Clam Bayou Is Making A Comeback

By STEVE KORNACKI The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 3, 2007

GULFPORT - Nearly 5 tons of bottles, cans, rubber tires, shopping carts - even a Barbie doll covered in barnacles - have found their rightful resting place in a trash truck.

As a result, Kurt Zuelsdorf's dream is coming true on Clam Bayou, an ecosystem of vast potential nestled between St. Petersburg and Gulfport that had become little more than a floating garbage dump.

Zuelsdorf, owner of Kayak Nature Adventures, used a $3,500 Southwest Florida Management District grant for his "Bring Back the Bayou" campaign. It supplied an hour of free kayak rentals for anyone returning from the bayou with a full garbage bag.

In about two months, the 258 "Green Machine" volunteers collected 9,600 pounds of trash to help give the bayou back to the pelicans, roseate spoonbills and nature lovers. Zuelsdorf said manatees and red-tailed hawks are returning, too.

The program spurred interest and help from St. Petersburg, Gulfport, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Southwest Florida Water Management District, or Swiftmud, which is designing stormwater treatment ponds that will remedy the flow of trash into the estuary.

"I am so impressed with what has happened in Clam Bayou," Swiftmud chief environmental scientist Brandt Henningsen said.

"Kurt had the imagination and passion to put this together. And when people get involved, it gives them a sense of entitlement. People come to appreciate it and fight for it," Henningsen said.

"Volunteers can do big things, and those people are making a big difference."

None of the volunteers has done more than Tricia Tourles, a self-employed Web page designer from Gulfport. Zuelsdorf says she has ventured out 20 times.

On a recent afternoon, Tourles spent more than 30 minutes pulling a shopping cart filled with a tire, trash, sand and silt from a creek in the bayou, with the help of Kim Morwood of St. Petersburg and Connie Eller of Gulfport.

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker said the cleanup efforts are "very important" to clearing the way for the kayak, canoe and bike trails he envisions for Clam Bayou.

City crews helped clear one portion of the bayou, also trimming it of invasive plants, and have transported many dump trucks full of garbage bags from drop areas.

Some Strange Finds

Some of the strangest finds include an inflatable doll nicknamed "Bayou Betty," a 1929 silver dollar, a samurai sword and empty piggy banks.

Zuelsdorf said the largest piece of trash was a sofa stuck in a sand bar.

He said clearing furniture, 13 shopping carts, television sets, milk crates, bicycles, traffic cones and more has allowed a natural cleansing of the area to take place.

"As a result, streams that had been blocked by sand and silt for years are clearing out and flowing again. Watching it is amazing because it is like it's fixing itself," he said.

Zuelsdorf was recognized March 30 by Field & Stream magazine as one of its Heroes of Conservation.

But Zuelsdorf emphasizes that the job isn't finished.

A mosquito channel polluted with trash remains to be cleaned.

He said it will take sponsorships of individuals and teams to continue the cleaning effort. Those interested in helping may call (727) 418-9728.

"We're still waiting on other species to come back to the bayou," Zuelsdorf said. "I'm waiting on oyster catchers, which are another good indicator. The turtles and spoonbills that have come back have been other good indicators."

Booms recently placed form a catch at strategic areas of the bayou. They keep much of the floating garbage from infiltrating the estuary.

Filtration Ponds Key Element

But the filtration ponds will be the key element in keeping Clam Bayou clean.

Henningsen said environmental permitting is being processed, and then contractor bids will be accepted before construction begins next year. "They will be stormwater treatment ponds that remove pollutants like fertilizer," he said.

"That area was one of the first to get plumbing, and it was old school, with the storm sewers going straight to the bay. So it's taking a lot to correct that."

Janie Hagberg, a senior professional engineer for Swiftmud, is designing the treatment ponds.

"We will build a small dam in the canal to divert the runoff from 700 acres through a pond system," Hagberg said.

"It will focus on eliminating trash, sediment and nutrients that decrease seagrass growth."

Zuelsdorf said media exposure of the "Bring Back the Bayou" program led to involvement in cleaning it up that he had sought from various agencies for more than 10 years.

"And the individuals who came out made it happen," he said. "We had people from 14 different states and three countries take part. I never imagined we could do what we have done one bag at a time."

Reporter Steve Kornacki can be reached at (813) 731-8170 or skornacki@tampatrib.com.