Tampa Bay Watch Joins Effort To Fight Erosion At MacDill Beaches

Posted Nov 3, 2011 by Howard Altman

Updated Nov 2, 2011 at 11:13 PM

Last week I wrote about efforts to stop erosion at the MacDill Air Force Base beach.

I got a lot of interesting feedback, with many suggestions for how to stop the erosion, including planting mangroves.

Now it looks like Tampa Bay Watch is joining in the effort.

From their website:

Tampa Bay Watch is recruiting volunteers to create an oyster shell bar on the shoreline of MacDill Air Force Base on Monday, November 14, 9am - noon. The project involves shoveling fossilized oyster shells into mesh bags which are then transported and placed on the shoreline to create a series of oyster bars. Through the construction of these oyster bars, Tampa Bay Watch aims to restore lost habitat systems to the bay, prevent further erosion and improve water quality through natural biological filtration.

Where: We will meet within MacDill Air Force Base just beyond the family campground marina. A map and directions will be emailed to you in a reminder message prior to the event.

What to wear: Volunteers should wear clothing they don’t mind getting wet or dirty, closed toe shoes or water shoes, hat, sunscreen, bugspray and bring a water bottle.

We’ll ask you for some personal info in the registration process: your middle initial, the state who issued your driver’s license, driver’s license number, the expiration date of your driver’s license for MacDill’s security clearance. The minimum age for volunteers is 18 years old for this project. You must have a valid driver’s license, vehicle registration and car insurance to drive onto the base.