Freshwater Bayou Bank Stabilization (ME-13)

By placing riprap in front of the existing shoreline, further wetland loss will be decreased dramatically. It is anticipated that open water areas behind the rock structure will accumulate sediments and eventually become vegetated.

Location

This project is located along the west bank of Freshwater Bayou Canal near Little Vermilion Bay, 4 miles southwest of Intracoastal City, Louisiana, in Vermilion Parish. It
extends north from North Prong and Belle Isle Bayou to Sixmile Canal.

Problems

Increased tidal action, saltwater intrusion, and boat wakes have accelerated erosion long the banks of the Freshwater Bayou Canal. The spoil banks have completely eroded in some areas. The remaining spoil banks along the southern reach of the project area separate Freshwater Bayou Canal from several interior marsh ponds. If the banks breach, shoreline erosion will accelerate interior marsh loss.

Restoration Strategy

The objective of this project was to prevent further wetland loss through the reduction of bank erosion and subsequent tidal scour of shoreline marshes. Approximately 23,193 linear feet of freestanding rock dike were constructed in shallow water along the west bank of Freshwater Bayou Canal (from its confluence with Sixmile Canal on the northern end and North Prong to the south).

Progress to Date

The local cost share for this project was provided by Acadian Gas Company. Construction began in March 1998 and was completed in May 1998. The monitoring plan was approved in February 1997. To date, monitoring has consisted of documenting the pre-construction shoreline position relative to the rock dike and a land-to-water analysis of the preconstruction aerial photography that was taken in January 1997. This project is on Priority Project List 5.

The project is on Priority Project List (PPL) 5.

The Federal Sponsor is National Resources Conservation Service

The Local Sponsor is CPRA.

Approved Date: 1996
Project Area: 1,724 acres
Approved Funds: $5.56 M
Total Est. Cost: $8.91 M
Net Benefit After 20 Years: 511 acres
Status: Completed June 1998
Project Type: Shoreline Protection

GIWW – Perry Ridge West Bank Stabilization (CS-30)

Settlement plates such as the one pictured here will be used to determine if settling of the structure has occurred. Technicians from NRCS’s Crowley Watershed Office are shown taking baseline elevations before more rock is deposited. Future elevation readings will be taken after the structure is completed.

Location

The project is located along the northern bank of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) between Perry Ridge and the Sabine River in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana.

Problems

This section of the GIWW was dredged to allow the use of doublewide barges, and,  consequently, has intensified the occurrence of wake erosion. In addition, the construction of the Calcasieu Ship Channel and the deepening of Sabine Pass have increased the salinity and water currents within the GIWW. These activities have caused the GIWW shoreline to breach, thus impacting the interior marsh of the project area.

Restoration Strategy

Proposed project components involve installation of 9,500 feet of rock riprap along the northern bank of the GIWW from Perry Ridge to its intersection with the Sabine River.
An additional 2,200 feet of rock riprap will be installed from the Sabine/GIWW intersection north along the Sabine River. This proposed work is referred to as “construction unit number 2.” Approximately 22,952 linear feet of terraces will
be constructed in the shallow, open water areas north of the GIWW to reduce fetch (distance a wave can travel) and allow recovery of the interior marshes. Terraces will be
vegetated with 9,400 trade-gallon-sized plantings of California bulrush. This proposed work is referred to as “construction unit number 3.”

Progress to Date

Project construction is complete. The monitoring plan is currently in development and should be finalized in the spring of 2002.

The project is on Priority Project List (PPL) 9.

The Federal Sponsor is Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The Local Sponsor is CPRA.

Approved Date: 2000
Project Area: 1,132 acres
Approved Funds: $2.19 M
Total Est. Cost: $2.20 M
Net Benefit After 20 Years: 83 acres
Status: Completed
Project Type: Shoreline Protection

Nutria Harvest for Wetland Restoration Demonstration (LA-03a)

Louisiana’s growing nutria population is detrimental to the state’s coastal marshes as the animals consume wetland plants that hold the soil together.

Location

This project was located throughout the coastal zone of Louisiana.

Problems

The nutria is a non-native, fur-bearing species in the rodent family that was introduced to enhance the Louisiana fur industry. Since the decline of the fur industry, nutria populations have increased tremendously along the coast. Because nutria voraciously consume marsh plants that help anchor wetlands, this non-native nutria population is now having a significant negative impact on coastal marsh health.

Restoration Strategy

The goals of this demonstration project were to determine if nutria meat for human consumption could be promoted and determine if a meat processing system promotional program could be developed. Meeting these goals would have facilitated nutria harvest through an increased meat demand. The project called for Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act funding matching that of participating meat-processing plants in order to compensate trappers for the nutria they harvest. The project also included monitoring selected coastal marsh areas by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) to assess both nutria damage and recovery resulting from this project.

Other components of the project included nutria meat recipe development and publication, along with an advertising and marketing strategy focused on increasing the public demand for nutria meat. The project was implemented by the LDWF with oversight by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Progress to Date

This demonstration project was approved by the Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force in April 1997. Through this project, LDWF has coordinated with consultants to develop and implement various nutria meat marketing activities.

Marketing activities included LDWF staff activities and contracting with consultants to: (1) develop and evaluate local, national, and international nutria meat market potential for human consumption; (2) develop a nutria meat marketing plan, including a Nutria Marketing Strategic Report which proposed various ways to encourage the public to eat nutria; (3) participate in festivals and chef’s competitions; (4) distribute nutria meat to the public through sales at grocery stores, restaurants, and other retail outlets; (5) determine nutria meat processing costs, product price structure, and potential meat production volume; and (6) plan promotional and advertising activities based on the Nutria Marketing Strategic Report.

The LDWF 1999, 2000, and 2001 nutria coastal damage surveys and reports indicated continued nutria-related marsh damages in the Louisiana deltaic plain at a level of approximately 100,000 acres per year impacted. Because of the January 2002 Task Force approval of the larger Coastwide Nutria Control Program (LA-03b), the LDWF discontinued providing incentive payments to trappers and conducting nutria herbivory surveys under this demonstration project. Those two items will be funded under the larger project. However, funding for nutria meat processors enrolled in the program, as well as nutria meat marketing activities, continued until the project was completed in October 2003. This project is on Priority Project List 6.

The project is on Priority Project List (PPL) 6.

The Federal Sponsor is US Fish & Wildlife Service.

The Local Sponsor is CPRA.

Approved Date: 1997
Project Area: N/A
Approved Funds: $0.80 M
Total Est. Cost: $0.80 M
Net Benefit After 20 Years: N/A
Status: Completed
Project Type: Demonstration: Herbivory Control

Talking Wetland Habitat and Wildlife with ESA Students

Environmental Studies students in Christina Hidalgo’s class at the Episcopal School of Acadiana do more than learn about general environmental issues; they also get outside and participate in direct monitoring of the ecosystems around them. On February 21st and 23rd they were joined by Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act staff to discuss coastal habitats, the mammal species that call them home, and different wildlife monitoring techniques.

On Tuesday CWPPRA staff and ESA students discussed the importance of barrier beach systems for both human and wildlife communities, and students were given training in how researchers trap small mammal populations in those locations for monitoring. After students deployed small mammal traps around the ESA Cade campus on Wednesday, CWPPRA staff returned Thursday morning to help with trap collection and see what students had captured. In addition to trapping a variety of insects drawn to the oatmeal-soybean bait and several traps which had been moved by larger animals, ESA students successfully captured a marsh rice rat (Oryzomys palustris)!

These rodents are found throughout the Gulf and mid-to-south Atlantic coasts and as far inland as Illinois and Kansas. As the name suggests, marsh rice rats are generally found in wetland areas, although drier areas with dense grasses and sedges, while not ideal habitat, are also utilized. A native species in Louisiana, marsh rice rats can even be found out on barrier islands where their omnivorous diet lets them take advantage of both terrestrial food resources and items that wash ashore. The rat captured on the ESA campus was trapped near a stream and probably forages along that water body at night. Finding a marsh rice rat on a school campus is a reminder that wetland habitats come in a range of sizes and types and that we share those habitats with many different species.