What is an ERT?

Kent SmithFlorida Fish and Wildlife Commission

Marine/Estuarine SubsectionAnnie Roddenberry (FWC), Jeff Beal (FWC), Katie

Konchar (FWC), Kim Wren (FDEP) Ron Brockmeyer(SJRWMD), Scott Eastman (FDEP), Melody Rae-Culp

(USFWS), Gian Basili (USFWS)

Beyond Terrestrial

Regional Estuarine Restoration Teams In

Florida

Informal group of practitioners planning and implementing estuarine restoration on an aquascape-level

• Open discussion group• Sharing programmatic expertise • Focus on restoration projects not mandated by

regulatory actions in estuaries• No authority distinct from participating

organizations

Informal group of practitioners planning and implementing estuarine restoration on an aquascape-level

In other words… Think-tanks

Combined Resources

Broader network

Collective experience

Constructive feedback

Leveraging opportunities

Regional-scale planning and implementation

Group Problem-solving

Increased communication

More efficient use of resources

NERT

NERT

ECERT

NERT

ECERT

PERT

SWERT

NERT

ECERT

PERT

BigBERT?

SWERT

SOFLERT?

Vision: To create healthy, thriving estuarine habitats of sufficient quantity and quality throughout northeast Florida.

Mission: To facilitate and implement restoration and bring together partners to develop a regional landscape-level habitat initiative focused on the restoration and enhancement of estuarine and shoreline habitats including coastal marsh, mangroves, oyster communities and seagrass for estuaries extending from the St. Marys River to Sebastian Inlet on the east coast of Florida

Northeast Florida Estuarine Restoration Team (NERT) Guidance

How does it work?

Steering committeeMax 10 members

NOAA (1), FWS (1), FWC (1), SJRWMD (2), DEP (1), NGO (1)

Regional team leads for North (1) and South (1), rotating members

Chair: one SC member, rotating each year

Dedicated coordinator

SC calls one month prior to NERT meetings

Operate by consensus voteSource: www.bybus.co.uk

Membership• No limit, no requirements

• Open door policy

• Agencies (state and fed), universities, non-profits, consultants, counties, cities, coastal land managers, land trusts

• Meetings 3x per year, rotating within the region (N to S)

• Not a group for approval or endorsement

• Online forum for resource sharing

How does it work?

• Reconnection of impounded coastal marsh

• Oyster shell recycling and reef restoration

• Subsided marsh restoration • Living Shoreline creation

• Seagrass restoration• Shoreline characterization

Source: SJRWMD

Source: SJRWMD

Source: Sarasota Bay Estuary Program

Example Collaborative Projects:

• Post construction monitoring

Shoreline characterization

2015-2016

Shoreline characterization

2015-2016

2016-2017

Shoreline characterization

2015-2016

2016-2017

2017-2018

Salt marsh restoration, plant nursery, and Living Shoreline Demonstration Site, New Smyrna Beach, Volusia County

Photo: R. Parkinson

>600 hours>25,000 plants

Photo: Marine Discovery Center

Photo: Marine Discovery Center

Photo: Jeff Beal

Photo: R. Parkinson

What does a successful ERT look like?• NO approval or endorsement• Multi-organization leadership• Clear steering committee direction• Open lines and means of communication• Integrated projects with funds (grants +

match)• Subgroups

• Spoil Island Working Group• Shellfish TAC• Others as needed

Photo: Marine Discovery Center

Kent SmithFWC Marine/Estuarine Subsection

Kent.Smith@myfwc.com

Any questions?

mailto:Kent.Roddenberry@myfwc.com

Example NERT Success Story Projects

Dragline ditched marsh, Mosquito Lagoon

Courtesy: J. Beal, FWC

Mosquito Lagoon Dragline Ditching

Open water

marsh

Upland hammock

Open water Open water

Artificialupland

Artificialupland

Wetlands?

Courtesy: J. Beal, FWC

Dragline ditch

Courtesy: J. Beal, FWC

Mosquito Ditch Restoration

2yrs post-restoration

Mosquito Ditch Restoration

Courtesy: J. Beal, FWC

$3650 per acre to restore

Provides 50lbs of fish biomass per acre annually to adjacent waters Stevens et al. 2007(600 restored acres produce 15tons annually)

Provides $13,400 per acre in coastal storm protection Costanza 2008(600 restored acres provide $8,040,000 protection)

Courtesy: J. Beal, FWC

• Provides free shell material for regional restoration • Started in 2014• Recycled >450,000lbs of shell

• > 10,000 oyster bags• > 2,000 oyster mats

• Strong partnerships with 3 organizations in 3 counties • 18 restaurants, 1 shuck house

Photo: FAU Harbor Branch

Slide Number 1Slide Number 2Slide Number 3Slide Number 4Slide Number 5Slide Number 6Slide Number 7Slide Number 8Slide Number 9Slide Number 10Slide Number 11Slide Number 12Slide Number 13Slide Number 14Shoreline characterizationShoreline characterizationShoreline characterizationSlide Number 18Slide Number 19Slide Number 20Slide Number 21Slide Number 22Slide Number 23What does a successful ERT look like?Slide Number 25Example NERT Success Story ProjectsSlide Number 27Slide Number 28Slide Number 29Slide Number 30Slide Number 31Slide Number 32Slide Number 33Slide Number 34Slide Number 35Slide Number 36