Join Us For LagoonFest

Mark your calendars for 9 a.m. - 1 p.m., Saturday, November 1 to discover a local treasure - Lake Worth Lagoon - at LagoonFest! LagoonFest is a free family-friendly festival that will be held in conjunction with the West Palm Beach Green Market on the lagoon's waterfront. The event will feature informational displays, hands-on activities and demonstrations for all ages, as well live music. We hope to see you there!

For more information, visit www.LWLI.org/LagoonFest. Email us to learn about LagoonFest volunteer opportunities.

The 2014 Florida Legislature appropriated $2.075 million to the Lake Worth Lagoon Initiative (LWLI). The funds will support projects to benefit the lagoon's habitat and water quality as well as provide for monitoring and project administration.

View the LWLI Summary of Projects and Fiscal Year 2014 Funding Requests report

The Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management (ERM) received a 2014 National Association of Counties Achievement Award for John's Island Oyster Reef Restoration. The award recognizes counties for innovative program development and implementation, efficient administrative management and responsible government to local citizens. The project, located in the central part of Lake Worth Lagoon, created more than 14 acres of intertidal habitat for oyster recruitment.

The construction phase of the Bryant Park Wetlands Restoration Project was completed with the installation of more than 2,300 plugs of marsh grass (Spartina alterniflora) on the three islands created at a site within the city of Lake Worth. All three American oystercatcher chicks that hatched in April on one of the newly constructed islands successfully fledged (became capable of flight and left the nest). The chicks have been observed flying with their parents and learning how to be on their own.

View the Project Fact Sheet

The momentum at the Grassy Flats Restoration Project adjacent to the Par 3 Golf Course in Palm Beach picked up during the summer. The construction of two islands is well underway with more than 30,000 cubic yards of sand having been delivered to the site. A year-long fisheries monitoring study to assess use of the habitats being restored has begun. Sampling at Grassy Flats, the nearby Snook Islands and a central lagoon control site is being performed in cooperation with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Florida Atlantic University. Preliminary observations made at Snook Islands during a pre-study scouting trip included juvenile bonefish, snook and mangrove snapper.

View the Project Fact Sheet

South Florida Wet Season

South Florida's wet season generally begins around May 20 and ends around October 13. According to the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), after a near-average start to this season, South Florida saw above-average rainfall in July and below-average rainfall in August. SFWMD provides online resources where you can track the wet season. View online data to check how much rain has fallen in your region and watch how rain - or lack of rain - changes water levels in lakes, canals and waterways throughout the region.

For more details on August rainfall, view the SFWMD press release

Marine Mammal Rescuers Receive Training

In cooperation with several partners, ERM staff helped host a marine mammal rescue workshop for law enforcement personnel and volunteers in August. The day-long workshop at Intracoastal Park in Boynton Beach offered more than 100 participants advanced training in marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation techniques, including on-the-water experience in the lagoon performing a simulated manatee rescue.

The 2014 edition of the 16-page Lake Worth Lagoon - Discover a Local Treasure Newspapers in Education publication was distributed last spring to 5th and 8th grade educators in Palm Beach County. The majority of teachers who responded to a survey indicated that they used the publication in the classroom or sent it home with their students before the start of summer. Prior to the new school year, ERM continued to promote the availability of the publication and other educational resources at the annual K-12 Science Symposium sponsored by the School District of Palm Beach County.

Each September, volunteers descend on sites along the shores of Lake Worth Lagoon as part of the International Coastal Cleanup, coordinated locally by Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful. The official date of this year's cleanup was September 20, but several other cleanups are scheduled for additional dates in September and October. Thank you to everyone involved in helping to keep the lagoon clean!