The Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group has approved approximately $11.7 million to support the Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS). This monitoring system, initiated in 2016 by the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) program, was designed to monitor the effectiveness of restoration actions at multiple, scales from individual projects to the influence of projects on the entire coastal landscape.
Because we recognize the critical role data plays in ecosystem restoration planning, we have been using the CRMS data collection and management system in our Deepwater Horizon restoration and monitoring since its inception. We have used data from CRMS, as have many other entities, to plan for and improve restoration projects across Louisiana’s coast.
The availability and ease of access of CRMS data continues to provide benefits as the scale and scope of our restoration efforts increase. Specifically, CRMS is intended to support evaluation of regional restoration outcomes within the Louisiana Restoration Area; perform data aggregation and data management; inform restoration decision-making; and perform monitoring to inform the design, implementation, and adaptive management of existing and future restoration projects.
Our estimated contributions will be $11,722,399 over a 3-year period. Our work continues to benefit from the CRMS program through specific onsite hydrology, vegetation, soils and elevation change data. CRMS programmatic coastal scale data collection efforts including aerial photography acquisition and analysis, elevation surveys, and vegetation classification are also aiding restoration efforts in Louisiana.
More Information: