CWPPRA Quick News
New Brochure and Slide Presentation Now Available
Front cover of the new CWPPRA brochure
Featuring a cover photo of Louisiana 4-H youth planting marsh grass along an eroded shoreline in Vermilion Parish, a new publication titled "Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA): A Commitment to Louisiana's Coastal Wetlands" is now available.
The brochure was funded by the Breaux Act Task Force and developed by the LSU Agricultural Center's Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service (LCES) and the LSU Sea Grant College Program.
The brochure introduces citizens to the justification for coastal restoration, the future with and without action, recommended restoration actions, and ways for interested citizens to become involved.
Additionally, an associated slide presentation that closely follows the educational outline of the brochure has been developed by the LSU Agricultural Center/Sea Grant. Copies of the presentation will soon be available to all interested state and federal agencies.
To obtain copies of the brochure or invite a speaker to present the slide presentation, contact Jay Gamble at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Public Affairs Office in New Orleans at (504)862-2786.
State Submits Coastal Wetlands Conservation Plan
Louisiana's Coastal Wetlands Conservation Plan has been submitted to federal agencies for approval, following its adoption at an April 30 meeting to which the nine members of the state's Congressional delegation, all 140 state legislators, and 390 interested Louisiana citizens were invited.
The plan, developed by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, represents a major cost savings to the state if it is approved. The state's share of financing for Breaux Act projects will be reduced from 25 percent to 10 percent for priority projects from lists 5 and 6, and to15 percent for all other future CWPPRA projects.
Construction Completed on Falgout Canal Demonstration ProjectNon-conventional wave-damping devices have been installed along 1,500 feet of the levee on the north bank of the Falgout Canal as part of a demonstration project located approximately 15 miles south of Houma. The devices are designed to dampen wave energy generated by frequent, large-vessel traffic through the canal. The levee, which is experiencing increasing rates of erosion, protects a large area of fragile marsh. Prior to the levee's construction the marsh was severely impacted by exposure to fluctuating water levels and salinity. The experimental wave-damping devices, using various designs, orientations and construction materials, will also protect and aid in the establishment of smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) plantings behind the devices. The smooth cordgrass will function as an additional wave buffer and provide stabilization protection for the levee. The project is sponsored by the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service.
|
NMFS Construction Efforts on Deck
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) will begin construction on two priority projects in 1997.
Point Au Fer Hydrologic Restoration - Area 2
Situated on Point Au Fer Island in western Terrebonne Parish, this project is divided into two areas. Construction efforts in Area 1 were completed in late 1996 and are designed to prevent shoreline breaching and restore natural hydrologic patterns in the saline and brackish marshes situated on the island.
Area 2, which is currently under construction, will prevent the breaching of the island's Gulf of Mexico shoreline into both a bayou and an adjacent petroleum access canal. The shoreline will be armored by placing limestone rock along a 3,000-foot stretch of shoreline. This armoring should slow shoreline erosion enough to prevent the bayou from connecting to the Gulf for at least 20 years.
A barge-mounted drag line crane transports limestone rock from the loading barge to an articulated dump truck on shore. More than 13,000 tons of rock are being used at Point Au Fer.
Big Island Mining
NMFS's Big Island Mining project will restore freshwater and sediment delivery processes to the northwestern portion of the Atchafalaya River delta. Natural westward expansion of the delta was hampered by repeated deposits of material dredged from the federal navigation channel in 1973.
The project area, which is situated about 18 miles southwest of Morgan City in St. Mary Parish, will see the construction of distributary channels extending from the Atchafalaya River into the shallow waters west of Big Island. Dredged materials will be placed in a pattern that mimics natural delta lobes and creates conditions conducive to trapping of sediment.
When completed, the project will create nearly 500 acres of deltaic wetlands and provide a basis for continued natural delta growth. Within 20 years, the project's initial efforts should have created over 1,300 acres of wetlands habitat.
Task Force Approves Sixth Priority Project ListThe Breaux Act Task Force unveiled the sixth priority project candidate list earlier this year and selected the final list in late April. The candidate list included 27 proposed projects with an aggregate construction cost of more than $330 million. The final list of selected projects is presented in the chart below. The task force approved 12 projects for a total cost of nearly $45 million. To date, the Task Force has approved six priority project lists, including nearly 70 projects with an estimated construction cost totaling $180 million.
|