A pearl of a project: Oyster reef built at Cessna Landing helps prevent erosion

Volunteers with the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance spent last week doing hard labor in cold water, constructing an oyster reef at Cessna Landing in Walton County.

This was the organization’s third and final oyster reef project funded by a grant from the Gulf of Mexico Foundation and sponsored by Northwest Florida State College. Reefs were also built at a private residence in Point Washington and at Joe’s Bayou in Destin.

To see more photos from the day, click here.

Allison McDowell, grant coordinator for the alliance, said oyster reefs benefit the environment by providing a refuge for juvenile fish and crabs, creating a feeding ground for game fish and preventing shoreline erosion. McDowell said reef projects help with erosion because the presence of the reef can break up wave energy lapping against the shore.

Emergent vegetation, such as saltbush and cordgrass, is  planted after the reef is constructed and also helps break up wave action.

“This site was chosen because Walton County has identified it as an area of concern,” McDowell said. “The shoreline had severely eroded to the point that light poles had to be moved back.”

The alliance has been working to rebuild the shore at Cessna Landing since 2006 with their stormwater mediation project, funded by the Water Management District. But this was the first time volunteers from the Choctawhatchee Audubon Society, Eglin Air Force Base and the Panhandle Fly Fishing Club had worked at the site.

The group started their day loading 30-pound bags of oysters into a truck provided by NWF State College. The next step was to set up a human conveyor belt at the landing, moving bags from the truck to two boats provided by the city of Destin and the Panhandle Fly Fishing Club. The group then waded about 15 feet to the site of the new reef, pushing the boats along as they went.

From start to finish, construction of the reef is back-breaking work, and McDowell said it couldn’t be done without dedicated volunteers. While some are fisherman or divers who have an interest in building up an ecosystem, most just want to do what they can for the environment and the community.

“The idea that all conservation groups should work together is a no-brainer,” said Theresa Dennis, a volunteer with the Choctawhatchee Audubon Society. “We’re not just about birds, we’re about protecting wildlife habitats.”

Fish and crabs will begin to live on the 50-foot reef almost immediately after it’s completed. Oyster growth will begin within a year or two, and sometime after that sand will begin to accumulate behind the reef, breaking up waves to protect the shoreline, according to McDowell.

“The idea is that it will begin to rebuild a little of the shoreline.”