In another effective partnership, Palm Beach County’s Environmental
Resources Management has teamed up with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
and the Florida Inland Navigational District (FIND) to construct the
Bonefish Cove Project, an $11M restoration effort in the Lake Worth
Lagoon, the county’s largest estuary.
As part of the project, the county removed 164,000 cubic yards of spoil
material from FIND’s management area on Peanut Island, for which we
received $3.5M - $20 per cubic yard. This served as a benefit to FIND, as
it created additional space for future dredging projects in connection
with the maintenance and improvements of the Intracoastal Waterway. The
reuse of dredge material is a money-saving approach to environmental
restoration.
Bonefish Cove encompasses 48 acres in the Central Lagoon along the Town of
Palm Beach. It will create three intertidal mangrove islands with a
footprint of 9.4 acres, 1.5 acres of oyster reefs, and will restore 35
acres of seagrass habitat. It will provide additional intertidal and tidal
habitat for numerous species of birds, fish and invertebrates, and will
offer recreational opportunities including kayaking, boating, fishing and
bird watching.