National Estuaries Day

Give Back with Florida Sea Grant Paddling Coastal Clean Up!

Estuaries, like Tampa Bay, improve our lives in many ways! Estuaries are a great place for recreation including boating and fishing, they are very productive ecosystems that support a diversity of aquatic life, and they help to buffer us from storms and hurricanes. This Saturday is National Estuaries Day! It is our opportunity to celebrate the gift of Tampa Bay.

You can “Pay It Forward”, by participating in a Florida Sea Grant coastal cleanup at Weedon Island in St. Petersburg. Registration is available online at https://weedoncleanup2014.eventbrite.com. UF/IFAS Extension, Florida Sea Grant Agent Libby Carnahan will lead volunteers with canoes and kayaks to help clean up the difficult-to-reach shorelines of Weedon Island Preserve. The cleanup will help to protect wildlife from entanglement, increase the boating safety of our waters, and increase the aesthetic value of our natural surroundings. Registration is REQUIRED. Space is limited.

There are 2 major networks that protect our nation’s estuaries- The National Estuary Programs and the National Estuarine Research Reserves. The Tampa Bay Estuary Program was created by Congress in 1991 to assist the community in restoring and protecting Florida’s largest open-water estuary. As a designated “estuary of national significance,” Tampa Bay is the economic and environmental centerpiece of a rapidly growing region supporting more than 2.3 million people.

0