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.