The Cedar Bayou is flowing once again. It is located between the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and Matagorda Island. It has been closed off and on since the late 70s after the country's second worst oil spill to prevent oil from reaching the mainland.
On Thursday, the tides changed for the Cedar Bayou. With a lot of work, dedication and money, it was opened once again.
With the use of a front-end loader, Aransas County Judge Burt Mills made the first dredge that once again allowed the Cedar Bayou to connect with other waterways.
Cedar Bayou was bulldozed shut in 1979 after the Ixtoc oil spill, which dumped 30 barrels of crude oil a day for months. The oil was headed towards the Texas coast, and the closing of Cedar Bayou prevented many fish and other sea life from living there.
Now that the inlet is open, it is great news for local fishermen and for wildlife like whooping cranes that migrate here in the winter. The bayou is called the lifeblood of the bay.
Multiple organizations like CCA, Aransas Pass, Texas Wildlife, the Texas General Land Office and many others raised millions of dollars to get Cedar Bayou open once again.
