Giraffe head is an important coastal BAY habitat along the southwestern shore of dickinson BAY IT consists of a 5000 foot long ridge made up of oyster shell hash and sand that runs adjacent to the…

Giraffe head is an important coastal BAY habitat along the southwestern shore of dickinson BAY IT consists of a 5000 foot long ridge made up of oyster shell hash and sand that runs adjacent to the texas city prairie preserves dickinson BAY shoreline and the texas city hurricane flood protection levee the ridge provides valuable nesting habitat for birds such as american oystercatcher black skimmers and several species of terns the ridge also protects 60 acres of shallow water habitat and an approximately 84ACRE intertidal marsh complex aerial imagery shows significant degradation of the ridge including the development of a breach in early 2022 which is detrimental to the nesting habitat and exposing the marsh behind IT to higher wave energy posing an imminent threat to the ridge and the intertidal marsh behind IT the objective of this project is to develop and implement efforts to stabilize and enhance existing coastal habitats efforts include a low crested graded riprap breakwater and restoration and enhancement of the marsh and nesting habitat complex behind the ridge figures 24 the project will directly benefit avian and estuarine fish species by protecting and enhancing the existing habitat the restored ridge and breakwaters will provide hard substrate suitable for oyster and encrusting species EG bryozoans and barnacles attachment and enhance oyster habitat in dickinson BAY which is closed to harvest the interstitial spaces created will support crustacean species porcelain crab SSP MUD crab SSP and shrimp increasing important foraging habitat for avian and fish species in addition to protecting and increasing valuable habitats the giraffe head project will also improve water quality and provide storm surge protection to the adjacent shoreline and the texas city flood protection levee texas parks and wildlife department tpwd will work cooperatively with the US fish and wildlife service USFWS to implement the project and identify the best path to restore or enhance the ridge the service will assist with stakeholder meetings project planning and design habitat assessment and any other technical assistance needed to implement the project