Conservation
Wetlands Restoration
Burnet Bay Habitat Restoration Project
Burnet Bay is located west of the city of Baytown and south of the intersection of Interstate 10 and Crosby-Lynchburg Road. It is bounded by Crosby-Lynchburg Road and the Lynchburg Ferry to the west, residential properties to the north and east, and the Baytown Nature Center (formerly the subsided Brownwood Subdivision) to the south.
Historical aerial images dating back to 1944 show that Burnet Bay between the northwestern shoreline and Crosby-Lynchburg Road was bounded by rather extensive wetlands. Between 1906 and 1995 the Burnet bay area has experienced 5-8 feet of elevation loss due to subsidence (USGS Data). Due to this loss in elevation only two small emergent landforms remain in the project area today.
GBF expects to begin construction on this project in the fall of 2008. The project goals are to restore intertidal marsh within Burnet Bay. This will be accomplished by bringing in sand material to raise the elevation within the project area and planting marsh vegetation in the area once the new material has settled.
Current project partners include: Restore America's Estuaries, NOAA Restoration Center, Texas General land Office Coastal Management Program, Galveston Bay Estuary Program, Harris County, Mitsui USA, USFWS Coastal Program, Port of Houston Authority, Texas Parks and Wildlife, NRG Texas, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and NOAA Fisheries habitat Conservation Division.
Wetland loss due to subsidence shown by aerial photos.
1944
1986
1969
