For Immediate Release
Contact: Tiffany Heikkila
Hill and Knowlton, Inc.
713-752-1900
713-752-1930 fax
theikkil@hillandknowlton.com

GALVESTON, Texas (May 15, 2003) – The Port of Houston Authority (Port), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the Beneficial Uses Group (BUG) are turning back time in Buffalo Bayou. As part of their larger efforts to improve the Galveston Bay area, the team is partially restoring Goat Island, a historic landmass that began disappearing several decades ago due to subsidence and erosion.

The Port and the Corps, with guidance from the BUG, will use four million cubic yards of dredged material from the Houston Galveston-Navigation Channels (HGNC) expansion project to construct a 70-acre north island and a 120-acre south island, connected by a breakwater, each with a finished elevation between 8 and 14 feet.

“For decades, Goat Island was an important part of the Baytown community, and we are delighted to help bring a large part of that back,” said Dick Gorini, Chairman of the BUG. “Together, the Port, Corps and BUG have turned a project to expand the HGNC into a highly successful plan to revitalize the Bay. The completion of Goat Island next year will be yet another great milestone for both the coalition and the community.”

Once accessible by foot from Baytown and used as a recreational area for fishing and duck hunting, Goat Island was originally formed when the segment of land that once connected the region to the high ground of Baytown subsided. The island was then used to pasture goats—hence the name Goat Island.

The Port and Corps will use nearly 300,000 tons of limestone rock to build containment dikes for Goat Island. These structures will contain the dredged material and provide protection from ship and tug wakes as well as wind generated waves. Construction will continue until late 2004 at which time the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and the City of Baytown will manage the island. Future public uses of the island are currently being assessed.

Goat Island will have an enormous impact on the Bay’s ecological system. This man-made island will serve as a protected nesting and roosting area for many shore birds whose natural habitats have been disturbed by increased urbanization of coastal areas in Texas. Additionally, BUG recommendations include the creation of several habitats on the island so that a variety of species will be able to find refuge there. Expected inhabitants include otters, coyotes, foxes and deer.

Due to the construction of Goat Island in Buffalo Bayou and the deepening and widening of the Houston Ship Channel in the Mid Bay contract of the HGNC project, Bay users should be aware of dredges and underwater dredge pipelines, indicated by yellow buoys, in the construction areas. In the immediate areas of construction, boaters may experience temporary turbidity in the water. Additionally, boaters should keep their distance from the Goat Island shoreline, which is currently being constructed of stone. These rocks may cause serious damage to vessels that attempt to dock at the island.

Restoration of Goat Island is only part of the improvement plan for Galveston Bay. The Port, Corps and BUG are using material dredged from the HGNC expansion project to create a number of sites which will benefit local wildlife and bay users. Specifically, the coalition is involved with creating 4,250 acres of intertidal wetland habitat, a six-acre bird nesting island, an underwater beam to slow erosion, access channels and anchorages for recreational boaters, 118 acres of oyster reefs and Redfish Island, a popular boater anchorage that eroded and subsided below sea level more than 10 years ago.

The BUG is a coalition of local, state and federal government agencies that was formed in 1990 to determine environmentally responsible uses for materials dredged during the expansion of the HGNC.

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