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NFL To Plant Mangroves To Offset Super Bowl Impact

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By YVETTE C. HAMMETT | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 9, 2008

TAMPA - It takes some rather complicated math to determine how much pollution and environmental impact is created by a Super Bowl and all the trappings that surround it.

And even then, it's a best guess.

But the theory that planting trees can help stabilize shorelines and suck polluting greenhouse gasses from the air is pretty basic.

The National Football League, as part of what it calls "the greening of Super Bowl XLIII," is taking a simple approach, providing mangroves for plantings in the Terra Ceia Ecosystem Restoration Area near the Manatee County line and native trees at the McKay Creek Greenway in Pinellas County.

"It is a way to offset greenhouse gases, but we're going at it from a different angle," said Jack Groh, NFL director of environmental programs.

"We're approaching it more realistically, working with the state and U.S. Forest Service and will have volunteers periodically going out to measure the trees and determine exactly how much greenhouses gas reduction results from the plantings," Groh said.

The NFL started its planting program five years ago in Jacksonville, but this will be the first time it added the follow-up surveys.

"A year from now, we'll be able to say with real confidence what the environmental impact will be," Groh said.

Tampa Bay Watch is taking the lead on the mangrove planting in Terra Ceia. They were originally scheduled for Thursday, but concerns about the weather has led them to change the planting to Tuesday, Dec. 16. Volunteers and staff members will plant 740 red mangroves along the shoreline there.

The mangroves will serve as a feeding, breeding and nursery ground for a variety of wildlife and marine life and will also help stabilize the shoreline, protecting it from erosion, said Tampa Bay Watch spokeswoman Rachel Arndt.

At McKay Creek, school students from Shorecrest Preparatory School will plant 400 native trees, including buttonwood, wax myrtle and fire bush, recommended by the Florida Department of Forestry.

The NFL contributes half the funds for the plantings – there will be 12 done by the time Super Bowl XLIII takes place on Feb. 1, 2009 – and the property owner pays the other half, either in cash or in-kind contributions.

Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 865-1566.

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