BOEM and the State of Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) have signed two agreements to aide in the restoration of Louisiana’s Gulf coast.
With a combined volume of approximately 10 million cubic yards of sand from federal waters, the project will restore the beach, dune, and marsh habitat along Trinity-East Island, Timbalier Island, and West Belle Barrier Headland.
“In addition to facilitating recovery of Gulf wildlife from the oil spill, this project will also make great strides to supplement the deficit in the coastal sand budget for this portion of the Louisiana coast,” said BOEM Gulf of Mexico Regional Director Mike Celata.
“This project will directly restore the function of the Terrebonne Basin Barrier Islands and West Belle Barrier Headland, increasing their resiliency against damage from future storms.”
Nearly seven miles of shoreline and 1,400 acres of beach, dune, supratidal, and marsh habitats will be restored using sand from the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) on Trinity-East Island, Timbalier Island, and West Belle Barrier Headland, BOEM said in its release.
In addition, the project will create a 68-acre feeder beach for West Belle Barrier Headland.
According to BOEM, the restoration effort will provide and improve habitats for marine and estuarine fisheries resources and their forage species, sea turtle nesting as well as a wide variety of avian communities