Coastal Information Management System

East Marsh Island Marsh Creation

Overview
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Photos
Data

Project Location

The project is located in the Teche/Vermilion Basin at the east end of Marsh Island Wildlife Refuge southeast of Lake Sand in Iberia Parish, Louisiana.

Project Description

This project created approximately 362 acres of sustainable marsh on East Marsh Island in Iberia Parish using 3.8 million cubic yards of sediment dredged from East Cote Blanche Bay. Through the use of approximately $5 million in unused construction funds, over 500 acres of additional marsh was created/nourished.

Issue Addressed

Substantial areas of interior emergent marsh on Marsh Island have been converted to open water, primarily because of Hurricane Lili (2002). Areas targeted under this project are those with the greatest historical land loss and within close proximity to East Cote Blanche Bay.

Project Goals

This project is designed to re-create brackish marsh habitat in the open water areas of the interior marsh primarily caused by hurricane damage. Based on 2007 aerial photography analysis, approximately 197 acres of marsh will be nourished and 165 acres of open water will be restored to interior emergent marsh habitat. The loss rates for the interior ponded areas are estimated to be reduced by 50 percent. This project provides a synergistic effect with CWPPRA's Marsh Island Hydrologic Restoration (TV-14), a project constructed in December 2001.