OysterCatcher Spring 2025
Seventh Graders Return to Reserve to Monitor Marsh Grass and Save the Planet
The Reserve Education Section sees every Pre-K, first, third, fifth and seventh grader in Franklin County. The seventh grade program engages the students in tagging monarchs, nature journaling, and assessing the marsh grass food web in the spartina marsh that the students helped plant when they were in 5th grade. The presence of periwinkle snails is used as a proxy species are counted to indicate how robust the ecosystem is. These students take their work seriously!
Research Performs Equipment Maintenance to Keep Data Flowing
Research staff performed maintenance to our westernmost water quality stations in Apalachicola Bay at Dry Bar. The group broke into two teams to tackle the telemetry and biofouling on the tower. One team dove the submerged tubes which house the Reserve’s monitoring equipment to remove biofouling. These tubes accumulate biofouling over time which can impact data if they are not properly maintained. As more algae, barnacles, oysters, and other organisms grow, they can block flow holes that allow continuous water movement. This dive marked Stephanie Roscoe’s first official dive as a DEP diver – congrats!
Meanwhile, above the water, telemetry repairs were underway. The station’s antenna was replaced with a new unit, restoring signal and allowing data to be transmitted. Real time data from Dry Bar can be viewed on the Centralized Data Management’s Real Time Data Application as “APADBWQ”.
Ethan Borque and Stephanie Roscoe Conducting Tower Maintenance
Estuaries Day 2025
Our annual Estuaries Day celebration was a huge success this year. We had 735 total visitors come through to participate at 22 unique activity stations including: touch tanks, a live reptile exhibit, microscope discovery lab, drone zone, nature journaling on the nature trail, scallop scramble, and the wacky waterfront race, a perennial favorite. This massive event was all possible thanks to 24 DEP staff members, 26 volunteers, and an additional 78 members participating from other organizations. Coordinating and organizing this amazing event every year has been spearheaded by our own Lisa Bailey and we, as well as the local community, extend a heartfelt thank you for all her hard work and commitment to putting on such a great event each year.
Protecting Nesting Bald Eagles
Reserve managed lands serve as important nesting sites for bald eagles. Our Stewardship Section partners with Audubon's Eagle Watch program throughout the nesting season. Eagle Watch is a network of volunteers who monitor eagle nests throughout the state of Florida during nesting season and make observations on nest occupation, fledgling success, and nearby disturbances. A dedicated Audubon volunteer monitors most of the nests on Reserve managed lands and gives staff updates throughout the season. Stewardship staff did a final eagle nest check on Little St. George Island at the beginning of the month and found a nest with an eaglet, making this a late season nest. For more information on the Eagle Watch program, click here.
Eagles Nest
Seniors Help Make Vertical Oyster Gardens
Training and Engagement Coordinator Anita Grove joined the Florida Corps in May at the Apalachicola Senior Center to share updates on ongoing oyster restoration efforts in Apalachicola Bay. The Reserve is working in partnership with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the Partnership for a Resilient Apalachicola Bay, Franklin County, FSU, FDACS and several nonprofit organizations to restore the Bay’s oyster reefs.
At Holy Family Senior Center, 14 seniors—many with ties to the local seafood industry—helped build 22 vertical oyster gardens (VOGs). These VOGs will be adopted by Bay area residents, who will hang them from their docks to grow oysters. Once the oysters attach and grow, the VOGs will be transferred to designated restoration sites to support the recovery of wild oyster reefs.
The seniors built 22 VOGs that have the potential to filter up to 3,400 gallons of water each day, contributing to cleaner water and a healthier Bay ecosystem. Watch a video of this event.
Exploring the ACF Watershed: University of Georgia Students Visit Apalachicola Reserve
The University of Georgia’s Ecological Problem-Solving class visited the Reserve to explore the connections between Apalachicola River flow, its impact on bay productivity, and the collapse and restoration of oyster reefs. The visit was part of a 10-day field course focused on the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin, led by Dr. Amanda Rugenski, who oversees the university’s undergraduate ecology program, including internships and student research opportunities.
Dr. Rugenski brought 23 students to the Reserve to study sustainability challenges related to water availability and the complex balance of water uses throughout the ACF system. Students met with Training and Engagement Coordinator Anita Grove and Georgia Ackerman with the Apalachicola Riverkeeper to better understand how river flows impact the floodplain and Apalachicola Bay.
The students trace the path of the ACF Basin from north to south, engaging in hands-on learning experiences and interacting with a diverse range of stakeholders. Along the way, they visit power a generation facility on the Chattahoochee River and tour the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operations at Woodruff Dam. They also met with professionals in ecology, environmental policy, and sustainability to explore the complex issues surrounding water management. On their return trip, the students stop at farms along the Flint River to gain a deeper understanding of agricultural water use. This year marks the fifth time the Ecological Problem-Solving class has visited the Apalachicola Reserve as part of its watershed-focused curriculum.
Georgia Ackerman and Anita Grove Speak with UGA class
Volunteers Help Reserve Fulfill Mission
A Volunteer Appreciation party was held in April to honor the many volunteers that extend the reach of the Reserve staff. Volunteer Coordinator Donna Knutson reported that around 40 people attended the event, which was held in the breezeway outside of the Nature Center. Volunteers were treated to a delicious catered dinner and spent some time getting to know each other. The party was sponsored by the Friends of the Reserve, a non-profit organization that aims to foster community involvement and program funding, environmental education, stewardship of natural and cultural resources, and the scientific research within the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve. Volunteer hours totaled almost 20,000 hours this past year.
Spring 2025 SETs
Research staff completed their spring measurements of Surface Elevation Tables (SETs). The research team measures SETs at 11 different sites across the Reserve in the spring and fall as a part of the NERRS' Wetlands and Water Level initiative. As the name suggests, SETs are used to measure the height of a wetland surface which is important in understanding its resilience to events such as coastal inundation. Processes such as sediment accretion, erosion, and subsurface expansion can cause a wetland surface to shrink or grow over time. In attempt to identify the dominant process leading to elevation change, marker horizons (a layer of feldspar) are established within the SET quadrants. Sediment cores are later taken to measure the depth of the feldspar layer from the surface. Researchers can use the history of pin height measurements and the depth of a marker horizon to see how a wetland surface is changing and understand what processes could be driving the change.
Reserve Hosts Apalachicola Regional Stewardship Alliance
The annual Apalachicola Regional Stewardship Alliance (ARSA) meeting was held at ANERR on May 13th. ARSA is a partnership of regional land managers and others interested in cooperative resource management efforts. The first half of the day included presentations on topics such as trainings offered at the Prescribed Fire Training Center, invasive species citizen science initiative, and Bachman’s sparrow surveys. The day concluded with a field tour showcasing the Reserve’s managed lands and the St. George Island State Park discussing living shorelines, prescribed/wildfire challenges, recreation management, and shorebird nesting. It was a great day collaborating with partners in the Apalachicola region!
Apalachicola Regional Stewardship Alliance 2025 Meeting
Return of High School Education Program
This spring the Education Section is once again hosting local high school students on an environmental education learning program. This program incorporates an overview of the habitats in our estuary investigating the flora, fauna, and water quality changes as you travel from the forested upper river floodplain to the Gulf. The students measure water quality and weather parameters using anemometers, Secchi disks, turbidity tubes, YSI, refractometers, thermometers, and their own visual observations. Flora and fauna are surveyed visually, as well as with an appropriate net type depending on the habitat including seining, cast netting, or trawling. The students are tasked with writing down a question they have about each site we visit and will eventually answer one of their questions by the end of the trip using a claim, evidence, reasoning, and rebuttal framework. We expect approximately 100 high school students to participate in this trip each year!
Students Enjoy Learning About the Apalachicola River