The Birds are Putting on a Show at Palm Beach County Natural Areas
Running the Sand Hills of Jupiter Ridge
Billed as a “SufferFest in the Sand,” the Sand Spur Ultra has been held annually at Jupiter Ridge Natural Area since 2017. The most recent race, held on December 26, 2020, included both a 50K and a half marathon. Each event was limited to 30 runners. The course traveled up and down Jupiter Ridge’s ancient sand hills, remnant beaches and dunes from long ago. Runners repeated this up and down motion - over and over and over againfor a total elevation gain of approximately 1,000 feet for the half marathon and 2,000 feet for the 50K. Over 80% of registrants were from Florida, with runners from six other states also participating. The winner of the 50K was Patrick Gallagher, a 45year-old man from Gainesville. His time was 4:27:12.
This year’s race was a special challenge to plan due to COVID-19. Though ultrarunning is better suited to social distancing than many road running events (it’s rare to see a crowded ultra-course!), race coordinators worked closely with Department staff to come up with a COVID-19 mitigation plan. This included pre-race temperature checks, staggered starts and contactless aid stations. Masks were required for everyone while not on course, including at aid stations. Plans are already in the works for the 2021 edition of this event.
Palm Beach County natural areas are beginning to see nesting activity – case in point, this great horned owl pair observed at Cypress Creek Natural Area in Jupiter. The birds are using an old osprey nest. We assume that’s Mom in the nest while Dad was watching from a tall slash pine a few hundred feet away. Department staff have observed nesting great horned owls at this natural area for the past few years.
Be on the lookout for blue-gray gnatcatchers while visiting Palm Beach County natural areas this winter. This small bird (typically 4.5 inches long) is often found among warblers hunting for insects and spiders. It hops and sidles in dense outer foliage, flicking its whiteedged tail from side to side to scare up food. It’s fun to watch this bundle of energy forage for food which often includes darting up, down and all around chasing after insects.
Purple gallinules are one of Palm Beach County’s more colorful wetland birds. They are green above with dark purplish blue heads, necks and underparts and pale blue forehead shields. These chicken-like marsh birds are very vocal - they make clucking and whinnying sounds, so you may hear them before seeing them. Purple gallinules are perfectly designed for life in the wetlands - long toes make it possible to walk on soft mud and floating vegetation.
Environmental Times
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Purple Gallinule at Winding Waters
Pondhawk Natural Area StoryWalk
Did you know that families can combine reading, exercise and exploring nature while visiting a Palm Beach County natural area? Thanks to the staff at Boca Raton Public Library there is a StoryWalk at Pondhawk Natural Area. Since the natural area is next to the Boca Raton Spanish River Library, it was the perfect spot to blend reading and nature. Panels featuring pages from a children's book are placed along the paved walking trail that winds through slash pine and oak forests and around a sawgrass-filled freshwater wetland. Questions at the bottom of each panel encourage further discussions between kids and parents. Visit pbcnaturalareas.com for information about Pondhawk Natural Area.
Teaming Up with Pine Jog (once again) to Save Native Orchids
The Department of Environmental Resources Management (ERM) teamed up with Pine Jog Environmental Education Center over the past few years to place hundreds of orchids on Palm Beach County natural areas as part of the Fairchild Million Orchid Project. ERM is once again partnering with Pine Jog to save native orchids, but in a new way.
Pine Jog staff will collect seeds of Spiranthes longilabris, or longlip ladiestresses, from Pine Glades Natural Area this winter and attempt to cultivate plants in the laboratory. Orchid seeds are miniscule and a single seedpod may contain anywhere from 1,500 to several million seeds, so only a few seedpods need to be collected. Then the real work begins.
Longlip ladiestresses are ground orchids that grow in grassy areas within pine flatwoods ecosystems. These islands within islands have a high level of fire-dependent, endemic species that evolved together for thousands of years. Terrestrial orchids, like the longlip ladiestresses, have a more complex - and less understood - life cycle than fire intolerant, epiphytic species like the dancing lady orchids that were successfully transplanted onto many of Palm Beach County’s scrub sites.
ERM is happy to partner with Pine Jog on this project. It is a fascinating challenge, not just to propagate the orchids in the lab, but to also transplant these delicate flowers that spend most of their lives underground back into the wild.
By Carrie Black Finch
Winter 2020 / 2021
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By Jena McNeal
Recycling an Old Bridge and Sinking Reef Darts
In early December 2020, 740 tons of concrete material from the demolition of the Southern Boulevard Bridge was recycled to create an artificial reef. This deployment added 5,000 tons of clean concrete to the same area where debris from the main bridge span, demolished in 2018, was placed. This 2.5-acre artificial reef site is an old dredge hole where sand was removed to create upland housing lots. That dredging left behind a huge hole, 20 to 30 feet deep, void of resources and life. The material was hand placed by a crane on a barge and underwater hard hat divers to create habitat for Lake Worth Lagoon marine life. The bridge pilings and deck spans were laid on top of each other to create ledges and spaces for fish to live. This project was made possible through an agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation and Palm Beach County that allows for all demolition material generated from a bridge replaced within the county to be donated as artificial reef material.
The Palm Beach County Fishing Foundation (PBCFF), the non-profit arm of the West Palm Beach Fishing Club, deployed 40 reef darts and 30 tons of reuse concrete four miles offshore of the Lake Worth Inlet in 484 feet of water. This location is approximately 1,000 feet north of the site where the same type of material was deployed in 2019. These are the deepest intentionally sunk artificial reefs offshore of Florida. The PBCFF donated the material and Palm Beach County paid for transportation and deployment.
All artificial reef locations highlighted in this article can be found at pbcreefs.com
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A Mermaid, Eagle Scout and PBSC Students
The Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management partnered with the Ocean Rescue Alliance, Chris
Ocean Rescue Alliance and Reef Cells donated 52 artificial reef modules of differing sizes and shapes that have an artistic flare to them. With Reef Cells partnership on this project, all of the modules are outfitted with a special patented Coral Lok receiver that can accept coral fragments as part of future reef restoration efforts.
Palm Beach State College engaged more than 60 students to design, engineer, construct and deploy their Reef Hope statue. Boy Scout Kevin Castro, from Troop 241, constructed two artificial reef modules as part of his Eagle Scout project. Each module weighed 4.5 tons. This material was placed around existing artificial reef material to create an amazing underwater experience for divers of all levels.
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O’Hare with Reef Cells, Palm Beach State College and Boy Scout Kevin Castro to deploy 55 artificial reef modules one mile southeast of the Lake Worth Inlet in 40 feet of water.
Palm Beach State College Reef Hope Statue
Palm Beach State College Reef Hope Statue
Eagle Scout Artificial Reef Eagle Scout Artificial Reef
Award-Winning Lake Worth Lagoon Restoration Project
The Department's Tarpon Cove Restoration Project won the 2020 Project Excellence Award in the Small Project Category from the Coasts, Oceans, Ports and Rivers Institute - a semi-autonomous institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the country's oldest national engineering society. Tarpon Cove was recognized for demonstrating design and construction excellence by re-using dredged material for environmental benefits through a partnership between Florida Inland Navigation District, Taylor Engineering and Palm Beach County. Phase 1 of the project created two intertidal mangrove islands and submerged seagrass habitat. Phase 2 began in late May 2020. Material from the Town of Palm Beach Marina expansion project is being used to fill a deep dredge hole to create seagrass, mangrove and oyster habitat. This phase is expected to be completed by the summer of 2021.
Remember, it is still
Manatees are found year round in Palm Beach County’s waterways but during November 15 through March 31, cooler temperatures bring additional migrating manatees here in search of warm water refuges. Manatees are protected under federal, state and local law. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management and local law enforcement partners protect and conserve manatees and their habitat. As part of this conservation effort, occasionally these agencies participate in live manatee stranding response. So far this season there have been a total of five manatee rescues in Palm Beach County. All of the manatees were found floating on their sides. Whether from internal injuries or ailments, the animals could not dive properly. This meant they could not forage sea grass, an essential food source for the animal. Injured manatees were safely captured and placed on a rescue boat by the team of responders. Then the manatees were carried on a transport tarp from the boat to a padded truck and driven to a rehabilitation facility where they received treatment so they could be successfully released back to the wild.
By Teal Kawana
6 Environmental Times
Photo Credit: Lake Worth Waterkeeper
7 Winter 2020 / 2021
Hidden Wild will become required curriculum in 7th and 10th grade science classes in Palm Beach County public schools in the fall. To help teachers get a feel for what the three students experienced during the making of Hidden Wild, Department staff are conducting field trips that bring educators to the swamp, the Wild and Scenic Loxahatchee River and Lake Worth Lagoon. These photos were taken during the December 12, 2020 swamp tromp through Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area. For more information about Hidden Wild check in with the Department’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pbcerm.
Environmental Times Volume 25 Issue 4 Published quarterly by the Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management 2300 N. Jog Road - Fourth Floor West Palm Beach, FL 33411-2743 561-233-2400 pbcerm.com www.facebook.com/pbcerm Deborah Drum..........Department Director Michael Stahl...................Deputy Director Ann Mathews...................Editor/Graphics
Beach
Dave Kerner, Mayor Robert S. Weinroth, Vice Mayor Maria G. Marino Gregg K. Weiss Maria Sachs Melissa McKinlay Mack Bernard County Commissioners
Palm
County Board of
Verdenia C. Baker, County Administrator
The documentary Hidden Wild, produced by Day’s Edge Productions and funded by Discover The Palm Beaches and Palm Beach County, aired on WXEL and WPBT2 (South Florida PBS stations) the last weekend in January. This two-year project follows three Palm Beach County students as they explore 70 miles of South Florida wilderness in 7 days. Along for the adventure was - from left to right - Noah (student), group leader Alex, Kourtez (student) and Kiana (student). The group hiked, bicycled and paddled their way through some of the most scenic, and hidden, landscapes in Palm Beach County. For those who missed the PBS airing of Hidden Wild, the video will be available to stream on February 23 on Discover the Palm Beaches’ website.
