The Palm Beach Post
FRIDAY, AUGUST 20, 1999
MSL
SECTION B
Expert says bridge won’t kill sea grass
By Jim Reeder
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
FORT PIERCE — Any sea grass disturbed by construction of a toll bridge to South Hutchinson Island probably can be transplanted and won’t be killed by the project, an environmental consultant to the St Lucie County Expressway & Bridge Authority said Thursday.
"A plant has never stopped a project." Sandy Voting of Biological Research Associates said.
They can be relocated. They are colonizers and can take over the new area real fast. Construction of the bridge will disturb the grass only temporarily but some remaining grass may be harmed because the bridge will block sunlight from reaching it, he said.
Opponents of the toll bridge from Walton Road to South Hutchinson Island have cited sea grass, including the rare Johnson sea grass, as something that could halt the project
"The Department of Environmental Protection hasn't found anything we didn’t already
know about," Young said.
‘A plant has never stopped a project. "They can be relocated. They are colonizers and can take over the new area real fast’
SANDY YOUNG
Biological Research Associates
He said sea-grass beds shrank last year, probably the result of heavy rains that put more fresh water in the Indian River Lagoon.
But the beds have enlarged this year because salinity has increased in the area.
"The sea grass does recover." Young said.
Young is developing a plan for dealing with any harm to sea grasses.
The project must be approved by numerous state and federal agencies.