07/23/2025
Matagorda Bay Foundation has several restoration projects in progress! Go check out their page and visit Matagorda County!
Here is another project the Matagorda Bay Foundation has in the works - Oliver Point and Oliver Reef restoration . For those who may not remember, Oliver Pt. and Reef received significant damage from hurricane Claudette in 2003.
We initiated the project 5-6 years ago and have been working steadily to get the funding we needed to move it forward. Well, we have reached the point where all studies and permits are in place, and now we are looking for construction money. We are hopeful we can start building the project in 2026 -we are waiting to hear about a pending funding request.
The project is designed to prevent further wetland loss at Oliver Point, protect C**n Island Bay and the shell ridge islands, re-establish the old Oliver Reef, and hopefully provide additional fishing opportunities a bit closer to town than Halfmoon Reef. The reef we are proposing is a bit different from the picture - we are only planning to build the last 9 rows at the deep (west end) of the image.
We want to serve the people of Matagorda County and bring habitat restoration and shoreline protection funds to Matagorda County. We hold regular stakeholder meetings in Palacios, Matagorda, Bay City, and Sargent to get input on concerns and project ideas to help guide Foundation priorities. We post our meeting schedules on Facebook and Instagram. If you want to help us, please come to our meetings and tells us what you think are the issues we need to focus on for the future.
Our current vision for future projects are- seagrass loss on the south shoreline of East Matagorda, Oyster reef restoration/creation (another post will be coming on this topic.), bird island enhancement to protect nesting and forage habitats.