19 Tight Lines Bulletin - Spring 2018 “I wouldn’t be involved with this if I didn’t think it would work." - Jim Barry, Former Palm Beach County Environmental Director & WPBFC Lifetime Member MONITORING: Since this is an experimental project ongoing monitor- ing will be critical to make modifications to the Reef Dart design and the productivity of the units. The PBCFF will partner with local divers, research agencies and/or uni- versities to help us evaluate the effectiveness of Reef Dart sites. Documenting fish and invertebrate abundance will be a key goal of the monitoring program, as well as evalu- ating the orientation of the Reef Darts on the sea floor. COST BENEFITS: If surplus utility poles (of the correct size) can be ac- quired the cost to build each Reef Dart unit will be signifi- cantly reduced. Community businesses like local utilities or other companies that manufacture or utilize concrete poles/pilings are being sought as potential project partners. Most of the PBCFF’s costs associated with the Reef Dart program will be logistical coordination, engineering, con- struction and monitoring. The PBCFF has entered into a 3-year agreement with Palm Beach County’s Department of Environmental Resources Manage- ment (ERM) as a project partner. Palm Beach County is committing to permit- ting, transporting and deploying the supplied Reef Darts in pre-permitted sites each summer. Compared to the costs of acquiring, transporting, clean- ing and deploying a ship or oil rig the Reef Dart program provides an attractive cost benefit to habitat creation ratio. ADVISORS & TECHNICAL SUPPORT: The PBCFF is grateful to have the support of staff mem- bers at Palm Beach County ERM who have decades of reef building expertise. Former ERM Director and Lifetime WPBFC member Jim Barry has also been very involved and believes in the merits of this concept. Longtime Fish- ing Club member Marty Murphy, Sr., who has decades of experience working with pre-stressed concrete to build bridges and ocean piers, is also providing valuable support. WPBFC member and engineer Pat Jackson from ONM&J Structural Engineers has provided engineering support. Marc Collette from Viewcrete in Jupiter, a firm specializ- ing in custom concrete work, built the Reef Dart prototypes. Marc has been building many of the Andrew ‘Red' Harris Reef Modules that are being deployed off Jupiter for divers. Marine contractor Boo McCulley, Scott Bachman and the rest of their experienced crew from McCulley Marine in Ft. Pierce did an outstanding job working out all the kinks with the deployment of our experimental Reef Darts. Boo and his crew have extensive experience building and deploying artificial reef material. FUNDING PARTNERS: We estimate that the PBCFF will need to raise ap- proximately $300k over a five-year period to get the Reef Dart program fully developed, evaluated and es- tablished. This is a private/public project. The PBCFF is grateful to have the confidence and support of the Fleming Family Foundation, the Alice Busch Gronewaldt Foundation, the John A. & Elizabeth F. Taylor Foundation, and the A.P. Kirby, Jr. Foundation for this innovative reef building effort. Mov- ing forward, additional funding support will be required from interested individuals and private foundations for future program costs related to engineering, construction and monitoring. Private sector donations will benefit from the PBCFF’s 501(c)3 tax status. We hope to develop a Reef Dart sponsorship program where donors can sponsor the construction of one or more units. Feb. 2018