By Olivia Sherman
Posted on 12/22/25: On Monday, November 17th, I was part of a group of four interns from Conservation Pathways who joined forces with Dan Tonsmeire and Lynn Wamp to continue restoration efforts of East River Slough. Conservation Pathways is a non-profit organization founded by Rebecca Means (a three time RiverTrekker!) in her efforts to empower the next generation of conservation professionals. There are various pathways to conservation, and our internship provides unique experiences in areas of field work, research, professional development, and communication. The outing was a great example of this kind of experience.
East River is one of many sloughs found along the Apalachicola River. These sloughs are vital for the transportation and circulation of nutrients and water into the floodplain and down to Apalachicola Bay. The goal of this restoration project is to reverse the damage caused by the US Army Corps of Engineers dredging operations and restore the connection of the river to the floodplain. The dredging caused excess sediment to block the water flow of the slough into the estuary of East Bay, which resulted in high salinity. An estuary is characterized as a transition zone from river environments to marine environments, creating a brackish water environment. An imbalance of salt water to freshwater drastically changes the interactions between the ecosystem and the organisms that rely on it so it is very important that this balance is reestablished.
At 8:00 AM we all departed on the still, morning glass of the Apalachicola River. The goal of the morning was to disperse native seeds along the bank of the slough in hopes of establishing a population of seasonal grasses. The three grass types that we focused on were Pensacola Bahia (Paspalum notatum), Winter Rye Grass (Lolium perenne), and Browntop Millet (Urochloa ramosa). These seasonal winter grasses play a significant role in controlling erosion along the slough bank. Dan and Lynn took the liberty of mixing large buckets of these seeds for the rest of us to disperse using seed spreaders. We covered a small patch of land, roughly 100 sq. ft., and used rakes to cover the seeds with the sediment. By now there should be a youthful plot of happy little grasses, with an even happier slough!
We loved working with Dan and Lynn on this wonderful project and hope to help with more of these conservation efforts in the future.
Thank you Apalachicola RiverKeeper!
