|
|
Biloxi
Marsh Lands Corporation
The
Biloxi Marsh Stabilization and Restoration Plan
View
Map Image of Natural lines of Defense Protecting New Orleans, LA
 View
Entire Report as An Adobe .PDF document 4.58 MB
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
 The Biloxi Marsh estuary
is a 210,000 acre network of coastal wetlands located approximately
30 miles southeast of the City of New Orleans between Chandeleur Sound
and Lake Borgne.
This estuary serves as
a primary wave and storm surge barrier protecting the City of New Orleans
and the surrounding parishes. It is also a unique and productive ecosystem
that provides day-to-day benefits for the human and natural environment,
including mineral exploration.
This critical real estate
has suffered significant degradation from the unintended effects of
two major engineering projects: the Mississippi River levees, which
prevented annual over bank flooding, and the Mississippi River Gulf
Outlet (MRGO).
Despite these negative
impacts, the Biloxi Marsh estuary is geologically stable
compared to other delta complexes, and therefore, restoration efforts
focused in this region would have a positive impact over a longer period
of time.
The cornerstone of this
plan revolves around construction of a massive freshwater diversion
project aimed at restoring historic hydrology and the natural flora
that affords additional protection to the area.
The ultimate goal of
this plan is to reverse the role of the root causes that changed the
hydrology of this valuable ecosystem by transforming these root causes
into restoration projects that will restore protection and ecological
function to six (6) specific Zones within the Biloxi Marsh estuary.
• Restoration Zone 1 – Chandeleur Islands
• Restoration Zone 2 – Northeastern Outlying
Islands
• Restoration Zone 3 – Lower Biloxi Marsh
below Bayou LaLoutre Ridge
• Restoration Zone 4 – Marsh located below
the MRGO
• Restoration Zone 5 – Upper Biloxi Marsh
above Bayou LaLoutre Ridge
• Restoration Zone 6 – Bayou LaLoutre
Ridge
To accomplish this goal,
this plan employs a regional approach to sustainability by incorporating
synergistic projects that will achieve six specific goals:
• Enhance the hurricane buffer for populated
areas
• Reduce land loss
• Enhance existing habitats
• Restore deteriorated wetlands and habitats
• Create a sustainable ecosystem
• Rebuild the natural, functioning ecosystem
to conditions as they existed prior to
construction of the manmade engineering projects which caused their
degradation.
Unlike past coastal restoration projects, this plan will not employ
a piecemeal approach in its search for a solution. Individual restoration
techniques such as shoreline protection, vegetative plantings, water
control structures, marsh terraces, and marsh creation as well as construction
costs will be addressed within the plan. Completion and maintenance
of these projects is expected to rebuild a sustainable ecosystem similar
to that which existed prior to the construction of levees and the MRGO
as well as provide protection to New Orleans and surrounding parishes.
This plan was created through a collaborative effort by the following
participants and funded solely by the Biloxi Marsh Lands Corporation
and Lake Eugenie Land and Development, Inc.; owners of approximately
150,000 acres of the
Biloxi Marsh.
Kenneth J. King, Randy C. Landry
T. Baker Smith, Inc.
George McMahon, PhD., John Ellis
Arcadis G & M, Inc.
Randy Moertle
Randy Moertle and Associates, Inc.
Shea Penland, PhD.
Director and Professor Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental
Sciences
Chair and Professor Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences,
UNO
Denise J. Reed, PhD.
Professor, University of New Orleans
Adjunct, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium & LSU
William B. Rudolf
President and CEO
Biloxi Marsh Lands Corporation
Joseph N. Suhayda, PhD.
Director, Louisiana Water Resources Research Institute, LSU
(retired)
Coastal Oceanographic Consultant
|
