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Aquatic Plants of Florida

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Pascagoula Beach Restoration, Jackson County, Mississippi

April 22nd, 2011

Jackson County, MS

PASCAGOULA, MS – April 14, 2011 – Aquatic Plants of Florida, Inc., one of the industry’s easliest providers of wholesale native plants and trees, announced today it completed work at Pascagoula Beach, Mississippi on a restoration project, as part of the Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program (MsCIP).

The US Army Corps of Engineers project initially involved the repair of a concaved seawall, replacement and extension of existing drainage structures, fill and placement of 7,700 feet of geotubes, excavation of almost 290,000 cubic yards of sand, and extensive sand placement on the Pascagoula waterfront in the Mississippi Sound.

During the planning stage, engineering and analysis revealed the project was in need of beach toe protection to minimize the effect of erosion due to high wave energy from the Mississippi Sound. Project engineers determined vegetative and man-made erosion-control methods were warranted to reduce erosion and to protect existing geotubes.

One of project concerns included the high wave energy of the Mississippi Sound, which could result in lost sediment that would likely migrate into areas of shipping traffic and increase future frequency of needed dredging intervals.

Vegetation chosen for the project included Spartina patens or more commonly known as marsh hay cordgrass. Erosion control methods can extend the life of beach restoration projects and increase the time before re-nourishment is needed. Planting of vegetation along beaches also improves wildlife habitat for marine and terrestrial species. 

Coastal Mississippi consists of diverse habitats including beaches, sand dunes, coastal maritime forests, emergent wetlands, submerged aquatic vegetation, rivers, tidal creeks, tidal flats forested wetlands and more. Likewise, the coastal flora and fauna in Mississippi are extensive. Mississippi is home to essential fish habitat as defined in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

Aquatic Plants of Florida successfully grew 362,500 patens for the Mississippi project and installed the coastal plants in Spring 2011 ahead of schedule.