Heron and fishermen alike are getting new hunting grounds in the Lake Worth Lagoon.

Mounds of dirt floating by barge along the Intracoastal Waterway are laying the groundwork for new sea grass beds and mangrove islands soon to take root off the shores of Lake Worth.

Months of work has begun on the $2.3 million project to expand the Snook Islands Natural Area, 100 acres of marine habitat initially created in 2005 to help breathe new life into the lagoon suffering from decades of waterfront development and pollution.

The new expansion is expected to add more mangrove islands, oyster reefs and sea grass beds, which provide habitat for fish, wading birds and manatees while attracting fishermen, birdwatchers and kayakers to the waterfront.

The work also includes adding new sea grass beds and mangroves offshore of nearby Bryant Park.

"What we have proven is [that] we can create vast areas of sea grass, oysters and mangroves that bring a lot of birds and fish and help filter the water," said Daniel Bates, Palm Beach County's deputy director of Environmental Resources Management. "It has good recreational benefits and good habitat benefits at the same time."

The creation of the Snook Islands is aimed at fixing environmental problems lingering from dredging and development that started decades ago.

Sediment dredged from the lagoon in 1920s was used to fill in wetlands and expand the Lake Worth waterfront where the city's golf course now sits.

But that digging left underwater holes that through the years collected polluted muck that smothered life-giving sea grass beds and worsened water quality.

The initial $18 million Snook Islands project started filling in those holes and enabled planting 11 acres of mangroves, about 2 acres of oyster reefs and 60 acres of sea grass beds just north of Lake Worth Bridge.

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Snook Islands growing in Lake Worth Lagoon