Caminada Headlands Back Barrier Marsh Creation – Increment 2 (BA-193)

Dredged material from the Gulf of Mexico will be pumped into open-water areas which will create 250 acres of back barrier marsh and nourish 293 acres of emergent marsh behind 4 miles of the Caminada Beach.

Location

The Caminada Headland is defined as the area south of Louisiana Highway 1 between Belle Pass and Caminada Pass. The Project is located directly behind Caminada headland beach east of Bayou Moreau and west of Elmer’s Island. The Project is located in CWPPRA Planning Region 2, Barataria Basin, in Lafourche and Jefferson Parishes.

Problems

The Project is located in an especially dynamic area of the Louisiana Coast, experiencing some of the highest shoreline retreat rates in Louisiana averaging 41.4 feet/year over the last century.  Between 2006 and 2011 shoreline migration increased dramatically, exceeding 80 ft/yr near Bay Champagne and 110 ft/yr near Bayou Moreau. The increased losses occurred after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 as the breaches remained open for an extended length of time which were then exacerbated by Tropical Storm Fay and Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008. The prolonged breaches greatly increased the net export of sediment from the headland.

Restoration Strategy

The goals of this project are to: 1) Create and/or nourish 543 acres of emergent back barrier marsh, by pumping sediment from an offshore borrow site; 2) Create a platform upon which the beach and dune can migrate, reducing the likelihood of breaching, increasing the retention of overwashed sediment, improving the longevity of the barrier shoreline, and protecting wetlands and infrastructure to the north and west. The marsh creation and nourishment cells are designed to minimize impacts on existing marsh and mangroves.  Assuming some natural recruitment, vegetative plantings are planned for 50% of the project area, with half planted at TY3 and half at TY5 (if needed). Containment dikes will be degraded or gapped by TY3 for estuarine organism access. The project would result in approximately 160 net acres over the 20-year project life and would work synergistically with Caminada Headland Beach and Dune Restoration Projects (BA-45 and BA-143), as well as Caminada Headland Back Barrier Marsh Creation Project (BA-171).

Progress to Date

The 30% design review and 95% design review meetings were held on July 10, 2018 and October 25, 2018, respectively. The Phase II Request for construction funding was presented to the CWPPRA Tech Committee on December 6, 2018.

This project is on Priority Project List 25.

The Federal Sponsor is EPA

The Local Sponsor is CPRA

National Estuary Week

In honor of National Estuaries Week, we have information on how to care about the health of estuaries near you!

Twenty-two of the thirty-two largest cities in the world are located near estuaries, and with good reason. The ecosystem benefits of estuaries are massive, including major shipping channels, fisheries, agriculture, and tourism.[1] The high productivity in these areas means that they are hugely beneficial to societies near them. In coastal Louisiana, many jobs and industries are directly dependent on a healthy estuarine system.

We in Louisiana are lucky to host one of the 28 National Estuary Programs supported by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Each National Estuary Program focuses on a different estuary, each one distinct and complicated, but they all share concerns about water quality and ecological integrity. Together the programs have restored or protected over 2 million acres across the nation since 2000. Our local NEP, the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program (BTNEP), seeks to maintain the breeding habitat of shrimp, blue crabs, and many fish species that have come to be a huge industry in the state. Other estuaries host different fisheries and different industries, for example the Puget Sound Partnership Comprehensive Plan includes support for salmon fisheries, resident orca populations, and goals for reducing shore armoring. BTNEP is based out of Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, LA, and they have a bounty of information on their website about their work, worries, and successes in maintaining one of the most productive ecosystems on the gulf coast. Anyone interested in protecting and restoring the estuary is welcome to participate in the BTNEP Management Conference which meets three times a year. People can also take part in beach clean ups, water quality monitoring, and local events to highlight recreational opportunities in the Barataria-Terrebonne area.

Many other programs and organizations are dedicated to the preservation of our estuaries, including RESTORE the Mississippi River Delta, America’s Wetland Foundation and CWPPRA’s Partners in Restoration. All of these programs understand the issues that threaten coastal Louisiana and the people who call it home.

[1]https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/estuaries/estuaries03_ecosystem.html

Featured image from http://mississippiriverdelta.org/diversions-old-vegetation-and-new-vegetation/

 

Hydrologic Restoration and Vegetative Planting (BA-34-2)

Problems:

The Lac des Allemands River Basin Initiative identified the following specific problems within the Lac des Allemands Watershed: drainage impairments; water quality impairments; loss of marsh; and decline of cypress forest. Many years of study by Louisiana State University researchers in these swamps have demonstrated that, because of impoundment, subsidence, and inadequate accretion of sediments and organic matter, some areas are already highly stressed and converting to open water, floating aquatic plants, and fresh marsh. Also, the Coast 2050 report suggests that other areas of the swamps throughout the basin will likely convert to open water or floating marsh by the year 2050. These problems are caused by the loss of river water along with the associated sediment and nutrients necessary for swamp health. The loss of river water can be attributed to the leveeing of the Mississippi River. Impoundment caused by roads, drainage canals, and spoil banks is also a major cause of degradation of these swamps.

Restoration Strategy:

The original proposed restoration strategy included installing two small siphons (averaging 400 cubic feet per second) to divert water from the Mississippi River; gapping spoil banks on Bayou Chevreuil; gapping spoil banks along the borrow beside Louisiana Highway 20; installing culverts under Louisiana Highway 20; improving drainage in impounded swamps; and planting cypress and tupelo seedlings in highly degraded swamp areas.

The proposed diversion from the Mississippi River was to bring fresh water, fine-grained sediments, and nutrients into the upper des Allemands swamps, which would have helped maintain swamp elevation, improve swamp water quality, and increase productivity and regrowth of young trees as older trees die. However, after hydrologic modeling and more detailed engineering/design and cost estimation, it was determined that the siphon would cost far more than originally anticipated. For that reason, the CWPPRA Task Force approved the project sponsors’ request to re-scope the project to eliminate the siphon feature, and to focus on the remaining project features.

Location: The project is located West of Lac des Allemands in St. James Parish, Louisiana, south of the town of South Vacherie, bordered on the south by Bayou Chevreuil, and on the east by LA Highway 20.

Progress to Date: The Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force approved Phase 1 funding in January 2001. In June 2013, the Task Force approved a request to change the scope of the project to eliminate a siphon feature and focus on the remaining original hydrologic restoration and vegetative planting project features. The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority performed the engineering and design services. Design was completed in October 2015 and Phase 2 funds for construction was approved by the Task Force in January 2016. Construction activities for excavation and placement began in October 2017 and ended on December 20, 2017, vegetative plantings occurred in late January, and officially completed on February 2, 2018.

The three (3) principal project features included:

1. Eight (8), 400-foot-long, strategically designed gaps were cut in the northern Bayou Chevreuil spoil bank to reverse the effects of impoundment;

2. Sixteen (16) spoil placement areas were created on each side of the channel banks; (1 placement area on both sides of each gap) to beneficially use the dredged material on site;

3. Seven hundred (700) Bald Cypress and one hundred (100) Water Tupelo saplings were planted in the constructed spoil placement areas to start swamp regeneration and swamp productivity.

This project enhanced 2,395 acres of swamp habitat that would have continued to degrade without the project.

This project is on Priority Project List (PPL) 10.

The sponsors include:

Federal Sponsor: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Local Sponsor: Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA)