Beach Restoration on the Cameron Parish Shoreline
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The Coalition To Restore Coastal Louisiana and the Gulf Coast Soil and Water Conservation District, with funding through NOAA’s Community-Based Restoration Program and the State’s Vegetative Planting Partnership, planted over 8,000 four inch pots of bitter panicum (Panicum amarum var. Amarum) and over 2,000 four inch pots of seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum). The plants were planted in 4-5 rows along 50,000 linear feet of Martin Beach in Cameron Parish. It is anticipated that the plants will trap wind-blown sands and begin to form a secondary set of dunes. These dunes will hopefully grow in size and eventually connect to the current dune complex.
This area provides essential protection for our inland communities and wetlands and has been severely impacted by Hurricanes Rita and Ike. We planted vegetation along shoreline which will assist in stabilizing and capturing sand and help control erosion. In addition, the project will also create wildlife habitat, increase species diversity and provide a seed source for natural regeneration. A wide variety of coastal species including crabs, migratory birds, shore birds and ducks will also benefit from the project. The plantings will help to stabilize coastal soils and will provide structure, refuge, and feeding and spawning habitats for a variety of wildlife.
Partners - NOAA Community-Based Restoration Program, Restore America's Estuaries, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Gulf Coast Soil and Water Conservation District, Louisiana Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry and the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana.
In addition to our partners, we received some very generous in-kind match provided by Cynthia LeBlanc, Agrilectric Research Company, Young's RV and Stream Properties. Most importantly, this project would not have been successful if not for the assistance of over 80 volunteers from across Louisiana. Volunteers, from as far as Alexandria and New Orleans, planted grasses over 3 days.
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