Office of Coastal Management
Shoreline Protection Project Underway in St. Charles
A demonstration project aimed at shoreline protection in St. Charles parish is now underway announced Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) coastal officials today. Phase I of construction of the Lake Salvadore Shoreline Protection demonstration project has begun on the north shore of Lake Salvador adjacent to the Lake Salvador Wildlife Management Area, said DNR project manager Kenneth Bahlinger. The project will test four types of innovative shoreline protection structures, Bahlinger reported.
THE LOUISIANA LAND AND EXPLORATION COMPANY DONATES THE ISLES DERNIERES CHAIN OF ISLANDS TO THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
H. Leighton Steward, Chairman of the Board of The Louisiana Land and Exploration Company, and Terry Ryder, Special Counsel for Governor Murphy J. Foster, announced that The Louisiana Land and Exploration Company is donating to the State of Louisiana the surface rights to its land holdings in the Isles Dernieres chain of barrier islands located off Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana.
COASTAL UPDATES COMING YOUR WAY
The Department of Natural Resources' Public Information Office will soon begin operating a new information delivery system that will disseminate news and information via fax or mail to Louisiana officials and interested partners on all coastal projects administered by the state including CWPPRA (Breaux Act) projects.
DNR TAKES LEAD WITH COASTWIDE STRATEGIC PLANNING
Department of Natural Resources Coastal Restoration Division Administrator Dr. Bill Good has called upon all needed forces to begin the development of a statewide, unified coastal plan. He says that within the next eighteen months, the plan should be ready to meet the approval of the state's Wetlands Authority and the CWPPRA (Breaux Act) Task Force.
LOUISIANA'S COASTAL GEMS ON THE INTERNET
What's a Gulf Ecological Management Site? A GEM in Louisiana-- and there are 33 of them to visit on the net.GEMS are geographical areas that have special ecological significance to the production of fish, wildlife, and other natural resources or represent unique habitats. Louisiana's GEMS can now be accessed through the Department of Natural Resources' Coastal Management Division web site http://www.dnr.state.la.us/. In south Louisiana, GEMS are beaches, salt domes, wildlife management areas, swamps, cheniers, lakes, bays, and other natural habitat areas.
COASTAL EXHIBIT PORTRAYS SUCCESSFUL EFFORTS TOWARD RESTORATION
The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) is proud to announce the completion of a new coastal restoration exhibit located in the department's lobby. The exhibit highlights various coastal restoration techniques, wetland functions and values, and other related Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) project information. The exhibit captures and features successful projects with outstanding photography and satellite imagery.
FIRST STAGE OF COASTAL PROJECT UNDERWAY IN ST. MARY PARISH
Engineering work on the Cote Blanche Hydrologic Restoration Project located in St. Mary parish is now underway announced Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) Coastal Restoration Division officials today. Project manager Garrett Broussard said the project will protect nearly 5,000 acres of marsh. The project features seven low level weirs and 10,000 linear feet of rock dike along the project's southern boundary.
COASTAL LOUISIANA RECEIVES OYSTER PROGRAM FUNDS FROM CONGRESS
The state's coastal restoration program will advance a big step forward with a $7.5 million appropriation recently approved by Congress. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Secretary Jack Caldwell said that U.S. Congressmen Jimmy Hayes and Billy Tauzin led the pursuit for federal funding to help relocate oyster leases associated with the Davis Pond Freshwater Diversion project.
VAUGHAN TAPPED TO HEAD STATE'S COASTAL OFFICE
Governor Murphy J. "Mike" Foster, Jr. has chosen Katherine G. Vaughan as Assistant Secretary of the Office of Coastal Restoration and Management (OCRM). Department of Natural Resources Secretary Jack Caldwell, to whom Vaughan will report, said "Vaughan is knowledgeable and tough, a good friend, and a fighter and defender for our coast."
DNR WORKS WITH LOCAL COASTAL ADMINISTRATORS
Secretary Jack Caldwell of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) addressed a group of local coastal program managers from Calcasieu, Cameron, Lafourche, Jefferson, St. Mary, St. Bernard, St. James, and Plaquemines parishes this week. Representatives from these coastal areas and DNR officials, along with Secretary Caldwell met to exchange and discuss information about their local programs.