Posted on July 9, 2019
The state has secured a construction company to restore Queen Bess Island — what coastal officials call an important habitat for brown pelicans.
Pontchartrain Partners LLC will complete the $9.8 million project.
The island, which has suffered from subsidence and erosion, will have 30 acres of pelican and wading bird habitat built back up, restoration of another seven acres of nesting tern habitat and breakwater rocks in place to provide some storm protection.
The rocks will also cause a lagoon-like feature to form that will allow juvenile birds to learn how to feed and swim safely with fewer waves.
Queen Bess was ground zero for the effort to build the population of brown pelicans back up after they were decimated over decades by the chemical DDT. Currently, only five acres remain that are suitable for nesting.
In a press release, Gov. John Bel Edwards said, “Pelicans now fill the skies of coastal Louisiana, but their future is in jeopardy due to accelerated wetland loss throughout coastal Louisiana.”
He said this effort will help “ensure these birds have critical nesting habitat well into the future.?
The project is being overseen by the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and paid for by money from the Deepwater Horizons oil spill lawsuit settlement.
In a press release, CPRA Chairman Chip Kline said, “Queen Bess Island is symbolic of the damage the Deepwater Horizon oil spill inflicted on our coast, but its restoration can also symbolize the recovery being made through the dedication and hard work achieved through the efforts of our state and federal partners.”
When the new sand fill settles, black mangroves and scrub-shrubs will be planted on the island to help slow further erosion.
Construction should start by the early fall and finish by the middle of next February.
Staff Writer Halle Parker can be reached at hparker@houmatoday.com or 857-2204. Follow her on Twitter, @_thehalparker.
Source: dailycomet.com
