Posted on February 12, 2019
Forty volunteers with a Thibodaux-based group planted 3,300 trees and grass patches to help preserve a newly completed coastal-restoration project near Venice.
The Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program used a grant from Shell Oil Co. to pay for the work.
They bolster the so-called Tiger Pass Project, which used sediment from the Mississippi River to build a ridge and about 55 acres of marsh that protect the area in southern Plaquemines Parish from further erosion. The $18 million restoration project was a partnership between the Army Corps of Engineers and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.
The project’s footprint spans more than 500 feet wide and nearly 5,000 feet long, with the ridge’s highest point at six feet. After the work ended, federal and state funding ceased, and there was no money allocated for adding vegetation to the newly established land and marsh, officials said.
That’s where the Barataria program stepped in.
“We are always very excited to see organizations other than just the usual state and federal agencies get involved in coastal restoration projects,” corps projects chief Brad L. Inman said in a news release. “It says a lot about their concern for the environment and our Louisiana coast that they would volunteer their time and resources to help restore a historic coastal feature, in this case planting trees on a recently restored ridge that was created from dredged sediments from the Mississippi River.
“Their tree plantings will help stabilize the ridge, provide habitat for migratory birds and help provide a natural ridge that assists in reducing storm surge in that area.”
The Barataria program organized volunteers from Shell and the University at Buffalo of New York for the work, said Seth Moncrief, the group’s public involvement coordinator.
“Planting trees with BTNEP was such an amazing experience,” said Claire Breslin a linguistics major at the university. “Planting trees on the ridges … furthered my passion for environmental volunteerism. I hope to return to Louisiana and plant some more in the future.”
Source: houmatoday.com
