Search Results for: storm buffer

This natural storm buffer helps protect Greater New Orleans. A new restoration project will prevent it from disappearing.

Recent hurricanes have demonstrated how vulnerable our region is to growing flood risk, and a recent technical report by NOAA underscores the threats posed by sea level rise. As seas rise, storms strengthen in intensity and wetlands disappear, Louisiana is in a race against time to maintain and restore coastal wetlands as critical natural buffers and lines of defense for communities and vital infrastructure. Thankfully, a major coastal restoration project to restore and preserve one vital natural line of defense …

Restoring a Vital Storm Buffer for Southeastern Louisiana

To restore Louisiana’s coast, we need a suite of large-scale restoration projects across the coast working together to deliver maximum benefits to reduce land loss, restore ecosystems, and maintain healthy and diverse habitat. In our “Restoration Project Highlights” series, we take a deeper look at specific projects from our list of Priority Projects, highlighting why they’re needed and hearing local perspectives on importance. (This blog was updated on February 2, 2021, to reflect new project milestones.) Why do we need …

Hurricane Ida and Flotant Marsh: An Initial Look at the Storm’s Impacts to Louisiana’s Wetlands

Hurricane Ida made landfall August 29, 2021, near Port Fourchon, bringing maximum sustained winds of 159 miles per hour and destruction to many coastal communities in south Louisiana, including Ironton, Pointe-au-Chien, Grand Bayou Village and Houma. Hurricanes have always threatened coastal residents, but the rapid loss of Louisiana’s wetlands over the past century have left these communities more and more vulnerable with each passing year. Coastal wetlands can act as a buffer as storm surge from hurricanes moves inland, but …

Tropical Storm Cindy Just Wiped Out Most of the Shorebird Chicks in the Gulf

Without coastal restoration that makes beaches less vulnerable to storm surges, climate change will be a threat, and not just from sea level rise. Originally posted on Audubon.org on June 27, 2017. A Least Tern colony, marked by signs and twine, was submerged after Tropical Storm Cindy hit the Gulf Coast last week. Photo: Abby Darrah. This week, communities ringing the Gulf of Mexico are assessing damages and cleaning up after being hit by Tropical Storm Cindy, which made landfall in …

Hurricane Katrina anniversary serves as reminder of need for increased storm protection

By Alisha Renfro, Ph.D., National Wildlife Federation While the Atlantic hurricane season started June 1, the time period between the end of August and October 1 is typically the most active part of the season. It was during this window that some of the biggest and most destructive hurricanes made landfall along the Gulf Coast, including Betsy (1965), Camille (1969), Katrina (2005), Rita (2005), Gustav (2008) and Ike (2008). As waters in the Gulf of Mexico warm – providing fuel …

Study shows how coastal habitats help provide protection from storms, sea level rise

By Alisha Renfro, Coastal Scientist, National Wildlife Federation Coastal communities throughout the U.S. are increasingly threatened by rising sea levels and extreme weather events. The conventional approach for protecting people and property along the coast has relied on engineering solutions such as levees, seawalls and bulkheads, which “harden” shorelines. However, not only can these structures be expensive to build and difficult to maintain, but in some cases, they can also increase erosion, impair the recreational uses of the area and …

Master Plan Success: Biloxi Marsh Living Shoreline

Project Highlight: Biloxi Marsh Living Shoreline This living shoreline project is estimated to generate approximately 47,000 feet of oyster barrier reef along the eastern shore of Biloxi Marsh, providing a habitat for oysters, reducing wave erosion, and preventing further marsh degradation. This enhanced marsh area serves as an important storm buffer for the greater New Orleans region. Voice for Restoration “The Biloxi Marsh Living Shoreline Project provides much-needed storm protection for St. Bernard communities. It is a great example of …

Delta Dispatches: The Maurepas Freshwater Diversion

Welcome to Delta Dispatches with hosts Jacques Hebert & Simone Maloz. On today’s show Brad Miller, Project Manager with the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority joins Jacques and Simone to talk about the Maurepas freshwater diversion project and and other coastal restoration projects he’s helping to coordinate across the state. The second guest on today’s show is Rebecca Triche, Executive Director, Louisiana Wildlife Federation, who’s here to talk about the great work the Louisiana Wildlife Federation is doing, the changes of the …

MRGO Must Go Coalition Applauds $3 Billion Court Decision Moving Critical Restoration Forward

For Immediate Release: Contact: John Lopez, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, 504-421-7348, jlopez@saveourlake.org Samantha Carter, National Wildlife Federation, 504-264-6831, carterS@nwf.org MRGO Must Go Coalition Applauds $3 Billion Court Decision Moving Critical Restoration Forward  10 years after Katrina, critical ecosystem and storm buffer still awaits restoration (NEW ORLEANS – September 2, 2015) In a landmark decision last week, U.S. District Court Judge Lance Africk of the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled in favor of the State of Louisiana, finding that the U.S. Army …

A Look at the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force’s Science Coordination Team

By Alisha Renfro, Ph.D., Staff Scientist, National Wildlife Federation In the aftermath of the BP oil disaster, President Obama created the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force through an executive order in October 2010. The mission of this Environmental Protection Agency-led group was to develop a long-term, holistic and science-based ecosystem restoration plan for the Gulf Coast. Included in this effort was the Science Coordination Team which involved more than 70 scientists from federal and state agencies who provided scientific …

Seven Years Later: Hurricane Katrina and MRGO

Seven years ago today, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the coastlines of Louisiana and Mississippi, ripping a path of destruction and shattering the lives of countless coastal residents. Around the world, images of flooding and destruction were burned into the eyes of billions of people as they watched one the costliest, deadliest disasters in American history unfold before them. Today, seven years have passed, and as we speak, Hurricane Isaac is hovering over the coast. As Katrina continues to affect Louisiana …

Conservation Groups Laud Funding for Restoration Efforts from Senate

Federal funds will support critical restoration construction projects, jobs in Louisiana FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts:    Elizabeth Skree, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.553.2543, eskree@edf.org Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, guidrye@nwf.org Kevin Chandler, National Audubon Society, 202.596.0960, kchandler@audubon.org (Washington, D.C.—April 26, 2011) Today, five national and local conservation groups praised the Senate Appropriations Committee for approving funding for critical restoration projects in Louisiana, including an effort to use sediment dredged from navigation waterways to recreate critical wetlands. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would …

Master Plan Success: River Reintroduction to Maurepas Swamp

Project Highlight: River Reintroduction to Maurepas Swamp As one of the largest forested wetlands in the nation, Maurepas Swamp provides important ecological and socioeconomic benefits to southeast Louisiana. The swamp not only improves water quality and habitat for many species of conservation importance but also increases resilience against storms for coastal communities from the Greater New Orleans region to the River Parishes and up into Greater Baton Rouge. Voice for Restoration “The Biloxi Marsh Living Shoreline Project provides much-needed storm …

Securing Our Futures

Louisiana Breaks Ground on Largest Coastal Restoration Project in U.S. History

Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion will create up to 40 square miles of new land (NEW ORLEANS, LA August 10, 2023) — Today, the State of Louisiana broke ground on the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, the largest single ecosystem restoration project in U.S. history and a monumental milestone decades in the making. The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, a cornerstone of Louisiana’s comprehensive plan to build and sustain coastal wetlands, will mimic natural land-building processes by reconnecting the Mississippi River to its surrounding wetlands, creating …