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Christmas Bay

History

Christmas Bay was discovered by German settlers on Christmas day of 1838 which is where it got its iconic name. A city was founded name San Luis and it quickly became a rival to other nearby cities in terms of economic activity and size. The problem with the city, however, ultimately came down to location. Hurricanes were a major problem for the city to the point that many residents left by the 1900s. Due to lack of people and manpower, this city would later be swept away to the storms and time. Years later, the impact of human civilization would not go away so easily. In the area of Galveston Bay, where Christmas Bay is located, many dredge-and-fill activities, boat traffic and wastewater discharges have been taking place for human settlement and other productions. These processes over countless years have caused many of the seagrass meadows to disappear from the area. In the 1970s, it was recorded that almost all of the seagrass meadows in the Galveston Bay were gone. The only part of Galveston Bay that still remained relatively unchanged, was Christmas Bay and it was at this point that Christmas Bay was considered a conservation site.

Plants

The area of Christmas Bay is famous for the amount of seagrass meadows that can be found on the bottom of the bay. Ariel photography and geographic information system (GIS) software have shown that approximately 424 acres of bay bottom is covered in seagrass. There are different species of seagrass that are also found in the bay area. Some of these include shoalgrass (Halodule wrightii), clover grass (Halophila englemanni), and turtlegrass (Thalassia testudinum). These types of seagrass preferably grow in warm, clear waters with high salinity. These seagrass meadows used to be found in different parts of the Galveston Bay like the Trinity River Delta or the West Shoreline but due to the human activity and other natural phenomena, the only place these grasses can be found in the bay area is Christmas Bay.

Animals

There are many different animals that call the Christmas Bay area home and some that migrate to this area due to seasonal changes or for their reproduction cycles. There are many fish that use the huge amount of seagrass meadows as a place for reproduction and raising young. The bay is also home to many birds that prey on the fish in the area. Some of which are endangered like the Arcadia Reef bird or the Follets Island bird. The balance between all these species is maintained by the habitats they call home. It can be said that the seagrass in the area lay the foundation for these species to survive and thrive. Without the base of the environment, the ecosystem would dissolve and these animals would have to migrate somewhere they can live. This is what happened to many parts of the Galveston Bay when the seagrass population basically went extinct.

Conservation Site

Christmas Bay now is a conservation site, located in Galveston Bay complex. This bay complex was know for its seagrass and the many different species that used these seagrasses for homes and food. In the 1970s, due to an over-use of dredge-and-fill activities, boat traffic, subsidence, erosion, storms, and wastewater discharge, the seagrass of Galveston Bay had almost disappeared. This caused people to make Christmas Bay the conservation site it is today. With this set up, many different aspects of the area were changed in favor of protecting the wildlife in the area. Boat traffic was halted with some minor usage here and there. Dredge-and-fill projects were canceled and now regulated very highly to make sure there is no harm to the surrounding areas. There is also a program called the Christmas Bay Foundation that is dedicated to bringing awareness about the area and keeping it protected. References

https://www.galvbaydata.org/www.galvbaydata.org/Habitat/Seagrass/tabid/732/Default.html#:~:text=Estuarine%20seagrass%20species%20include%20shoalgrass,be%20found%20in%20fresh%20water.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/didyouknow/coastal/christmasbay.phtml

http://www.christmasbayfoundation.org/our-story/

https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/water/conservation/txgems/christma/index.phtml

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Luis_Pass