Louisiana

This project consists of two major components that will 1) analyze existing fisheries independent monitoring data and 2) develop and implement a field sampling plan to conduct three years of new fish and invertebrate monitoring to determine the abundance, community composition, diversity, and density of fishes and invertebrates using natural and restored marshes of various ages in Barataria and Terrebonne Bays, Louisiana.

The Louisiana’s Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring Program (BICM) collects regional geomorphic datasets along the outer coastal margins of Louisiana’s Gulf of America shoreline and assesses changes in these barrier island and headland landscapes overtime. This program collects and records these changes on five year cycles. BICM 1 collected and delivered data for the 2005-2010 interval while BICM 2 repeated data collection and delivery efforts for the period from 2015-2019. BICM 3 is the current phase of this program and is slated to collect data over the 2020-2026 interval.

The plan, Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Final Phase 2 Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment #7.1: Terrebonne HNC Island Restoration Project (RP/EA #7.1), was finalized November 28, 2022 and is a continuation of Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group Final Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment #7: Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats and Birds (RP/EA #7). RP/EA #7 selected the Terrebonne HNC Island Restoration Project for engineering and design (Phase 1) funding under the Birds Restoration Type.

The project will improve understanding of the food web foundation through inventory and assessment of the lower trophic levels of the Barataria estuary.

This project supported restoration planning for the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group (LA TIG) to carry out the restoration goals identified in the Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PDARP/PEIS), by evaluating projects that would restore for injury to wetlands, coastal, and nearshore habitats caused by the the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

This project will restore and conserve bird nesting and foraging habitat and create, restore, and enhance barrier and coastal islands and headlands by increasing the acreage of the island from 27.6 acres up to approximately 34.6 acres of shrub nesting, ground nesting, and marsh habitat. An existing, degraded perimeter rock dike will be restored, and breakwaters may be constructed on the northeast side of the island to provide further protection as well as calm water for loafing birds.

Isle au Pitre was an important colonial bird colony for brown pelicans in St. Bernard Parish. In 2020, the island measured 20 acres in size, but suitable nesting habitat on the island had been reduced to less than 2 acres after suffering the impacts of repeated tropical storms. This project was intended to conduct engineering and design (E&D) for restoration and enlargement of the island to enhance nesting conditions by elevating portions of the island with dredged sediment and planting suitable vegetation for nesting brown pelicans and wading birds.

The project created 335 acres of marsh near Bayou Grande Cheniere and approximately 28,342 linear feet of earthen containment dike. Sediment from the Mississippi River borrow areas was dredged to obtain the marsh fill for this project.

The project will conduct engineering and design (E&D) for restoring wetlands and coastal habitats impacted by the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill. The Bird’s Foot Delta includes the closest areas of land to the DWH oil spill, and portions of the delta experienced repeated heavy oiling following the disaster. The E&D will study restoring the hydrology of the Mississippi River Bird’s Foot Delta by dredging portions of Pass-a-Loutre, South Pass, and Southeast Pass to reconnect the Mississippi River with the marshes of the eastern and central Bird’s Foot Delta.

The project will address personnel and data gaps, expand partnerships, and enhance capacity in the current capabilities of the Marine Mammal Stranding Network (MMSN) in the State of Louisiana. Personnel, equipment, trainings, and resources will be provided to enhance capabilities to quickly respond to and investigate strandings, and to collect, store, and analyze samples from stranded cetaceans to improve diagnosis of illness and cause of death of marine mammals in the state of Louisiana.