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?
If you have ever had the pleasure to visit Crystal River and have stopped over at Hunter Springs for a view of our charming City Park than you may have seen a very significant icon strolling around.
Residents have been chatting up a storm about how beautiful the water looks with all of the eelgrass that has spread from the pilot phase out towards the wide body of the River. What is even better is that many guides in the water like myself and others have been reporting more and more
If you've spent any time on the water around Hunter Springs or in the canals near Three Sisters Springs, you've probably seen some strange contraptions that look like circular cages just hanging out all willy-nilly along the bottom of the water ways. That may have you thinking, what in the world are those?
The beauty of mother nature's plan is that is relatively predictable. Now in our 4th year of the King's Bay Restoration Project we have seen this cycle play out each season. The good news? The eelgrass always comes back! Sometimes in places we haven't even restored yet!
We know this is a highly visible section of our community and it needs to look its best. In the past, we had permission to clean limited areas, but now SWFWMD is providing us permission to clean the entire area!
The negative impacts that come from improper disposal of scallop shells include suffocation of vegetation, damage to habitat, and hazards to humans walking and swimming in springs (you think legos are bad?). All of these effects can lead to a drastic change in water quality, clarity, spring ecosystem, and recreational activities (seriously, they hurt our tender toes).
Fish communities are also responding positively to the restoration activities in area Phase 1A. Striped mullet, bluegill, Atlantic needlefish, spotted sunfish, and snook have all been observed in increasing numbers in the established restored areas.
We like to believe that most of the mistakes we have made in the past are due to simple ignorance. We have a great opportunity not not only learn from the past, but to reverse the effect.
Many forget there is a prop penance to pay if we don’t protect the natural growing eelgrass in the waterways. Crystal River includes one of two areas that are among the largest eelgrass beds in the continental North America. We must all be aware of the infliction we can cause to our underwater habitat.
