A Southwest Florida Water Management District scientist has received a prestigious honor from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Brandt Henningsen, District senior environmental scientist, was presented with the Excellence in Restoration Award by NOAA’s Restoration Center at the Pinellas County Environmental Fund’s (PCEF) conservation partners meeting in May.
The award was created by NOAA to publicly recognize it’s partners who have achieved a level of excellence in their restoration efforts.
“Doctor Henningsen’s love for the Tampa Bay Watershed allows him to accomplish coastal habitat restoration while helping to instill an environmental conservation ethic within the Tampa Bay community,” said Dr. Roy Crabtree,
National Marine Fisheries Southeast Regional Administrator.
Henningsen has been with the District’s Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) program since 1987. Since then he has been involved with 33 of the 65 completed SWIM program habitat restoration projects. His projects resulted in the restoration of more than 830 acres of Tampa Bay habitat.
“I was very surprised and humbled to receive this award,” said Henningsen. “It should be shared with all the cooperative partners that helped make those 33 projects a reality.”
Currently, Henningsen is the project manager of the Terra Ceia Isles Habitat Restoration project, which is the largest habitat restoration project ever conducted within Tampa Bay. NOAA and the PCEF have both contributed funding to the project.