SAWFISH BAY LIVING SHORELINE SPOTLIGHT
Award-Winning Project Takes Aim at Improving Water Quality and Marine Habitat
When the Town ’ s Planning and Zoning staff set out to restore the marine habitat located at Sawfish Bay Park , little did they know that their work would lead to an award-winning project . In December 2022 , the Sawfish Bay Marine Restoration project was awarded the 2022 Environmental Excellence Award by the Treasure Coast Chapter of the Florida Association of Environmental Professionals .
The project was initiated as part of a pair of Town Strategic Initiatives , one to “ enhance the natural vegetation and promotion of our bluewater systems by evaluating and protecting our local seagrass beds ” and the other to “ improve water quality in the Loxahatchee River .”
In the first phase of a multi-year project , the Town , with the help of the Jupiter Inlet Foundation and students with the Jupiter Environmental Research Field Studies Academy at Jupiter High School , installed a living shoreline , consisting of artificial reef modules , mangroves and riprap along a 100-foot section of the old marina basin of Sawfish Bay Park .
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