Water rights advocacy efforts
Over the years, MBF has been a party to water rights permit administrative law hearings and private legal actions regarding water rights in the Colorado River system. As a result of these efforts, a salinity goal for Matagorda Bay was written into a major water rights permit, the first of its kind on the Texas coast.

The Aransas Project (TAP)
As a charter member of TAP, MBF supported the efforts to obtain freshwater inflow necessary to keep the endangered whooping cranes and San Antonio Bay alive during drought conditions. This agreement gives us hope that a similar agreement may be possible to negotiate with the Lower

Formosa Plastics
Decades ago, Formosa Plastics was one of the worst performing industries on the Texas Coast. Along with the Calhoun County Resource Watch and others, the Matagorda Bay Foundation joined in attempts to cause Formosa to become a better corporate citizen. Through various agreements that have been negotiated, primarily between Jim Blackburn (current President of MBF) and Formosa, substantial progress has been made in the performance of Formosa. Today, Formosa is much better, although currently an issue has emerged about plastics pellets being blown from loading facilities at the plant into the bay and stormwater outfalls. This issue is currently being addressed by Formosa and is also the subject of litigation by others (not MBF).

Palacios Pavilion Community Reef and Wetland Project
MBF collaborated with local volunteers, 4-H, Texas Sea Grant, Texas GLO, TPWD, Matagorda County, Palacios Seawall Commission and members of the Galveston Bay Texas Master Naturalists to “build” an oyster reef and wetland next to the new Palacios Education Pavilion. The reef is constructed of >200 sacks of oyster shell and topped with several cubic yards of loose shell. The nearshore area, adjacent to the new reef, was planted with smooth cordgrass to accelerate the creation of a new wetland. The newly constructed reef and wetland will provide habitat for estuarine organisms and supplement marine science education efforts at the facility.

Conservation Planning 
MBF is moving forward with efforts to develop a comprehensive, stakeholder driven conservation plan for the region. A scientific evaluation and review of bay resources – a status of the bay study – is critical to understanding how these estuaries function. We are currently seeking funding sources/donations to help pay for this important study.

Oliver Point/Reef Project
MBF was awarded funds from the Texas General Land Office (TGLO) CEPRA program, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Program to begin the engineering, design and permitting of a project to protect shorelines, and restore important oyster reef and marsh habitats in West Matagorda Bay. The project site is located at Oliver Point, a few miles south of Palacios, Texas at the confluence of Tres Palacios and Matagorda Bays. The area is an extraordinary example of central Texas estuarine diversity and is characterized by the uniquely proximal locations of several important estuarine habitats including oyster reef, tidal marsh, submerged aquatic vegetation and fragile shell ridges at Oliver Point and Coon Island Bay.
The project will restore and/or protect over 700 acres of estuarine tidal marsh and shallow bay habitat and restore almost 50 acres of oyster reef habitat.
In November 2020 MBF negotiated access agreements in accordance with TGLO contract protocols. TGLO final contract agreements are anticipated in early 2021.

Redfish Lake-Salt Lake Living Shorelines Project
Redfish Lake and Salt Lake are small, highly productive coastal lakes located near the mouth of Carancahua Bay in the Matagorda Bay ecosystem. In 2003 a hurricane created a deep scour channel at the location of a shallow wash-over into Redfish Lake. Over the past 16 years, the scour channel has grown deeper and wider and collateral damage to shallow oyster reef and seagrass habitat in Redfish Lake has grown proportionally.
This area was identified as a high priority project in MBF directed strategic planning efforts and subsequently added to the Texas General Land Office’s Statewide Coastal Resiliency Master Plan published in 2019. The MBF has partnered with the Texas General Land Office, USFWS, Texas A&M University, Freese and Nichols Engineering and Texas Parks and Wildlife to study the area and identify effective techniques to prevent further habitat loss and address the growing scour channel into Redfish Lake.
MBF staff assisted TAMU researchers with siting and placement of flow/tide meters and wave height gauges. MBF is currently coordinating a property access agreement and collaborating with TAMU, USFWS, TGLO on permitting and leasing requirements.

Dog Island Acquisition Project
MBF was contacted by owners of a 1000-acre parcel of coastal property (Dog Island) to negotiate the sale of the property as a coastal wildlife and fisheries preserve. Dog Island is a coastal "island" located a few miles west of Matagorda, Texas, situated between the Colorado River delta, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) Mad Island Marsh Wildlife Management Area, and the open expanse of West Matagorda Bay. The Dog Island landscape is reflective of the unique biological diversity that is characteristic of central Texas’ coastal systems. The proximity of the island to the Colorado River delta ensures suitable salinities, sediments, and nutrients to sustain oyster populations, overall marsh productivity, and a diverse assemblage of aquatic resources.
In December 2020 MBF negotiated the sale and transfer of temporary ownership to a local philanthropist to hold the property until a TGLO grant award is finalized and awarded to MBF in April 2021.

Big Boggy Bayou Hydrology
MBF entered into a partnership with Texas A&M University researchers to study the hydrology of a large coastal wetland complex in East Matagorda Bay, Texas. The study was funded by a $75,000 Texas Water Development Board grant and will help inform future water management strategies in Texas. The study was completed and submitted to the TWDB in December 2021. (Hyperlink to study)

Baylor-NOAA B-Wet Program
MBF partnered with staff at Baylor University on a NOAA B-Wet grant to provide watershed education to secondary teachers in Texas coastal counties. The program will provide curriculum development and field experiences for secondary STEM teachers.

Schicke Point Living Shoreline Project
MBF partnered with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, USFWS and Freese and Nichol’s Engineers on a $500,000 grant request for a ½ mile long shoreline protection project in Matagorda Bay. The shoreline protection project is an extension of an existing project that is designed to enhance and protect fragile wetland and oyster communities located along the north shore of West Matagorda Bay near the town of Palacios.

Texas Stream Team Citizen Science Water Quality Monitoring
MBF is partnered with the Texas Stream Team (TST) at the Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas to provide training to citizens interested in monitoring water quality in coastal streams. MBF staff have been certified by TST and provide training in the use of water quality monitoring techniques and equipment to interested groups.

Matagorda Bay Bird Islands
In partnership with the USFWS and Audubon Texas, MBF will collect basic information needed to develop a restoration plan for the bird islands as well as enhance the intertidal reef areas surrounding the islands. While currently uncertain, approximately 6 acres of colonial waterbird islands would be restored to support productive nesting efforts by these birds.

Turtle Creek Aquaculture Nursery
MBF has partnered with the Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust (a funding entity), Turtle Creek Aquaculture (a commercial redfish farm), and BioWest Inc. (an engineering/consulting firm) on a pilot project to evaluate the feasibility of cultivating native coastal wetland plants for use in restoration and mitigation activities.

Inflow Standards for East Matagorda Bay Wetlands
This is an extension of the Big Boggy Hydrology study completed during FY 2021. This effort will expand the study of the hydrology of critical coastal wetlands to a larger coastal wetland area east of the original study area. MBF will be assisting Texas A&M University and Texas General Land Office on field data collection and analysis. Phillips 66 Sweeny Refinery provided additional grant funds to enhance data collection efforts.

Stakeholder Opinion Survey
MBF and researchers from the University of Houston Clear Lake developed a methodology to collect stakeholder opinion on various aspects of the biological condition of Matagorda Bay, public access issues, erosion, and habitat loss as part of a strategic planning effort to guide and prioritize MBF conservation activities in the future. Data collection will begin in FY 2022.

Abandoned Crab Trap Removal Program
MBF partnered with USFWS, San Antonio Bay Partnership, and Lavaca Bay Foundation on the TPWD annual crab trap removal program. The program allows volunteers to retrieve abandoned crab traps from Texas coastal waters during a two-week fishery closure in February. Abandoned crab traps continue to entrap fish, turtles and invertebrates and contribute to the mortality and loss of economically and ecologically significant estuarine organisms.

Mid Coast Cold-Stunned Turtle Response
MBF has been permitted but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to assist with the collection and transport of cold-stunned turtles to appropriate rehabilitation centers along the mid-coast.