Manatee County’s Ecological and Marine Resources (EMR) Team consists of three groups: Ecological Resources, Marine Resources, and Mitigation. In this division, Manatee County employees oversee ecological restoration efforts from offshore artificial reef deployments and oyster restoration in the Manatee River to mitigation bank management, protected species monitoring and relocation (where applicable), and much more. Ecological & Marine Resources takes great pride in their work and hopes to engage residents and visitors with ecological restoration every day.
Ecological Resources
- Managing Ecological Restoration projects in the County’s Preserves
- Oyster restoration in County Waterways and oyster shell recycling via the Shuck ‘n Save Oyster Shell Recycling Program
- Implementing exotic vegetation control and native vegetation enhancement efforts utilizing contracted work and volunteer effort
- Volunteer Engagement and public outreach to garner support for ecological restoration efforts
Marine Resources
- Installing and maintaining aids to navigation and regulatory waterway signs within the County’s designated responsibility
- Abandoned and Derelict Vessels (AVs/DVs) within County waterways
Construction and deployment of artificial reefs
- Manatee Protection Efforts
Mitigation
- Protected Species Monitoring
- Gopher Tortoise Relocation
- Provides wetland mitigation to advance Manatee County’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP)
- Manage, survey, design, implement, and monitor wetland mitigation projects in coordination with Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
HURRICANE PREPARATION FOR BOAT OWNERS