ExxonMobil
St. Mary's Island
Baytown, Texas, United States
Certified through 2024
Project Name
Project Type
Island habitat - shrub and grassland
Other Habitats
Water Bird Rookery
Avian
About the Program
The ExxonMobil - St Mary's Island program is located in Galveston Bay, Texas, within the Houston Ship Channel. The site was restored from the remnant of an existing island and expanded to provide more habitat primarily for the colonial nesting water birds that use the island. The island is approximately 10 acres in size and is vegetated with shrubs, trees and grass, surrounded by reinforcement to prevent erosion. The varied areas provide suitable nesting habitat for a number of native bird species including brown pelicans, laughing gulls and roseate spoonbills.
Practices and Impacts
The ExxonMobil - St Mary's Island program is located in Galveston Bay, Texas, within the Houston Ship Channel. The site was restored from the remnant of an existing island and expanded to provide more habitat primarily for the colonial nesting water birds that use the island. The island is approximately 10 acres in size and is vegetated with shrubs, trees and grass, surrounded by reinforcement to prevent erosion. The varied areas provide suitable nesting habitat for a number of native bird species including brown pelicans, laughing gulls and roseate spoonbills.
Practices and Impacts
- Annual monitoring to record bird species and counts is performed by boat to minimize disturbance.
- ExxonMobil works with the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory to monitor bird species on the island. In 2021, staff observed 2,184 birds, and in 2022, staff observed 1,511 birds overall.
- The island shrub and grassland is monitored and maintained to provide ideal habitat to support nesting. Grass on the interior of the island is mowed annually for ground nesting species. On the perimeter, trees and shrubs are encouraged to grow to provide cover for rookery nesting species and foraging needs.
