BATON ROUGE — The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) has named the Chaland Headland coastal restoration project as one of America’s Top Restored Beaches.

The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) – with NOAA’s Fisheries Service as the federal sponsor – performed the restoration work with funds from the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act.

The project involved pumping 1.79 million cubic yards of sand and 950,000 cubic yards of marsh fill to create a three-mile-long beach – and backing marsh -- designed to protect wetlands against storms and storm surge. The project has restored over 400 acres of habitat but a second phase of the work is expected to benefit another 400 acres. The second phase of the project will go out for construction award later this year.

“Rebuilding barrier islands like this one in Louisiana has significant value because these shores are the first line of defense against storm surges,” said DNR Secretary Scott Angelle.

“The Chaland Headland is just one part of our ongoing and integrated effort to restore coastal Louisiana and in particular, the Barataria shoreline system near the Mississippi River delta,” Angelle said. The Chaland project was completed this year and is located some eight miles from where Hurricane Katrina made landfall in 2005.

Three other similar restoration projects – Pelican Island, East Grand Terre and Chaland Pass to Grand Bayou Pass – will create beaches and marshes that will help protect Plaquemines, Orleans, and Jefferson parishes.

This recognition is unique because Chaland Headland is the only project honored by the ASBPA that is strictly for coastal protection and habitat restoration. The others are for recreational beaches.

ASBPA announced the honor on May 18. The award will be presented at a summit scheduled in Washington D.C. in 2008.