The City of Sanibel began the process Wednesday of replanting mangroves in Clam Bayou. Once upon a time Clam Bayou was rimmed with red mangroves. Then construction of a jetty to the north caused it to silt it – and with no tidal flushing from the gulf, the mangroves died. Now the city has created culverts to open it up again – and the dead mangroves are being replaced. Eric Milbrandt is with the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation.

“currently along the shoreline of clam bayou there are very few seedlings and we’re going to go in and take them out of their pots and plant them directly into the ground”

Volunteers planted about 16 hundred mangrove seedlings. Milbrandt says about 80 percent of them should take root. Mangroves provide food and habitat for many species of juvenile fish.