CCA Texas Grassroots Efforts Continue to Make a Difference

CCA Texas and the efforts of local grassroots chapters have had a successful first half of 2022. The Matagorda Bays Chapter closed out the first half of the year with another great event on June 30. The strength of CCA Texas continues due to never ending support of local grassroots efforts across the state from the Golden Triangle to the Rio Grande Valley, to Midland, to Dallas and back to Houston.

The local grassroot efforts continue to grow across the state with the addition of the Saltgrass Chapter in Winnie, Come and Catch It chapter in Gonzales, and the Bastrop County Chapter. The Saltgrass Chapter held their first fundraiser event on May 19 and had a great turnout and successful event. CCA Texas and local chapter volunteers look forward to seeing the Saltgrass Chapter growing in coming years. If you are interested in getting involved with the chapter, be sure to contact Matt Still at [email protected]. The Bastrop County Chapter is the next chapter to host their first annual event. With great community support already onboard, the Bastrop County group will have their inaugural event on July 28 at Bastrop Convention Center. If you are interested in tickets or tables, contact Erich Schneider at [email protected]. We expect the event to be a sellout, so don’t miss out and get your tickets or tables ASAP. The Come and Catch It Chapter in Gonzales will be the last new chapter to start up in 2022. The local volunteers will host their first inaugural event on August 11^th at The Expo at JB Wells. For more information or to purchase tickets or tables, contact Taylor Rieck at [email protected].

Strong grassroots efforts provide the power behind CCA Texas for advocacy and project funding. To date in 2022, CCA Texas Executive and State boards have approved $471,080 in funding for five requests.

• Outreach and education are key components in the conservation of Texas’s coastal resources. CCA Texas State Board approved eight conservation bill boards to be placed around the state for $39,000 in February and the Executive Board approved another $17,080 in May for three Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Sea Grass protection billboards along the coast.
• The Galveston Bay Foundation’s (GBF) oyster recycling program partners with twenty plus restaurants in the Houston-Galveston area to recycle oyster shells. These shells are placed back in the Galveston Bay system in restoration projects and community outreach projects. CCA Texas State Board approved $10,000 to help purchase two trailers for GBF’s recycle program.
• TPWD hatcheries are world-class facilities that have provided years of valuable service to Texas’s coastal resources. The Sea Center Texas is a marine aquarium, fish hatchery, and education center located in Lake Jackson, Texas. The facility opened in 1996 and includes a fish hatchery, visitor center with aquaria and exhibits of Texas marine life, 36 one-acre fish culture ponds, an outdoor wetland exhibit, and a one acre youth fishing pond. The facility produces 8-12 million fingerling-sized fish for stock enhancement of Texas marine waters per year. The primary purpose of the facility is to serve as a fisheries management tool in aiding in the recovery of fisheries, and/or to supplement existing populations by producing and stocking fingerlings (red drum, spotted seatrout, and southern flounder. The facility also has a public Visitor’s Center that specializes in education and outreach, which is free to the public. In 2022, there were twenty-nine pond liners original to the facility, all of which have exceeded their expected lifespan. This spring, TPWD funded the replacement of fifteen liners and is raising funds to replace the remaining fourteen liners. CCA Texas continues to be a staunch supporter of the program and in May the CCA Texas Executive Board approved $180,000 to replace six pond liners at Sea Center Texas.
• Baffin Bay is an iconic eco-system that was a pristine ecosystem for centuries. Over time and with continued growth and use through many decades, the water quality in Baffin Bay has degraded over time. With a grassroots effort coordinated by Harte Research Institute (HRI) and led by Dr. Michael Wetz, seventeen volunteer citizen scientists began a rigorous water sampling program to create a baseline of water quality issues and start the path forward to improving water quality in Baffin Bay. This original sampling effort lasted for four years and at this point, local stakeholders began supporting the funding to continue the sampling program. This continued effort has helped HRI launch “Bringing Baffin Back: Restoring and Protecting a Texas Treasure.” The overarching goals of Bringing Baffin Back are to: 1) find solutions to the water quality problems that are contributing to the decline in the health of Baffin Bay, 2) restore key watershed and bay habitat that has been lost due to water quality degradation, 3) foster a stewardship ethos, especially among younger generations of residents, and 4) advance efforts to educate the public on the relationship between watershed and bay health. These efforts represent a sustained commitment to dramatically improve the health of Baffin Bay and the surrounding economy through partnerships between scientists, citizen groups, landowners, philanthropists, policy makers, local municipalities, state officials, NGOs, and private businesses. In June 2022, the EPA approved the group’s watershed protection plan to continue moving the effort forward. CCA Texas Executive Board approved a three year commitment to fund $75,000 annually to support and continue the water sampling program. CCA Texas looks forward to being a partner in this effort to “Bring Baffin Back.”

CCA Texas staff, leadership and chapter volunteers look forward to a great second half of 2022. Be sure to watch your mail and emails for local community events. If you are interested in getting involved with a local chapter, be sure to visit www.ccatexas.org and look up your local chapter for the appropriate contact information for that chapter.