PRESS RELEASE
FROM THE

Texas Chapter - Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA / Texas)

Contact: Capt. Kris Kelley, Media Liaison
Phone (361) 785-2587

February 3, 2003

The Cedar Bayou / Vinson Slough Restoration Project
                                                                                                                             

The Texas Chapter of The RFA has been in full stride on a variety of issues. Most importantly, re-opening Cedar Bayou and Vinson’s Slough in the Mesquite Bay system. The fund raising arm of the RFA / TEXAS, Friends Of Texas Coastal Passes Inc. is a non-profit corporation that is providing a platform for fund raising. Friends Of Texas Coastal Passes  has a web site at www.savepass.org with a wealth of background information and aerial photos of Cedar Bayou and Vinson’s Slough. Donors and concerned outdoor enthusiasts may now make a donation to facilitate the opening of the pass and slough by check. Donations are tax deductible.

Texas Bays are unique to the Gulf Coast insofar as the bay systems are separated from the Gulf of Mexico by a barrier island. The shelter provided by these islands makes for a unique fishery of World Class dimensions. Historically, passes through these islands have provided for the natural exchange of fresh and saltwater while allowing natural migration routes for gamefish, finfish and bait fishes, Crabs, Shrimp, Sea Turtles, and other aquatic life. This exchange is the life-giving circle in the marine ecosystem on the Texas Gulf Coast. One such pass, Cedar Bayou also serves Vinson’s Slough which is a bayou that feeds a backwater marsh wetland at the east end of San Jose Island or St. Joe as locals refer to it. This back marsh supported a number of Whooping Cranes that fed on the abundance of Blue Crabs in the area.

Over time, and with tragic events such as the Ixtoc One Oil Spill in 1979, many of these passes were either closed by bulldozer to prevent oil intrusion or have naturally "silted in". After the spill was cleaned up, however, removal of the barriers to the passes never occurred. What became a potential life saving barrier preventing oil intrusion into wetlands has become a noose that is strangling the life out of a vibrant wetland and surrounding bay system. Capt. David Nesloney Jr. grew up fishing Cedar Bayou and Vinson’s Slough. In a phone interview with him, David mentioned that the back lake marsh fed by Vinson’s Slough is a huge wetland. "When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time fishing for Trout in the deep hole at Vinson’s. There was also an abundance of Redfish in the back marsh lakes. The grass bottom lakes were a significant nursery for bait fish and Crabs essential to game fish and migratory birds such as the Whooping Crane and waterfowl including shore birds and ducks and geese." When asked about the current accessibility and character of the area, this was his response: "I can still access the back marsh lakes behind Vinson’s Slough by airboat. However, it looks like a wasteland. The land bridge placed at the mouth of Vinson’s Slough has choked off the water inflow and the wetlands are deserted." When asked about the potential for recovery in the area should the pass and slough be opened, this was his response: "If you can get the pass and Vinson’s Slough opened, the water inflow will likely flush the stagnated lakes and begin the resurgence of bottom grasses forming the foundation of a food chain."

Without a doubt, one of the "greatest natural fish passes lays desolate" along the middle Texas coastline. Cedar Bayou and Vinson’s Slough are silted in and blocked to the point that no tidal exchange is possible even at extreme high tides. This has had a "choking effect" on Mesquite Bay and surrounding bay systems. The Guadalupe River empties into the upper reaches of San Antonio Bay just to the east of Mesquite Bay. With heavy rains, agricultural and inland fresh water runoff is stagnating in this magnificent fishery. Oyster reefs are dying from the choking freshwater and this years Oyster harvest was limited to a few "live Oyster" reefs on the First Chain of Islands that separates Espiritu Santo and San Antonio Bays. Live Oyster reefs support a food chain for small finfish which in turn support larger game fish such as Spotted Sea Trout, Redfish or Red Drum, Black Drum, Sheepshead, and Gafftopsail Catfish. The Blue Crab population has also been devastated recently with the inundation of stagnating fresh water. In a recent tour of the back marsh in upper Hynes Bay (northwest San Antonio Bay), I noticed a tremendous number of Crab traps that were filled with decaying Blue Crabs. The fresh water killed them in the traps and they have yet to be removed. Blue Crabs are an essential part of the Whooping Crane’s diet. This winter, 170 of the magnificent Cranes have been spotted along the Texas middle coast in proximity to Cedar Bayou. Cedar Bayou and Vinson’s Slough were an essential part of San Antonio Bays ability to shed freshwater runoff while benefiting from saltwater inflow. With the pass blocked off, ecological impacts are reaching far from it’s location in Mesquite Bay.

If you are concerned about the health of Texas Bay systems and the ongoing plight of the Whooping Crane, please visit The Friends Of Texas Coastal Passes web site at  www.savepass.org Your contributions will help us to keep this project in "high gear". Our financial contributions will be matched by State and Federal Funds. Please help us restore this natural "ecological wonder" to it’s rightful place among Texas Coastal passes.

For comments, questions or to join the RFA Texas Chapter, check out the website at www.rfatexas.org.