Projects at Ground Zero: A Local Perspective
Eight years and more than eighty projects later, the Breaux Act's 10,000 acres of protected wetlands look good to pundits and politicians, but what about the view at ground zero? Are completed priority projects living up to local expectations? Here's what some project managers and coastal residents have to say about two completed projects.
Boston Canal/Vermilion Bay Shoreline Protection
"It's certainly put an end to erosion," says Donald Sagrera, Vermilion police jury president, as he stands along a rock breakwater, part of the Boston Canal/Vermilion Bay Shoreline Protection Project. Completed in two phases in late 1994 and mid-1995, the NRCS/DNR project protects more than 466 acres of freshwater wetland and open water along the northwest shore of Vermilion Bay.
Before project construction began, banks at the junction of Boston Canal and Vermilion Bay were eroding at an alarming rate. Engineers decided that rock breakwaters and sediment-trapping fences installed along the shoreline would lessen the erosion and improve sediment accumulation. "Before long, dirt simply displaced the eroding water," explains Sagrera. Only eight months after construction, volunteers helped plant nearly 14 miles of smooth marsh cordgrass to help strengthen the newly accumulated soil.
The photo above shows the junction of Boston Canal and Vermilion Bay before project construction. Water was displacing marsh ground and encroaching on local structures.
(NRCS photo)
Post-construction results are illustrated dramatically in the second photo above. The rock breakwaters are limiting the effects of tidal erosion and have helped the sediment-trapping fences accumulate new ground. (ACOE photo)
"It's all working according to plan and falling into place," says Sagrera. "The area is stabilized, and the plants have established themselves." But he concedes that it's just the beginning. "Erosion is a gigantic problem everywhere along the coast. There are several hotspots that need to be addressed. There's still a lot to protect."
Timbalier Island Vegetative Plantings/Sand-Trapping Fencing
"We're trying to hold the beach," explains Darin Lee, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources geoscience research specialist, reviewing the Vegetative Plantings Demonstration Project on Timbalier Island in Terrebonne Parish. Lee is part of a team monitoring the project's techniques and determining their application to other projects throughout the coast.
Sediment-trapping fences line the beach at Timbalier Island after project construction in 1995.
(ACOE photo)
Built in two phases during 1995 and 1996, the project relies on sand-trapping fences to capture wind-blown sand, and vegetation to hold the sand together. "The fences have worked as designed," says Lee. "As the sand accumulated, it created short dunes that helped repel tidal action." When enough sand accumulated, vegetation was then placed throughout the dunes. According to Lee, large sections of vegetation survived and are beginning to spread.
In some projects, success is hard won. The photo above reveals some of the damage suffered by sediment-trapping fences at Timbalier Island from storms in the Gulf of Mexico.
(NRCS photo)
"Some losses have occurred, however," adds Lee. Strong tidal action from the Gulf and severe storms over the last two years have killed off some vegetation on the Gulf side of the island. "Unfortunately, vegetation loss accelerates erosion, so we lose a little ground." But that's to be expected, says Lee. "Projects like Timbalier are demonstration efforts. They give us the opportunity to learn what techniques work and how long they will take. Before we start working on a grand scale, we need to know what works on the small scale."