controlled cultivation ponds, scientists can study them carefully, understanding exactly what they need to thrive. This knowledge helps us find and match the ideal conditions in Kings Bay where experts think these plants can grow well.

Eelgrass plantings Hunter Springs
Small plantings used for educational purposes.

KBRP – a Measurement of Success

Additionally, Save Crystal River hires independent biologists to study the Kings Bay Restoration Project. Scientists with Johnson Engineering studied these canals before and after restoration in 2016 and 2017. The first study showed a significant increase in biodiversity in the restored canals! Samples were taken again before work started in each season’s restoration work.   Scientists will return and take additional samples after each are restoration is finished. Stay tuned to see what exciting results they find this year by comparing the before and after data!

Citizen Scientists!

We have concrete scientific evidence this project works.  And we’re developing a small army of citizen scientists who report their findings to us all the time. We’re looking for everyone that uses Kings Bay to see the drastic improvement for themselves. The best measurement of success we could hope for is to have the public see and appreciate our work.  Take a peek at our Facebook page and check out all of the wonderful comments and beautiful photos people have shared! Have you taken any great photos showing the meadows of eelgrass, the schools of fish, or the scores of blue crabs that have returned? Then be sure to share them with us – we love seeing what you see!

Here are some quotes from people who have seen for themselves:

I have been guiding for 3 years out there. I Lived here for 26 years and what a difference it has made!! 2 years ago the only grass you could find was in cages and everything was darker. Now there is grass everywhere in hunters and its doing awesome!! Job well done!! Its working!!! – Crystal River guide Misty Kelly

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Restoration Underway

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We learned many lessons from the Pilot Restoration Project to refine and perfect how we restore Kings Bay. With every passing year we keep learning and adding to our methods to make this the best possible project. We are cognizant of the costs and we want every penny to go as far as it can in restoration.

Lessons Learned

We refined how we clean and process the water using a better polymer system. See how polymers are used in human water treatment systems here. That process captures as much nitrates and phosphorus as possible – pollution we don’t want. The water we returned to the Bay was as clean as we could make it. Drinking water is cleaned using this same method.  We insure that we are putting back the cleanest, safest water that we can.

We learned to plant a percentage of the plants that are more salt water tolerant after a few hurricanes hit the area. We were lucky with these storms, only the eelgrass leaves died back with the temporary influx of salt water, but the roots were unharmed. We are preparing to have these grasses live in a changing environment that appears to be slowly becoming more salty. Mixing in some salt water tolerant plants gives this project a better survival rate. These new, more salt tolerant plants will cross breed (pollinate actually) over time, producing more salt tolerant meadows.

A Project Built on Love

Tremendous care goes into keeping these eelgrass plants happy and thriving. Much like tending your garden on land, divers do the same things underwater. Many of the eelgrass plants are put in cages (Herbivory Exclusion Device) if the water is deep enough to allow it. We place the plants so the cages where the most shallow the water will be is four feet at the lowest, low tide. The cages remain underwater all the time.  We put groupings of five plants under these Herbivory Exclusion Devices (shown below.) These cages prevents animals (not just manatees, turtles, fish, and ducks) from grazing on, and ripping out, these newly planted eelgrass plants. Protecting the plants lets the roots and rhizomes become fully established so that when grazing manatees eat the eelgrass blades, they don’t pull the plants out by the roots.

Eelgrass cage Kings bay Three Sisters
This early model of an exclusion device was replaced by cages with more sturdy structure, designed to be reused, and last for years.

Our permits require that these cages are checked on and cleaned at specified intervals. Scientists from Sea and Shoreline inspect them weekly for the first month. This check involves making sure the plants survived transplanting shock and removing any plants and algae growing on the on the sides of the cages. Keeping the cages free of what we call “biofouling” makes sure these growing plants receive optimal levels of light for growth. Too much algae growing on the cage will shade the plants, and much like on land, plants don’t do well in the shade. They check on them every other week during the second month. For the remaining 10 months of the first year these cages and checked and cleaned monthly.

exclusion cage
This newer exclusion cage is designed for multi year use

The Studies Continue

Cages are removed after the eelgrass has been protected for 12 months. Then scientist perform a study, which they repeat each year, for a two more years. This study counts how many new plants are growing, how tall the grass has grown, and documents how far out from the original cage area it has started to spread. In fact this variety of eelgrass that we call Rock Star grows so well that after just a few months it will start sending rhizomes out (runners).  These runners are the basis for  a plants will start popping up around the outside of the area where the cage was located. The annual study compares results from the previous year, and later two years. Those study results help Save Crystal River and other restoration efforts to understand best practices used, and how well our efforts are doing.  You can find these annual reports on the Kings Bay Restoration Project website and see the progress for yourself.

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Pilot Project a Success!

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Would Eelgrass Restoration Work?

Save Crystal River began its first season of Kings Bay restoration in 2015. Save Crystal River termed this work a “pilot project.” Its goal was to determine if the methods used were effective. The pilot project assessed if 3.41 acres of canals near Hunters Springs could be cleaned and restored to keep the invasive Lyngbya from clogging up this Outstanding Florida Waterway. The Project has been a great success! The original 6,714  plants have flourished into an eelgrass meadow that scientist estimate to be 5 million plants!

2015 Pilot Project area

First Major Funding for the Restoration

In June 2015, Florida’s legislative leaders approved $1.6 million for the Kings Bay Pilot Restoration Project.  The appropriation and the Environmental Conservation and Preservation Committee is funding a 15-month project to remove Lyngbya, restore canal bottom vegetation, and monitor the new native grasses along 3.41 acres of canals that feed Kings Bay.  This process will create a resilient ecosystem that will eventually outcompete the Lyngbya and bring back crystal clear waters to Crystal River.

manatee in eelgrass meadow
The manatees love the lush eelgrass found in the KBRP Pilot Phase.

This phase of the project opened up 74 new and previously unidentified spring vents, removed 10,230 tons of Lyngbya and other detrital material (dead plants, yard waste, and muck,) and used 360 manatee-friendly exclusion cages to protect the eelgrass. Since the initial planting, monitoring efforts of the area have been ongoing.

Eelgrass being assessed
Scientist use PVC squares to determine the density of the eelgrass.

Grasses Survived and Thrived

Save Crystal River monitored the results.  Eelgrass had a 97% survival rate in the first year of monitoring (2016).  Grass survival globally averages 50%.  During the initial period following grass transplanting there is typically a stress response as the relocated grass adjusts to the physical disturbance of relocation and acclimation to a new environment. We found no signs of stress in the plants, likely because of the use of the manatee-friendly exclusion cages. Project scientists deemed eelgrass shoot densities and coverage acceptable. These critical plants thrived in the pilot phase of the project.

Read the first year monitoring report here.

Plants didn’t do quite as well in the second year. In (2017) survival fell to 92% a reduction of 5%. Ninety two percent rate is however, a strong result and much higher than the hoped-for 80% survival rate. Save Crystal River removed manatee exclusion cages 10 months prior to the annual monitoring report. Removing the cages may have had a small effect on plant survival as the herbivores (manatees, turtles, and fish) could now access the eelgrass plants. When the green grass shoot is eaten, the plant will typically regenerate more grass. Sometimes wildlife will yank the entire plant from the ground, and parts of the plant may drift and root elsewhere, but this is unlikely. Eelgrass survival rate is impacted by weather. Hurricane Irma left debris in the water, including particles from surrounding land, making the water in some areas turbid and brown. The water regained clarity according to follow up site investigation. In September 2017, the first eelgrass flowers were found outside of captivity in the pilot phase.

Read the second year monitoring report here.

Flowering Eelgrass Plant
Eelgrass will only flower when it is part of a dense meadow of other submerged aquatic vegetation.

See the Restoration Yourself

The best way to experience the KBRP is to dive on in the water. If you can’t jump in just yet, check out this video to see the dense eelgrass in the pilot phase of the project. The many bubbles that you see is dissolved oxygen being created by the eelgrass.  Want to learn more about the Pilot Phase? Check out the 2015-2016 annual report.

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How We Got Started

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Save Crystal River – Beginnings

Residents and business near Kings Bay banded together to make a change in Kings Bay’s waters.  After decades of decline it was time to restore Kings Bay’s waters and it’s ecosystem to the clear, beautiful place, with fish and grasses and life, that it had been before. It wasn’t easy. The newly founded “Save Crystal River” tried harvesters to remove the Lyngbya and invasive hyacinth that had become dominant. It wasn’t enough. They went at the problem with everything they had, down to rakes and shovels, trying to make a lasting impact. But it wasn’t enough. The damage caused by three horrendous storms (the no name storm in 1993 and two others that year) made salt levels in the bay go above 17 parts per thousand. This salt level killed the eelgrass and other plants. The sunlight was blotted out by several feet of rotting plant matter choking out the light, leaving the bottom a dead zone. It took more to restore Kings Bay, gem of Florida’s nature coast.  A lot more.

It became clear in 2011, that this restoration was going to take a significantly larger effort.  Residents and businesses joined forces, and Save Crystal River Inc. was founded as a Florida 501(c)(3) not-for-profit. Restoring the bay and its estuaries, and preserving this water for generations to come, became a full time endeavor for this group.

A Ray of Hope – Eelgrass

A a similar problem  existed at this time in Stevenson creek, in Clearwater Florida.  There, a “vacuum and replant” technique had been used.  Save Crystal River (SCR) thought this “vacuuming the bottom” method would be a great first step. To make a good planting bed for grasses, it is critical to remove the “muck” and get down to sandy bottom.  These individual eelgrass plants in turn grow into a meadow and provide a home for crabs, fish and other critters to make a thriving ecosystem.

But could this be done in Kings Bay, and what would it cost?

Save Crystal River investigated “vacuum the bottom” technology.  At the same time Carter Henne, President of Sea and Shoreline, was planting some eelgrass planting for the Southwest Florida Management District in Kings Bay. He heard about Save Crystal River’s project and contacted us about helping. It quickly became clear that his expertise growing and planting eelgrass was just what was needed. Save Crystal River partnered with Sea and Shoreline and Gator Dredging to restore Kings Bay.  Then we just needed to find the funds.

Big Problem, Big Progress

We decided to head to Tallahassee in 2015 and approach the Legislature for help funding this important project.  Every school child in the county was asked to write a letter saying how much they wanted their bay restored. We arrived with boxes and boxes of letters and drawings from the students. Who could say no to that! The kids made a great impression, but Save Crystal River was also armed with the best restoration science available.  We made quite an impression. They agreed to provide $1.6M in funding for a pilot project.

Carter Henne’s plan was to start at the further reaches upstream from the headwaters of Kings Bay and work our way downstream. We selected a few canals in the area of the Crystal River Post Office for our first location. The pilot project cleaned a little over three acres of canals.  Tons (10,230) of muck was removed, and 6,714 plants were planted.

This pilot project was so successful that in 2016 we again headed to Tallahassee, this time armed with dozens of jars of dirty water and Lyngbya- straight from the bay, to show just how bad the problem was. This appeal too made an impact (several Legislators still have their jars) and the Restoration Project was funded $1.4M. The Department of Environmental Protection provided and additional $2.4M of Springs Restoration Funding, also seeing the value of this project. This funding restored eight more acres and removed 24,430 tons of muck from canals around of the Hunter Springs basin.

Restoration is Working

We returned again to Tallahassee in 2017.   This time we were armed with jars filled with beautifully clear water, white sand, and an eelgrass plant to show what a difference this restoration has made. We were awarded $2M from the Legislature and $1.8M from DEP. We used this funding to begin restoring the canals in the area of Three Sisters Springs.

The 2018 Legislative session awarded us $2M with an additional $2M from DEP. This money will restore the remaining canals around Three Sisters Springs. You can read more about our current work HERE. This project has been proven to be hugely successful. An independent scientific study showed that we have greater biodiversity in these restored canals (Hotlink). Annual project area studies show that the grass is growing exponentially. For example, the initial planting of 6,714 plants in the pilot project has exploded to well over 5 million plants in just three short years.

Save Crystal River is excited to keep restoring the bay and we hope to have 91.4 areas restored by July 2, 2023 – the centennial anniversary of when the City of Crystal River became incorporated.

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Save Crystal River is a 501c3 not for profit organization dedicated to preserving Florida’s waters for generations to come.

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