Draft Plan to Restore and Conserve Wetlands, Coastal and Nearshore Habitats Released

Posted on December 20, 2019 | Louisiana Restoration Area
Aerial view of the Golden Triangle marsh restoration area. Green marsh is surrounded by open water in the Gulf of Mexico.
Aerial view of the Golden Triangle marsh restoration area.

UPDATE - January 21, 2020 1:00 p.m. MT: The Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group is currently experiencing difficulties with the Park Planning Site used to accept public comments online. If these issues continue and you're unable to access the site before the 11:59 p.m. MT deadline, please submit your comments via email to LATIG@la.gov. 

The Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group has released a draft restoration plan that proposes three restoration projects for the Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats restoration type. The Trustees are hosting a webinar January  8, 2020, and we're inviting the public to comment on the plan through January 21.

Together, the proposed projects would create or restore more than 1,900 acres of marsh, beach , and dune habitat and protect more than 11.5 miles of shoreline. The total estimated cost is approximately $209 million.

Draft Plan Summary

The “Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Analysis #6: Restore and Conserve Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitat” (PDF, 365 pages) evaluates four restoration projects; the three preferred by the Trustees are:

  • West Grand Terre Beach Nourishment and Stabilization: Creates and restores beach habitat, dune habitat, and intertidal marsh habitat and protects shoreline along Barataria Pass and Barataria Bay on West Grand Terre Island in Jefferson and Plaquemines Parishes. The estimated cost of the project is $92,500,000.
  • Golden Triangle Marsh Creation: Restores approximately 774 acres of broken marsh and open water through marsh creation to help buffer storm surge and provide estuarine habitat for Lake Borgne in Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes. The estimated cost of the project is $50,000,000.   
  • Biloxi Marsh Living Shoreline: Creates oyster barrier reef along eastern shore of Biloxi Marsh to provide oyster habitat, reduce erosion, and prevent further marsh deterioration in Jefferson Parish. The estimated cost of this project is $66,600,000.

We may select one or more of these for implementation.

Public Comment Period and Webinar

Public comments will be accepted through January 21, 2020. Public comments can be submitted online and through the mail.

We will conduct a public webinar on January 8, 2020  at 12:00 noon CT. Comments may be provided by the public during the webinar.

The presentation will be posted on the web shortly after the webinar is conducted.

Documents