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Celebrating
20 Years
of
Community
Partnership
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Fertilize Like a Floridian
June 1 - Sept. 30
Summer rains can wash fertilizer into our lakes and waterways, spoiling our water.
Protect our fun! Skip fertilizers with nitrogen and phosporous during summer months. In Pinellas County, it's the law.
For more information on fertilizing wisely and the Pinellas County ordinance, please visit
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Quick Links
Newsletter Archive |
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Win $250
in our
Invasive Species
Poetry Contest! |  | |
Florida is being overrun by invaders!
Help us draw attention to invasive plants and animals by submitting an original poem in our Invasive Species Poetry Contest.
Grand prize is $250! Junior and adult categories.
To enter
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Holly Greening, executive director of Tampa Bay Estuary Program, presents Ralph Metcalf with a framed TBEP 20th Anniversary poster. |
TBEP congratulates Ralph Metcalf, the City of Tampa's longtime Director of Wastewater Treatment, on his retirement. Ralph has been involved with the Estuary Program since its inception in 1991, and served on our Management Board longer than any other member.
Ralph's wry wit and common-sense observations will be missed. He has been instrumental in ensuring that we set realistic goals for the bay's recovery, and explained those goals simply and clearly so we could build public support for restoring the bay.
Ralph's many interests and talents include playing electric guitar, cruising on his Harley Davidson, and adding to his encyclopedic knowledge of Tampa eateries. Enjoy your well-deserved retirement, Ralph! |
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Lindsay Cross visits a wastewater treatment plant in Concepcion, Chile |
TBEP Staffer Visits Chile in Rotary Exchange
TBEP environmental scientist Lindsay Cross spent one month in Chile this spring as part of a Rotary Group Study Exchange. She was one of four young professionals in the nation selected by the Rotarians for this program which promotes cultural understanding and shared knowledge.
Cross stayed in homes of residents while visiting the region of Biobio in Central Chile, where she helped spread the word about protecting and restoring marine environments.
"I spoke with college classes about the work of TBEP," says Cross, "and we gave 15 presentations at Rotary meetings. My goal was to spread awareness about TBEP and our mission and to inspire them to take responsibility for the coastal environment."
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Things That Make You Go "Wow!"
Horseshoe crabs come ashore on the bay's sandy beaches from April through August to lay eggs.
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Welcome to the New Bay PostScript!
We are pleased to present our new bi-monthly online newsletter, Bay PostScript. This new version replaces the former newsletter which was e-mailed as an attachment. We hope you enjoy the new easy-to-read format featuring news and updates from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. Pass it on!
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TBEP Honored With Gulf Guardian Award for Nitrogen Partnership
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More than 9,000 acres of bay seagrassess have been restored thanks to projects implemented by the Consortium.
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The Estuary Program's Nitrogen Management Consortium has received the
prestigious Partnership Award in the 2011 Gulf Guardian awards sponsored by the Gulf of Mexico Program.
Projects from throughout the Gulf of Mexico region were nominated. In bestowing the award on TBEP's Nitrogen Consortium, the judges recognized the significant accomplishments of this public-private alliance in reducing nitrogen pollution in Tampa Bay from wastewater, stormwater, air emissions and industrial discharges. The Consortium's 40-plus members include cities and counties throughout the region as well as major industries that impact the bay -- fertilizer manufacturers, utilities and agricultural operations.
Under the Estuary Program's leadership, Consortium members have voluntarily agreed to nitrogen reductions that have fostered the recovery of more than 9,000 acres of life-sustaining seagrasses in the bay. Gulf Guardian Award judges lauded the Nitrogen Management Consortium as a model of cooperative watershed management for the entire Gulf of Mexico region.
"The collaborative approach embodied by the Consortium is unique in the country, as recognized by this prestigious award," said Holly Greening, TBEP Executive Director. "Congratulations and thanks to all Consortium participants!"
A video production company will be in the Tampa Bay area in June to film a 3-minute video about the Consortium that will be shown during the Gulf Guardian Awards ceremony in New Orleans in August.
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'Give A Day' Blitz a Tri-County
20th Anniversary Celebration
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Volunteers at Cockroach Bay assisted
in a marsh planting
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Volunteers from across Pinellas, Hillsborough and Manatee counties came out in force on April 16 for a "Give A Day for the Bay Blitz" in honor of our 20th anniversary this year.
In south Hillsborough County, volunteers planted marsh grasses at Cockroach Bay and the newly created Lost River Preserve, and then attended a formal dedication of the Lost River restoration featuring NOAA Assistant Administrator Larry Robinson and Tom Ries of Ecosphere Restoration Project, who spearheaded the project.
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Nadine Nickeson, right, and Cathy Quindiagan help plant sea oats at Fort DeSoto Park. Both are members of our Community Advisory Committee.
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At Fort DeSoto Park in south Pinellas County, volunteers headed to the North Beach where they planted sea oats and beach dune sunflowers, with assistance from helpful park rangers who also lended a hand.
And at Emerson Point in Manatee County, an exotic species removal and plantings of native plants and trees kept volunteers of all ages busy.
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Sandra Ripberger and Malakai pitch in at Emerson Point
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A big thank you to all our incredible volunteers who made our anniversary Give a Day a smashing success! We rely on the dedication of people like you to help us in our mission to restore and protect our bay and estuaries.
Stay tuned for more "Give A Days" coming up this fall.
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TBEP Partnership Wins Award for Seagrass Recovery Program at MacDill
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Concrete "Jersey barriers" are among the materials being used in the project. |
A unique effort to recreate sandbars along a Tampa Bay shoreline to foster recovery of seagrasses has earned a Merit Award from The Planning Commission in Hillsborough County in its 2011 Community Designs Awards.
The project at MacDill Air Force Base, a collaborative effort led by the Estuary Program and involving 10 other key partners, seeks to restore 50 acres of seagrass in Hillsborough Bay by installing artificial sandbars to help buffer wave erosion that is inhibiting seagrass growth. The project is testing four different bar designs.
TBEP is coordinating the $560,000 project, with tremendous assistance from the Tampa Port Authority and MacDill AFB officials. MacDill was chosen as the research site because longshore bars historically existed there, and because it is a no-entry area for boaters, ensuring that the bars will not pose a navigation hazard.
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"Weedon Panorama" by Greg Urbano is part of the
Tampa Bay 20/20 traveling exhibit.
Tampa Bay:20/20 Photo Exhibit Visits Bradenton Museum
Twenty images by local photographers depicting the beauty and diversity of Tampa Bay are featured in "Tampa Bay: 20/20," an exhibit celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. The exhibit, sponsored by Mosaic, is currently on display at the South Florida Museum in Bradenton through July 17.
Tampa Bay 20/20 will continue traveling around the bay as follows:
- The Mosaic Company office in Riverview July 25 - Aug. 26
- South Shore Regional Library in Ruskin Sept. 1-30
- Florida Aquarium in Tampa Oct. 10- Nov. 30
"Tampa Bay: 20/20" features finalists from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program's 2010 Photo Contest, as well as select additional images from local photographers. Together, the photos tell a story of Tampa Bay's recovery over the past two decades -- as shown in clearer water, increased fish and wildlife populations and expanding recreational use of the bay.
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MarineQuest at FWRI
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TBEP staffers Colleen Gray, left, and Misty Cladas teach a school group about invasive plants and animals during Marine Quest. The annual event took place April 21-23 at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in downtown St. Petersburg. |
Flamingo Flock Invades Safety Harbor
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The Be Floridian Flamingo Flock landed on the front lawn of Safety Harbor City Hall on May 16. The roving flock of yard ornaments is part of a TBEP education campaign reminding Pinellas County residents not to fertilize lawns from June through September. |
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About the Tampa Bay Estuary Program
The Tampa Bay Estuary Program is an intergovernmental partnership dedicated to restoring and protecting Tampa Bay, Florida's largest open-water estuary. TBEP is one of 28 "Estuaries of National Significance" designated by Congress
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