Galveston ghost wolves play with a soccer ball after dark by Nicolas Ledesma-Lubertino.

A 351-acre real estate development, known as “Discovery Sands”, has been proposed next to Jamaica Beach in Galveston’s West End. The project will place 733 new lots, 213 condos, and a tourist attraction in an ecologically sensitive coastal area. The developer is seeking approval of Planned Urban Development (PUD) #26P-009, which allows them to request exceptions (variances) from standard development rules. A revised plan was released, but key concerns remain.

The requested exemptions would allow higher-intensity development next to over 100 acres of marsh that were restored. Not only do marshes support vulnerable species like the local Ghost Wolves population, but they are also major mitigates of coastal storms. Key elements that remain undefined or are not included as required conditions in the PUD include:

1. A wildlife corridor: The proposed wildlife corridor is not clearly defined, mapped, or included as a required element of the PUD. It should require a clearly defined wildlife corridor from the bay to FM 3005. Galveston’s west end is home and visited by many unique and vulnerable wildlife populations including Ghost Wolves and the Eastern Black Rail. This development will not only disrupt the marshes, but also introduce increased noise, and light pollution into surrounding habitats.
2. Wastewater treatment: Wastewater treatment has not been clearly outlined in the current plan. It is unclear how wastewater will be treated or how the system will perform under flooding conditions. This raises a huge concern about water quality and system reliability during storms and king tides. Well managed and maintained wastewater treatment is extremely important for Galveston to protect our delicate ecosystems and to safeguard public health.
3. Building Height: The variances would allow expansion of building heights up to about 120 feet through additional roof structures and screening. This does not reflect what is being publicly represented and exceeds typical coastal development scale. Transparency is extremely important for any coastal development project, but especially one to this scale that is expected to have such a large environmental impact. The west end of Galveston represents an invaluable refuge for migratory birds including sandhill cranes, one of North America’s largest crane species. Galveston Island also sits along the central flyway migratory path and provides a crucial stop for billions of birds.
4. Use of Variances through the PUD: The project is relying on several variances instead of meeting standard development guidelines; these variances are being used to shape the project instead of requiring compliance with current rules. Approving these variances without clear requirements has real impacts for Galveston’s environment and long-term development.

1) Testify in Person:
Community members can sign up to speak when they arrive. Public testimony is limited to approximately 3 minutes per speaker.

• City Council Meeting Thursday, June 25th at 5:00 PM Galveston City Hall 823 Rosenberg St, Room 204 Galveston, Texas 77554

2) Submit a Written Comment: 

Community members can also submit written comments directly to City Council. Written public comments are provided to City Council prior to regular meetings, but are not read aloud during the meeting.

• Submit a comment online: City of Galveston Public Comment Form

3) Contact City Council Members:

Even if you cannot attend the meeting, a brief email to City Council members can help demonstrate community concern and support for stronger project conditions.

• When reaching out follow these guidelines:
  • Reference PUD #26P-009 (Discovery Sands)
  • Require a clearly defined wildlife corridor from the bay to FM 3005
  • Require a detailed wastewater treatment plan
  • Set a clear and enforceable building height
  • Limit unnecessary variances
• City Council Members:
  • John Paul Listowski, Mayor – johnlistowski@GalvestonTX.Gov
  • Sharon B. Lewis, District 1 – sharonlewis@galvestonTX.gov
  • Jeffrey Taylor, District 2 – jeffreytaylor@GalvestonTX.Gov
  • Bob Brown, District 3 – bobbrown@GalvestonTX.Gov
  • Alex Porretto, District 4 – alexporretto@GalvestonTX.gov
  • Michael Niebuhr, District 5 – michaelniebuhr@GalvestonTX.Gov
  • Jason Hardcastle, District 6 – jasonhardcastle@GalvestonTX.Gov

Additional Resources:

• BCWK website event- Meeting info. & Resources
• Discovery Sands Action Guide- Background and Talking Points
• Facebook Event- Shareable event page
• Project Application Materials- Updated Material Submitted by Applicant

By Jessica Garces, SPAWN Habitat Restoration Intern

Historically in West Marin, “monarch butterflies have been noted in huge beautiful numbers at “butterfly trees” in Bolinas and Stinson Beach since the turn of the last century and not too long after that in Muir Beach. We don’t know (yet) what happened before the coastal forests were gone but many speculate that they’d pause, sometimes for days to weeks, in the coastal groves of bishop pine and redwood trees as they traveled towards and down the coast to their favored place to tuck for the winter: the cypress and pine forests of the Santa Cruz and Monterey peninsulas to Cambria (the range of the Monterey Pine). This pause could have been to nectar, to be in a cool place during a heat wave or smoky period. In the early 1980s an inventory was done through a WWF grant to the Xerces Society to do a thorough inventory of overwintering sites. This became the base for the CA Natural Diversity Data Base, and eventually grew into a community science effort to continue regular monitoring. Thus, the decline of the overwintering population, loss of sites and other changes have been documented since.”- Mia Monroe, co-founder of the Marin Monarch Working Group and Western Monarch Count at the Xerces Society. 

Western monarchs breed during the spring and summer as they fly north along the western U.S and southern Canada in search of milkweed plants to lay their eggs. As fall approaches, the migratory population will travel south to find appropriate habitat for them to overwinter along the California coast, Baja and Arizona. This migratory generation lives 6-9 months, compared to the 2-5 weeks of earlier generations, and will go through a hibernation-like period called diapause. During diapause, the butterflies’ reproductive organs do not fully develop until after winter and their activities are restricted to sunning, rehydrating, and feeding on nectar. Overwintering habitat sites provide a microclimate suitable for the diapause stage of their life cycle, and are a crucial element to the survival of the western monarch. In recent years, the population of the western monarch butterfly has declined significantly. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the western migratory population is down more than 95% since the 1980s, and less than 12,260 butterflies were counted this winter, the third lowest count on record. The causes of this drastic population decline are thought to be driven by a combination of pesticide use, habitat loss, and climate change. 

But there is hope! AB 2254 is a bill that seeks to strengthen protections for coastal monarch butterfly overwintering sites in California, and is soon to be presented to the California Assembly. If passed, AB 2254 would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife, in coordination with the California Coastal Commission, to identify western monarch butterfly overwintering habitat sites in coastal zones, provide guidance to local governments on model policies to protect monarch overwintering habitat (including habitat restoration and enhancement), and mandate that sites with confirmed overwintering habitat develop and implement enforceable monarch butterfly overwintering habitat site protection. Please join us in supporting this bill by reaching out to your California Assembly Member today and urge them to vote AYE on AB 2254 via https://win.newmode.net/ab2254-monarch-ca.

The Xerces Society served as a primary advocate for this bill, and has spearheaded many projects to protect the monarch butterfly, including the Western Monarch Count, an intensive community science project to monitor western monarch populations across California. They have done incredible science-based conservation work, and SPAWN is proud to have donated plants grown at our California Native nursery.

Here in Marin County, the Marin Monarch Working Group (MMWG) hosts training and monitoring opportunities for the general public and completes habitat restoration projects to restore western monarch habitats in private and public spaces. We have also donated milkweed to support their restoration efforts, and are grateful for our partnership. They are an excellent resource for local folks looking to get involved in monarch conservation- check out their upcoming events on their website at https://www.marinmonarch.com. SPAWN is grateful to be a part of such an important cause, and contribute to environmental conservation in West Marin!

Sources for further learning: 

• Virtual interview with Mia Monroe, co-founder of the Marin Monarch Working Group and Western Monarch Count at the Xerces Society.
• Monarch Joint Venture – Migration article
• Western Monarch Trail
• California State Parks Foundation – Ideal Home for Western Monarch Butterflies article
• Smithsonian Magazine – Butterflies are in Dramatic Decline Across North America article

Header photo credit: NOAA.

Header photo credit: NOAA.

Photo by G.P. Schmahl, TIRN’s Board Secretary and retired Superintendent of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. Photo Credit: G.P. Schmahl/NOAA.

In 2019, San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper and Diane Wilson won the largest citizen Clean Water Act settlement in U.S. history against Formosa Plastics, which included a binding agreement to zero discharge of plastic.

Since then, Formosa has violated the agreement 952 times, resulting in $40.5 million in court-ordered mitigation payments.

Now, Formosa’s permit is up for renewal. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) refuses to include zero discharge of plastic in Formosa’s permit renewal. Zero discharge of plastic belongs in this permit. TCEQ’s job is to protect these waters. Tell them to do it.

Submit a comment using the talking points below:

• Request a 30-day public comment extension
• Request a public meeting
• Urge TCEQ to include zero discharge of plastics in this permit as required in the binding agreement

Comments are due on Friday, May 15th!

Header photo credit: Formosa Point Comfort by Garth Lenz Corpus Christi via Oil & Gas Watch.

Header photo credit: Tucker Joenz Florida FWC, taken under NOAA permit 18786