New Video Builds Local Support for Myrtle Grove Diversion

By Maura Wood, National Wildlife Federation

To kick coastal restoration into high gear and to create a sustainable coast, reconnecting the river to the marsh in a controlled way and allowing the delivery of sediment is key. Sediment deposited through marsh-building diversions will build an ever-expanding platform which, as it grows, will become vegetated. This vegetation will trap more sediment, leading to even more land growth. This mimics the natural processes that built our coast and offers hope of creating a sustainable coastal area that can hold its own in the face of sea level rise and other stressors.

Still, there is doubt among the public about whether diversions can really build land, much of which is based on experience with two existing diversions: Caernarvon and Davis Pond. What is lost in much of the discussion is that these structures were not intended to be “marsh-building” diversions. They were built and intended as “freshwater” diversions, designed to impact salinities in the estuaries east and west of the Mississippi River.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZV1sgQW-DA

Now we have an opportunity with the Myrtle Grove Medium Diversion and Dedicated Dredging Project to consider how to design and construct a marsh-building diversion that takes maximum advantage of the sediment and water in the river to build land. A new film, “Mending the Marsh: Local Support for Myrtle Grove“, examines the Myrtle Grove project and its associated opportunities and challenges. This video is part of a series that will illuminate the promise of marsh-building diversions as critical components of a sustainable coast.

So pop some popcorn and enjoy as Ryan Lambert and Foster Creppel lead you on an exploration of the marsh-building potential of the Myrtle Grove diversion.