Underwater gardeners plant in bay

A state program is restoring native aquatic plants to Kings Bay, where non-native growth has pushed it out.

By JOSH ZIMMER

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 24, 2000

CRYSTAL RIVER -- After loading their johnboat with scuba gear, the divers headed out toward a well-traveled corner of Kings Bay.

Reaching a pair of buoys, they anchored around a patch of cleared bay bottom only they knew about. During the next hour, when they sometimes were joined by a manatee, they measured a 30-foot-square grid as part of a closely watched experiment in environmental restoration.

Researchers want to see whether they can revegetate a much deteriorated Kings Bay with native plants. In the coming weeks, they will plant 40,000 strands of naturally occurring Vallisneria americana in this and five other cleared areas, hoping to discover whether revegetation can save the waterway.

Vallisneria has died out in many parts of Kings Bay, pushed aside by non-native plants, such as hydrilla, and suffocated by widespread algae, said Mark Hammond, project leader and director of the state's Surface Water Improvement and Management Program, known as SWIM and operating under the Southwest Florida Water Management District. He is cautiously optimistic about the chances for success.

"The key is, can we get enough planted, and is there enough that's going to hold its own?" he said after spending 90 minutes near Pete's Pier and Kings Bay Drive. "The encouraging part is you can go off a little ways and find good Vallisneria beds."

The other planting sites are Cedar Cover, Hunter Springs and Parker Island. If the $35,000 project works here, Hammond and others think revegetation can work in other spring-fed coastal systems along the west coast from Weeki Wachee to the Withlacoochee.

Kings Bay arguably is the heart of Crystal River, providing residents and visitors with recreation amid a scenic setting. But the constant use over many decades has poisoned the waterway, scientists say.

So cleaning up Kings Bay is important for both environmental and economic reasons, Mayor Curtis Rich said.

"It contributes to the eco-tourism," he said, citing the city's thriving diving businesses. "Quality of life, that's the No. 1 thing."

A $370,000 cleanup effort several years ago was considered a mixed success by many. Some criticized the dredging portion for simply churning up muck and reducing water quality.

Rich, who is a consultant for Citrus Maintenance, the company clearing the bay for the replanting project, called that effort "a fiasco."

"You can't dredge this material," he said. "It has to be either vacuumed or scooped. We've got to do smaller projects like this to see if it works."

Researchers, aided by volunteers, will be testing the best conditions for Vallisneria by planting it at different heights and densities. Ideally, Hammond said, the project would unfold in conjunction with a proposed $165,000 study by the University of Florida that would assess the ability of the aquatic plants to regenerate. The study also would track any damage created by native plant eaters, such as manatees.

A successful revegetation would boost enthusiasm for environmental restoration projects, said University of Florida scientist Tom Frazer, who is conducting long-term studies of coastal springs and rivers.

A final report on the replanting project could be ready by late next year.

"There are not that many success stories," he said. "I think the problems of Kings Bay aren't specific to Kings Bay. So if we can understand the factors that affect its growth and ecology, maybe we can apply these findings to some of these other systems."

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