Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA said that the recently completed Grand Bayou Ridge and Marsh Restoration Project, conducted by Weeks Marine, is now helping turn the tide on historic wetland loss in Plaquemines Parish.
Using dredged sediment from the Mississippi River, 332 acres of new marsh is being created near Port Sulphur within the Lake Hermitage Basin.
In the 1960s and 1970s, this area suffered significant land loss due to construction of oil and gas canals, subsidence, and sediment deprivation, CPRA said.
This $58.7 million Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act project, in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, focuses on restoring marsh habitat in open-water areas while also rebuilding forested ridge habitat along Grand Bayou, strengthening the landscape for wildlife and providing storm protection.