PORTLAND, Texas — The Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program has partnered with the City of Portland to remove salt cedar and white lead trees that are threatening the park's ecosystem.
"There's a lot of salt cedar and white lead tree that's taken over out here and is choking out a lot of the native vegetation and wildlife as well," Communications Manager for Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program, Quinn Hendrick said.
These invasive species can have profound effects on coastal ecosystems, leading to the extinction of native plants and animals, destroying biodiversity, and resulting in significant economic impacts.
The removal process will be thorough but efficient with crews taking a hands-on approach to the problem.
"Teams are gonna hit the ground out here they're gonna be removing all the invasive species, these thick stands of salt cedar by hand, so cutting, and mulching them there on spot," Hendrick said.
The project will be completed in five stages, but is expected to take less than a week to finish.
Experts believe the restoration will have significant positive impacts on the ecosystem.
"By moving it out of here, you should see more native plants be able to get their foothold and kind of reestablish themselves, as well as migrating birds, different wildlife here that might be here year round should be able to use the habitat a little bit more," Hendrick said.
The salt cedar removal project is set to begin this month at Sunset Lake Park in Portland and it's expected to be completed in less than a week.
