Sailors from U.S.S. Texas Help with Rebuilding Marsh

During the week of Sept. 3, the NRCS, in partnership with the Galveston Bay Foundation (GBF), took part in the community activities related to the commissioning of the U.S.S. Texas in Galveston, Texas. On the mornings of Sept. 5 and Sept. 6, a group of sailors from the U.S.S. Texas planted marsh grass at a restoration site known as Pierce Marsh, owned by GBF and located in Hitchcock, Texas.

Due to subsidence caused by groundwater withdrawal, large areas of Pierce Marsh became open water leading to a dramatic decline in valuable habitat for fish and wildlife. A large-scale restoration project on the property will restore more than 200 acres of marsh. The sailors from the U.S.S. Texas planted marsh grass as a final step in that restoration process. Eddie Seidensticker, NRCS soil conservationist and advisory trustee with the Galveston Bay Foundation, assisted with planning and planting the grass.

The U.S.S. Texas was commissioned in a ceremony at Galveston’s Harbor Pier 10 on Sept. 9. She entered Galveston Bay on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 4. The U.S.S. Texas is a 337-foot Virginia class nuclear submarine. FOX Channel 26 in Houston reported on the crew planting the marsh grass, a major part of returning Pierce Marsh to a vegetative condition needed for wildlife habitat.

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