Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

7-1-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Ocean, Coastal, and Earth Sciences

First Advisor

Owen Temby

Second Advisor

Gordon Hickey

Third Advisor

Dongkyu Kim

Abstract

The Bahia Grande, a 6,500-acre tidal basin in southeastern Cameron County, Texas, once provided habitat for numerous species. Construction projects, such as the Brownsville Ship Channel, altered ecosystem functions and separated it from its water source, reducing it to a dried wetland. In 2005, restoration initiatives reconnected the Bahia Grande to a water source through the Carl Joe Gayman channel, and additional restoration efforts continued. Despite this progress, this area had notable deficiencies in management efforts due to resource scarcity, limited research, and a lack of public awareness. This research investigates the presence and effects of management strategies on the barriers to collaboration for ecosystem restoration. It operationalizes a typology of management strategies and barriers in semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders from this area. This work seeks to understand the network of stakeholders involved and how the actions taken by stakeholders affect the collaborative process.

Comments

Copyright 2024 Mya J. Brown. https://proquest.com/docview/3116590089

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