The Texas General Land Office (GLO) is pleased to present the 2023 Texas Coastal Resiliency Master Plan (Plan)—the third installment of its statewide plan to protect and promote a vibrant and resilient Texas coast that supports and sustains a strong economy and healthy environment for all who live, work, play or otherwise benefit from the natural resources and infrastructure along the Texas coast. The Texas coast is made up of more than 3,300 miles of bay shorelines and vast expanses of tallgrass prairie uplands, saltmarsh wetlands, beaches and dunes, estuaries, and other ecosystems that contribute priceless natural and aesthetic resources to humans. Moreover, nearly 6.92 million people in 18 counties call the Texas coast their home, and industries contributing to the coastal economy employ upwards of 400,000 people in coastal counties and over 1.55 million people statewide.1,2 To protect the livelihoods, communities, safety, and security of our people, Texans need a Texas-sized plan to protect our coast.
Projects for Region 2 (includes Calhoun County):
No. Project Name Cost 1265 Big Boggy Marsh Protection Project $6,000,000 1268 Bird Island Restoration and Creation of Gulf Cut Island Complex $4,000,000 51 Boggy Cut GIWW Stabilization $18,500,000 9237 Boggy Nature Park Shoreline Stabilization $5,000,000 9187 Carancahua Bay Community Reefing Project $125,000 430 Carancahua Bay Habitat Preservation and Enhancement $9,000,000 600 Half Moon Oyster Reef Restoration – Phase 3 $2,800,000 9250 Harbor of Refuge Protection and Restoration $6,700,000 1342 Hydrologic Restoration of Welder Flats $4,300,000 9224 Lake Austin Coastal Prairie Conservation $60,000,000 644 Mad Island Marsh Preserve Shoreline Protection and Coastal Ecosystem Restoration – Phase 1 $8,900,000 9070 Matagorda Bay Regional Inflow Study $250,000 922 Oliver Point Shoreline Protection and Reef Restoration $1,600,000 9244 Port Alto County Park Shoreline Protection and Restoration – Phase 2 $1,800,000 4 San Bernard NWR Shoreline Protection $80,500,000 1391 San Bernard NWR Sargent Unit Beneficial Use $11,000,000 9245 Sand Point Peninsula Living Shoreline $5,800,000 418 Sargent Beach and Dune Restoration $79,600,000 9215 Shoreline Protection and Restoration at Olivia Haterius County Park $4,600,000 REGION 2 DETAILS Counties: Calhoun, Jackson, Matagorda, Victoria Total Population: 162,700 (2020) Property Value: $31.2 billion (2021) Total Annual Average Wages: $3.0 billion Political Districts: Texas House: 25, 30, 43 Texas Senate: 17, 18 US Congress: 14, 22, 27 8 2023 Texas Coastal Resiliency Master Plan Texas General Land Office Texas General Land Office 2023 Texas Coastal Resiliency Master Plan 9

Wednesdays:  8:00 am-9:00 am Coffee & Conversation at POC Library
Wednesdays: 4:30 pm Boy Scouts meet at Scout Hall in Seadrift
1:00-3:30 pm- Mahjongg at POC Library
Thursdays: POC Bridge at Library 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Saturdays: 7:00 pm Friends of Bill W at First Baptist Church, POC
Sat., April 22     Seadrift Market Day  8:00-Noon      Train Depot
Sat., April 22     Bay Praise  6:00 pm    Seadrift Bayfront Pavilion
Tues., April 25     CC Writer’s Guild 6:30 pm  Calhoun County Library
Sat., April 29    Crawfish Fest King Fisher Beach, Port O’Connor
Mon., May 1     Republican Club   6:00 pm   5287 FM 3084, Port Lavaca
Tues., May 2     Democratic Club   6:00 pm   Calhoun County Library
Thurs., May 4     POC Service Club  10:00 am  POC Community Center
Sat., May 6     Seadrift City Election   7:00-7:00   City Hall
Tues., May 9    Hooked on Books  2:00 pm  alanehaardt@yahoo.com
Sat., May 13     Farmers Market  8:00-Noon  Kingfisher Beach, Port O’Connor
Sun., May 14    Mother’s Day
Thurs., May 18     POC Service Club  10:00 am   POC Community Center
May 19-21    Warrior’s Weekend  POC Waterfront and Community Center
Sat., May 20     Children’s Event Flowers and Planting  10:00 – 11:00 Port O’Connor Library
Sat., May 27     Memorial Day Observance   10 am   Port Lavaca Bayfront Park

POC & Seadrift residents: Brigid & Allan Berger, Charles Gremminger, Chris Skeie with a boat load of traps removed from shallow back lakes of Matagorda Island.

As part of TPWD’s annual Abandoned Crab Trap Removal Program, volunteers and agencies scoured Aransas, San Antonio, and Matagorda Bay systems in a coordinated effort to locate and remove derelict crab traps. In total, 977 traps were removed by 48 boats and 182 people during the 10-day closure period from February 17-26, 2023. In 2022, 2021, and 2020, 1047, 1203, and 1632 traps were removed,
respectively.

If left in the environment the traps are unsightly litter and navigation hazards. Also, derelict traps can continue to ‘ghost fish’, entrapping and killing crabs, fish, and turtles. Allan Berger coordinated the cleanup effort for San Antonio Bay and made the following observations regarding this year’s program:

• Most of the traps removed were at the shoreline, or on shore, the result of high winds and tides during storm events.
• Winter Storm Uri in 2021 killed mangroves, continuing to expose older traps on the shoreline.
• The number of traps removed from open water appears down from previous years due to diligent efforts by commercial crabbers to pick up their traps prior to the closure period. An exception is the Guadalupe River Delta area which continues to experience high trap dereliction.
• The weather was generally cooperative in 2023, but the effort continues to be limited by the availability of boats to search remote and shallow areas of the Bay.
• An analysis of the location, content, and ownership data collected for each trap is planned. This information will inform efforts to reduce trap dereliction in the future and will be available at the San Antonio Bay website (SABayPartnership.org) in April.

Volunteer activities were coordinated by the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve, the San Antonio Bay Partnership, and the Matagorda Bay Foundation. Boats and volunteers came from numerous local organizations: Coastal Conservation Association chapters, Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, Lavaca-Navidad River Authority, Guadalupe-Blanco R Trust, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Mid-Coast Texas Master Naturalist chapter, Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program, University of Texas Marine Science Institute, International Crane Foundation, Dallas Zoo, Texas SeaGrant, and concerned citizens.

Special thanks to the Calhoun High School Naval ROTC students for manning the TPWD dock in Port O’Connor to unload boats and process the cleaner traps for metal recycling and to the Dallas Zoo volunteers who processed traps from the Seadrift Marina.

The cleanup efforts for 2021, 2022 and 2023 were funded by a NOAA Marine Debris Program Community-based Marine Debris Removal grant obtained by the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program and supplemented by local sponsors Guadalupe Blanco River Authority and the San Antonio River Authority. Berger noted that the program’s success is due to the efforts of the volunteers and agencies noted above, as well as commercial crabbers’ efforts to improve management of their traps. Together, we can keep our Bays clean and productive.

To sign up for notifications related to next year’s efforts, contact Allan Berger at AllanRBerger@outlook.com.

Calhoun High School Naval ROTC students processing traps for metal recycling.