2008 Gala "Casablanca, an Oasis on the Bayou" that was schedulled for September 18, 2009 had to be cancelled due to hurricane Ike, the third most destructive hurricane to ever make landfall in the United States. We promised our sponsors to immediately use the funds raised for the Gala to work on the bayous.
BPA's Eyes on the Bayou scout, Eric Ruckstuhl, who works with volunteer watershed representatives to monitor Houston-area waterways and report on any potential problems along the banks or in the streams quickly identified a stretch of Buffalo Bayou which runs along Terry Hershey Park that needed our attention after Hurricane Ike. With a portion of the funds raised from the gala, we hired a contractor and laborers to work alongside Eric in that area.
In the first phase of that project we have accomplished the following:
Cleared seven miles of logjams from Buffalo Bayou - Logjams can be extremely dangerous for paddlers and can also trap litter, causing damage to ecosystems.
Cleaned both sides of the bayou's banks for half a mile downstream from Highway 6 - In addition to clearing trash, tires and sheet metal distributed by the storm, the team removed invasive plants from the banks and planted native plants. Invasive species have become rampant along our waterways and often crowd out native species, which are critical to the health of local habitat.
Created a new canoe/kayak launch at Highway 6 - The BPA worked closely with Texas Parks & Wildlife to designate Buffalo Bayou as an official state paddling trail-the longest in Texas. We hope many canoe and kayak enthusiasts will take advantage of this launch site or any of the others along the bayou and experience the wonderful wilderness that flows through the heart of our city. For a complete local paddling trail guide, click on this link.
As Eric and his crew have been working "in the trenches," the BPA staff and Board have been working behind the scenes to improve our city's readiness for another storm event like Ike. Because power was out for so long at many regional wastewater treatment plants, raw sewage was dumped into our bayous. The BPA, along with other local stakeholders, is advocating for an alternative plan for future power outages.
Click the link for pictures from Shipwrecked on the Bayou BPA 2007 Gala.
