A restoration project is moving forward at the South Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area in Indian River County that will remove an earthen berm and reconnect the lagoon with surrounding wetlands.
Wendy Swindell, assistant director of Parks and Recreation, said the project will restore a more natural flow of water through the area and help protect nearby uplands from flooding.
"That is deemed as a resilient effort because it allows for the natural water exchange to go through that property. What happens now is that berm impounds that water into that mosquito impoundment area and by doing that, some of the areas to the west of that, when the water gets really high, they get flooded out. So by reconnecting the normal exchange of water in that wetland, it helps those upland areas stay upland instead of transitioning into wetlands," she said.
The berm has been in place for decades and was originally used as part of mosquito control efforts. Culverts allowed water levels in the area to be adjusted as needed.
"So that berm on the west side of the South Oslo project has been there for decades. There's a process called rotational impoundment management that's with the mosquito control how they operate their program. This particular site is no longer part of that, so we are able to take that berm down and reconnect the wetlands," Swindell said.
The restoration is also expected to benefit the area's wildlife by returning the wetlands to conditions closer to their natural tidal cycle.
"What we look to do is to try to make those systems function as naturally as possible. So by reconnecting wetlands that would have normally, before the dike and the berm was put in, those wetlands would have ebbed and flowed with the natural tidal cycle," she said.
Swindell said restoring that cycle can create additional opportunities for fish and other wildlife.
"So by recreating that in a more natural setting, you're going to increase the opportunities for fisheries, for example, because those areas are known to be extremely reproductive for as nursery habitat for fish. With those nursery habitat areas, you do attract other multitude of bird species and other wildlife. So it just provides a more natural functioning wetland. So anytime you can do that, you're going to improve the wildlife habitat as opposed to having an altered system," she said.
The project also includes removing invasive vegetation that has grown along the berms and competes with native plants.
"One of the parts of the project too is that all of those invasive species that grow along those berms, particularly like Brazilian pepper and some of those really noxious plants that are challenging to control, all of those are getting removed as well. So we're removing invasive species. That alone improves wildlife habitat," Swindell said.
Restoring the wetlands is also expected to benefit water quality because of the role wetlands play in processing nutrients.
"Wetlands are great for treating nutrients, in particular mangrove wetlands. So anytime we're able to make those systems more naturally and let those wetlands perform the natural functions that they're supposed to, then we're doing a beneficial project," she said.
The project will not require funding from the county. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection and St. Johns River Water Management District are handling the funding and construction because of the project's ecological significance.
Construction is expected to take four to six weeks, depending on weather, with little disruption to the public.
"The residents using the Oslo boat ramp won't notice any disruption in their ability to launch boats or any of that because all of the work is happening within the conservation area. And then to the south, we did speak with the residents in that general location to directly make them aware of the work and answer any questions that they had," Swindell said.