Port Manatee receives EPA award

Port Manatee receives EPA award Port Manatee has received an award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its Seagrass and Ecosystem Improvement Project.
   The award was presented to Port Manatee director of engineering and environmental affairs George Isiminger on December 16 at the National Conference on Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration in New Orleans.
   The project that took more than three years to complete by converting a 60-acre man-made island into a seabird nesting haven, restoring 30 acres of seagrass and protecting another 300 acres, resulting in habitat protection for fish and other sea life.
            Port Manatee's 60-acre man-made island, known as Manbirtee Key, is home to more than 82 species of birds according to Audubon of Florida. Port employees work throughout the year to rid the island of predators and invasive vegetation to protect bird-nesting communities, port officials noted.