Large Scale Barataria Marsh Creation
Large Scale Barataria Marsh Creation
This marsh creation project is in the Barataria Basin within a ribbon of wetlands stretching from the Mississippi River levee to the community of Lafitte known as the Barataria Landbridge. Historically, only a limited hydrological connection existed between the fresher upper basin and the saltier lower basin. Canals, erosion and subsidence have led to significant land loss in this area, exposing freshwater wetlands to saltwater intrusion and increased wave energy. This project will create marsh within a footprint of approximately …
New Orleans East Marsh Creation
This large-scale marsh creation project is located in New Orleans East on the land bridge separating Lake Pontchartrain from Lake Borgne, which is the major control on the potential flow of hurricane surge into Lake Pontchartrain. This exposure to wave energy and storm surge has unfortunately resulted in the rapid retreat of the shoreline and the expansion of ponds and lakes within the marsh, and the landbridge between the two lakes has eroded into a much weaker line of defense. …
Central Wetlands Marsh Creation and Diversion
This diversion and marsh creation project will synergistically benefit the Central Wetlands Unit ecosystem in New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish, an area of nearly 30,000 acres of wetland that was once mostly a mix of cypress-tupelo swamp and bottomland hardwood forest. Now a predominantly brackish marsh habitat, this area has been dramatically affected by human-made forces. Logging; leveeing of the Mississippi River; construction of oil, gas and navigation canals; and the construction of the now-closed Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MR-GO) …
Three Mile Pass Marsh Creation and Hydrologic Restoration
Proposed to help protect oyster and shrimp habitat, the Three Mile Pass Marsh Creation and Hydrologic Restoration Project will build a marsh buffer against potential freshwater intrusion. The project footprint will be approximately 11,000 acres, including a 660-acre area dedicated to creating new wetland habitat and restoring imperiled marsh in Malheureaux Point and Grand Pass. Existing conditions in the Biloxi Marsh make this area prime habitat for oysters and shrimp. However, if the Bonnet Carre Spillway opens to prevent Mississippi …
Delacroix Marsh Creation
The Delacroix Marsh Creation priority project combines the West Delacroix Marsh Creation and Oak River to Delacroix Marsh Creation projects from the 2023 Coastal Master Plan. These marsh creation projects are located in the Pontchartrain / Breton Sound region. Together these projects can work synergistically to bolster ongoing marsh creation efforts in this area of Plaquemines Parish. The West Delacroix Marsh Creation project will build and restore approximately 5,100 acres of marsh south and west of Delacroix Island. The Oak …
East Bayou Lafourche Marsh Creation
The East Bayou Lafourche Marsh Creation project is a Barataria Basin project in the 2023 Coastal Master Plan that will establish more than 33,000 acres of wetland habitat on the eastern side of Bayou Lafourche, along the scenic Caminada Headland. This project will serve multiple essential purposes, including the development of fresh wetland ecosystems, the rehabilitation of deteriorated marshlands and the mitigation of wave erosion. This project will help to replenish the devastated region still recovering from the impact of …
Calcasieu Lake Marsh Creation
The Calcasieu Lake Marsh Creation project is made up of two directly adjacent 2023 Coastal Master Plan projects, the Southeast Calcasieu Lake Marsh Creation and East Calcasieu Lake Marsh Creation. Each will strengthen the shoreline of the adjacent Calcasieu Lake and will work together synergistically to strengthen coastal resilience within the Chenier Plain. Southeast Calcasieu Lake Marsh Creation will create approximately 9,200 acres of marsh southeast of Calcasieu Lake. The new marsh will provide wetland habitat, reduce wave erosion and …
Belle Pass-Golden Meadow Marsh Creation
The Belle Pass-Golden Meadow Marsh Creation project will create approximately 29,000 acres of marsh in the Terrebonne Basin. This project will be located along both sides of Bayon Lafourche from just south of Galliano, through Leeville and down to Port Fourchon. Like much of Louisiana’s coast, this sediment starved stretch of Terrebonne Basin has seen significant wetland loss due to many existing factors including sea level rise, subsidence, and saltwater intrusion, which were compounded by the devastation of Hurricane Ida …
Calcasieu-Sabine Large-Scale Marsh and Hydrologic Restoration Project
The Chenier Plain, located in Southwest Louisiana, is part of the Calcasieu-Sabine Basin and home to the Calcasieu Ship Channel. While the Calcasieu Ship Channel is a critical asset for navigation for the entire region, it also poses one of its greatest threats—allowing increasing amounts of salt water into nearby ecologically important freshwater marshes. This project’s purpose is to produce large-scale marsh drainage improvements that reduce the flood stress currently driving marsh vulnerability in the region. This will be done …
Golden Triangle Marsh Creation
The 4,420-acre Golden Triangle Marsh project proposed in the 2017 Coastal Master Plan provides a vital wetland buffer along urban areas of New Orleans. The area has has been significantly impacted by human intervention. Dominated by brackish marsh, this area was badly damaged by saltwater intrusion and erosion following the dredging of the now-closed Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO). This project used sediment from nearby Lake Borgne to create and restore marsh. Restoration of this area is critical as it …
Freshwater Bayou North Marsh Creation
Freshwater Bayou North Marsh Creation is planned for Vermilion Parish, just west of Freshwater Bayou and north of the bayou locks. The project is one of the largest and fastest land-building priority projects, projected to build around 9,000 acres upon construction. It will restore marshes degraded by hurricanes Rita, Gustav and Ike and prevent Freshwater Bayou from continuing to enlarge and further erode interior marshes. Sediment will be delivered via pipeline to the site from either the Gulf of Mexico …