CPRA Completes the Bayou Decade Ridge & Marsh Creation Project

The Bayou Decade Ridge and Marsh Creation Project was recently completed by the Louisiana Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority (CPRA) and Restore or Retreat (RoR), along with other coastal community stakeholders, support the completion of this important project.

Bayou Decade Ridge & Marsh Creation Area in Terrebonne Parish west of Dulac, LA

Executive Director Joseph Orgeron states:   Continued pressure from subsidence and sea level rise along with seasonal pressure from tropical storms make projects like this critical for our communities and their levee protection systems to be sustainable in the long term. This project restored 473 acres of marsh around Lake Decade and more than 11,000 feet of ridge habitat along the northern side of the Bayou. Projects like this “put the meat on the bones to our coastal marshes and provides true benefit for the people of our area.” Since 1932 Terrebonne has lost nearly 20% of its wetlands and without intervention we stand to lose much more over time. Terrebonne having one of the highest rates of land loss in the State makes the urgency of projects like these more important for our people and our coastal sustainability.

Restore or Retreat wishes to thank the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for providing the $14 million in funding for this project.  The funding mechanism  was  the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA). Enacted in 1990, this federal legislation works to identify, prepare and fund coastal wetlands restoration projects. We also wish to thank the CPRA for recognizing the need for these interior marsh projects that along with our barrier island restorations, dredging, freshwater and sediment diversions help to protect our habitat and estuary as well as provide storm surge attenuation.

For more project-specific information, check the CPRA site at: https://cims.coastal.louisiana.gov/outreach/projects/ProjectView?projID=TE-0138

About Restore or Retreat:

From its inception in 2000, Restore or Retreat has advocated for such projects as freshwater and sediment diversions into the Barataria and Terrebonne Basins, marsh creation, shoreline restoration, and barrier islands, just to name a few. And through it all, we have called for heightened federal and state attention to the Barataria and Terrebonne Basins through several different planning processes, including Louisiana’s Comprehensive Coastal Master Plan and post-spill planning efforts like RESTORE Act and the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Process. We have also sought unique ways to engage the entire community through opportunities such as planting events on Queen Bess Island, distributing the Coastal Master Plan in every library in Louisiana, hosting community conversations and much more.