September 2025 NOAA Site Visit and Advisory Group Meeting
The Colony Island Network Design and Implementation (CINDI) Site Visit by NOAA and Advisory Group Meeting, held at the Harte Research Institute on September 10–11, 2025, brought together the CINDI project team, technical monitors, advisory group and funders for two days of collaboration.
During the CINDI field site visit, participants traveled by boat from Ingleside, Texas to assess the ecological condition and management needs of Shamrock Island and Horseshoe Island. Shamrock Island, once a peninsula off Mustang Island, has become a critical rookery site for species like Black Skimmers and Brown Pelicans but is now facing severe erosion, habitat loss, and infrastructure failure, including submerged breakwaters and a breached lagoon. Human disturbance from nearby fishing activity and limited enforcement further threatens the site. Restoration efforts are challenged by sediment quality, funding constraints, and the need for long-term vegetation succession planning. Horseshoe Island, constructed in 2022 from deep dredge material, is in early successional stages and has successfully hosted nesting Black Skimmers and Least Terns, though its clay-heavy substrate presents limitations. The visit highlighted the importance of adaptive management, predator control, and sustained investment to support rookery island resilience in the face of climate change and human pressures.
The Wednesday afternoon session focused on CINDI activity over the past year. The CINDI project team provided key updates on personnel changes, project milestones, and scientific progress. Science presentations covered waterbird productivity, habitat change, and movement ecology. Findings highlighted species-specific nesting success, land loss on Texas coastal islands, and distinct foraging patterns among tracked birds. These insights are informing a decision-support tool for island restoration prioritization. Discussions emphasized the importance of integrating ecological data with stakeholder values to enhance communication and guide future restoration efforts.
The Thursday morning session was dedicated to the CINDI Advisory Group meeting, where project updates were shared and strategic input was requested from members. A key focus was gathering feedback to inform the design of an upcoming public survey aimed at understanding stakeholder perceptions, behaviors, and values related to coastal bird habitat. Advisory members discussed survey goals, target audiences, and potential applications of the data, including outreach strategies, signage design, and disturbance mitigation.
During the Thursday afternoon session, Marissa Lamb presented updates on drone surveys assessing storm impacts, vegetation change, and nesting success on Texas rookery islands. Findings showed species-specific vegetation preferences and highlighted the effects of late-season surges on ground-nesting birds. The team is refining vegetation detection methods and exploring nest density trends to inform habitat management.
Following the presentation, technical monitors engaged in a Q&A session covering project coordination, modeling, and stakeholder engagement. Discussions focused on integrating movement data into the CINDI tool, simplifying restoration guidance for engineers, and incorporating public input into future outreach and restoration planning.
Read the entire Meeting Report in the link below.