Shoreline Project Seeks to Stabilize, Restore Gulf Intracoastal Waterway

The America's WETLAND Foundation (AWF) provided the first look of the foundation's Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) Shoreline Stabilization and Restoration Project in Lafourche Parish, La. Developed as a response to shoreline erosion along the waterway, the project is using green products and bringing private investment and landowners to the restoration program in development for two years. With a host of public and private partners, environmental, economic and community interests can benefit from the new model of cooperation.

The site visit illustrated the progress of Phase 1 of the project, which involves restoration of a one-mile stretch along the Gulf-facing side of the GIWW, an area where embankments have been lost to tidal surge, threatening freshwater marshes with saltwater intrusion and taking private lands bordering the canals. The entire project involves a four-mile section of the GIWW shoreline, with Phase 2 set to begin in 2016 on the north-facing side of the GIWW.

"We are proud to tackle an important impediment to coastal restoration—shoreline creep along the GIWW," said Sidney Coffee, senior advisor of the America's WETLAND Foundation. "This canal has become a virtual line of demarcation between freshwater marshes and saltwater intrusion and we are looking forward to learning what has been accomplished since the new products have been put in place to secure the shoreline. By embedding native vegetation for protection of the levee in recycled permeable PET products at a fraction of the time and cost of other methods, this could be a game changer and could be replicated all along the waterway."

Although funding priorities do not include the GIWW in the state's coastal master plan, the importance of the waterway's viability is not questioned and the project is compatible with the plan. While it is a contention of both the state of Louisiana and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) that the other has responsibility for the canal, both agree that ensuring the waterway is not compromised further by erosion is critical. "We see this as a transition project," Coffee said. "If we can keep strong and viable wetlands from further deterioration, the larger scale efforts like diversions have a better chance of taking hold."

AWF has established the partnership with diverse interests who all have history and expertise with wetland restoration, including Ducks Unlimited, the USACE, the state of Louisiana, the Gulf Intracoastal Canal Assn. and private landowners. Private landowners hold the greatest land acreage where erosion is destroying tracts of land south of the GIWW.

Both traditional and innovative technology will be utilized the in the form of low cost bucket dredges and a vegetated, recycled plastic matrix material called Vegetated EcoShield, manufactured by Baton Rouge-based Martin Ecosystems.

"EcoShield is produced from recycled, post-consumer plastic and protects shorelines and stabilizes banks, while promoting vegetative growth," said Ted Martin, president of Martin Ecosystems. By providing a protective medium for vegetation to establish, grow and spread, it enhances the natural processes of the system by creating vegetative shorelines and important coastal habitats." The programs also enhance freshwater marsh creation and contribute to carbon sequestration, adding to the environmental benefits of the approach.

The first mile of the Gulf-side embankment stabilization is scheduled for completion by January 2016, with AWF, Ducks Unlimited, CITGO, Shell, ConocoPhillips, Chevron and Community Coffee providing initial funding. Additionally, the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) recently awarded $250,000 to the Ducks Unlimited/AWF Partnership for the project's continuing phases.

"This GIWW program is a way for the private sector to fund restoration that makes good business sense," Coffee said. "It protects energy assets, secures seafood and recreational waterways and, at the same time, provides habitat for wildlife and waterfowl, all the while increasing protection for nearby communities from storm surge. This project hits the sweet spot for everyone."

Source: America's WETLAND Foundation