Quick News
Task Force Chooses Candidates for 8th Priority List
Task Force agencies have selected 12 candidates to be evaluated for the 8th Priority Project List. Top vote-getters at a Planning and Evaluation Subcommittee meeting April 24 were Upper Oak River Freshwater Introduction Siphon, Sabine Refuge Marsh Creation (Revised), Hopedale Hydrologic Restoration, Bayou Bienvenue Pumping Station/ Terracing, Constance-Holly Beach Sand Beach Management Plan, and Humble Canal Hydrologic Restoration.
Task Force agencies will evaluate the 12 candidate projects for cost-effectiveness, longevity and sustainability, support for Restoration Plan strategy, supporting partnership, public support, and risk and uncertainty. The Task Force will make the 8th List selections in December.
$7.5 Million Projects Near Completion
Construction is over 50 percent complete on the Big Island Mining and Atchafalaya Sediment Delivery Restoration Projects in St. Mary's Parish. Work has been finished on the sediment delivery project, and about 40 percent of Big Island work is complete.
The $7.5 million projects are designed to restore freshwater and sediment delivery processes to the northwestern and northeastern portions of the Atchafalaya River delta. The projects will initially create 1,200 acres of wetlands, with subsequent natural delta growth over the next 20 years expected to add an additional 3,000 acres of wetlands habitat.
Construction on the first lobe island at Big Island is under way as shown in the photo above. Dredges collect sediment from the surrounding waters and pump it into the island area to build it up.
(DNR photo)
West Belle Pass Project Under Way
The $6.4 million West Belle Pass Headland Restoration project is now under construction. Approximately 2.5 million cubic yards of dredged material is being pumped into open water to recreate almost 200 acres of marsh on the western side of Belle Pass, in LaFourche Parish. The dredged material will be taken from Bayou Lafourche below Port Fourchon, providing incidental benefits to navigation.
The West Belle Pass project area is situated behind the blue lines above. As dredged material is pumped into the project area, dry land eventually rises out of the open water and becomes marsh. (ACOE photo)
Work on East Timbalier Island Ready to Start
Designs are complete and work is expected to start Aug. 1 on two Breaux Act restoration projects on East Timbalier Island. Together, the two projects will create 215 acres of marsh. The first project will place 890,000 cubic yards of dredged material in three embayments along the shoreline, while the second will close breaches and reconnect the east and west ends of the island. Dredged material will be placed from the island's center to about 6,000 feet eastward, creating an area about 935 feet wide. All of the Breaux Act barrier island restoration projects are either complete, under way, or awaiting construction bids.
Timbalier Island
Three Men And A Frog Speak Out
Singers Aaron Neville and Harry Connick Jr. and chef Paul Prudhomme have joined Kermit the Frog to support Louisiana's wetlands restoration efforts. The four celebrities will appear in 30-second public service announcements broadcast in Louisiana, as well as in other parts of the U.S., to raise public awareness of Louisiana's coastland deterioration. Kermit also uses the announcements to thank those who are restoring his relatives' homes.
America's favorite amphibian takes center stage with three Louisiana celebrities in a new campaign to tell the nation about Louisiana's wetlands crisis.
(DNR photo)