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Restoration Activities
Case: Barge Berman, PR
Projects to Restore Injured Reef Resources - A number of
alternatives were reviewed and three restoration projects were selected to
restore reef habitat and other reef resources injured by the barge grounding
and subsequent oil spill. These projects were chosen based on public input,
chance of success, and scientific support.
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San Miguel Natural Reserve: The Trustees determined that acquiring lands
for conservation purposes would best compensate the public for the reef
injuries sustained from the barge grounding and subsequent oil spill. Several
potential sites were evaluated, after which the Trustees selected a 270-acre
privately-owned shoreline property. Led by The Trust for Public Land,
settlement funds were used to purchase this parcel titled the San Miguel
Natural Reserve, a part of Puerto Rico's Northeast Ecological Corridor. The San
Miguel Natural Reserve is a mosaic of coastal habitats including near
shore coral reefs, more than a mile of beachfront, intertidal areas, wetlands,
coastal dry forests, and mangroves. The reserve is home to 16 federally listed
threatened and endangered species, including the endangered leatherback turtle
which nests here. The land will be managed as a Natural Reserve under the
Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and the public
will have access for low-impact recreational activities.
In December of 2008 an additional 152 acres was added to the Reserve by
utilizing funds reallocated from the Condado Seagrass Restoration Project (see
details below). This second land acquisition effort will protect and conserve a
wide variety of important coastal habitats that include intertidal and emergent
wetlands, coastal dry forests, mangrove habitat, and riverine habitat at the
confluence of two rivers. The conservation importance of the sea turtle nesting
beaches found on these two parcels of land are identified in Recovery Plans for
both Leatherback and Hawksbill sea turtles (National Marine Fisheries Service
[NMFS] 1992, NMFS 1993).
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The Coral Reef Trail Project in Condado Lagoon provides compensation for
lost resources associated with the injured eolianite reef. This restoration
project, led by the San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership, was completed in the fall
of 2008. Thirty prefabricated cement reef-replication modules (known as Taino
reef modules) were placed at designated sites within the Condado Lagoon to
create new reef habitat similar to that lost as a result of the grounding. The
Condado Coral Reef Trail consists of three underwater educational trails, each
consisting of 10 Taino reef modules. These trails are located in front of the
public beach between the Dos Hermanos Bridge and the breakwater that separates
the Condado Lagoon from the Atlantic Ocean. The underwater trails combined with
the comprehensive outreach and educational component of the project provides
students and the public an opportunity to learn about coral reefs and natural
resource restoration.
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The Condado Seagrass Restoration Project planned to utilize dredged
marine sediments from San Juan Harbor to fill dredge holes within Condado
Lagoon allowing seagrass to recover naturally. However, due to issues with the
planned joint funding process this project was not completed. Accordingly, the
Trustees reallocated these funds from the seagrass project for their use in
acquiring additional land within the San Miguel Natural Reserve. This
alternative use of funds was contemplated in the Final Restoration Plan in the
event the Condado Seagrass Project was not feasible. This land acquisition
effort was successfully completed in December of 2008.
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