“It has been a pleasure and thrill to be able to do the work we’ve been able to do,” concluded Ken Jones during his update on the Slough Restoration Project as part of Apalachicola Riverkeeper’s December 5, 2020 annual membership meeting. Jones provided an overview of the team’s work thus far, including biological assessments necessary for permit applications, setting up data collection stations and determining how much sediment must be removed to complete restoration.
In places such as Douglas Slough, tree downfall from Hurricane Michael must also be cleared since that is also hampering water flow and trapping sediments. For some of the work, local contractors from Eastpoint, Apalachicola and Wewahitchka are being employed.
The project benefits will be multi-fold, the end result being more freshwater and nutrients flowing through the river floodplain and East River into Apalachicola Bay and East Bay during times of low flow. Once complete, the current project could be a model for restoring other impaired slough systems along the lower river.
As a bonus for exploring the remote slough areas, Jones and the team discovered biological treasures, including finding “one of the healthiest and largest cypress trees I’ve ever seen” along lower Spider’s Cut.
View the complete presentation on You Tube. More information on Apalachicola Riverkeeper’s Slough Restoration.
Apalachicola Ecosystem Distress Signals
