CPRA Completes Marsh Restoration Project

The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) announced the completion of the Cameron Creole Watershed Grand Bayou Marsh Creation project. CPRA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR) shared in the $12.4 million construction cost to create and nourish more than 700 acres of degraded marsh on the eastern shore of Calcasieu Lake in Cameron Parish.

The project was primarily funded through the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act (CWPPRA), a federal/state partnership. LDNR provided additional funding that enabled the expansion of the project and the creation of additional acreage.
In addition to the Cameron-Creole Watershed Grand Bayou Marsh Creation project, 2019 saw the completion of two other projects in Southwest Louisiana with a total value of approximately $56 million, both funded largely by CWPPRA and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Oyster Bayou Marsh Creation and Terracing in Cameron Parish restored and nourished approximately 960 acres, while Cole’s Bayou Marsh Restoration in Vermilion Parish created and nourished more than 400 acres and installed nine water control structures to improve the flow of fresh water and sediment within the interior wetlands.

Construction is ongoing on the Cameron-Creole Freshwater Introduction project, a $26 million CWPPRA-funded partnership with CPRA and the NRCS. The project will add freshwater to control salinity levels in more than 22,000 acres of marsh on the east side of Lake Calcasieu.

Additionally, the Cameron Meadows Marsh Creation and Terracing project, a CWPPRA-funded partnership with CPRA and NMFS, will go out to bid in the coming weeks. The project will use dredged material to restore approximately 400 acres of coastal marsh habitat and will construct more than 12,000 linear feet of earthen terraces on the west side of Calcasieu Lake.