Office of Coastal Management

Holly Beach and other coastal projects shown today

U.S. Senator Breaux takes part and visits projects

Holly Beach, LA - Cameron Parish provided the blue skies, sandy beach, and a large welcoming committee today for U. S. Senator John Breaux as he presided over the dedication of several coastal restoration projects at Holly Beach in southwest Louisiana. Federal, state, and local officials sponsored the ceremony to celebrate the largest shoreline protection project completed since the start of the Breaux Act (or CWPPRA) program in 1990.

The Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force members and state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officials also presented three other coastal restoration projects and announced one land bridge protection project now underway in Vermilion Parish.

The Holly Beach Sand Management was recently completed by DNR and federal sponsor, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) at a cost of $20 million. DNR Secretary Jack Caldwell said coastal restoration work at Holly Beach over the past years has resulted in upgrades to the rock breakwater system, dredging, massive sand-pumping, and most recently, vegetative plantings. The restoration goals were to protect over 8,000 acres of existing marshlands north of the chenier ridge and some 300 acres of beach dune and habitat from erosion and degradation. Attendees at the ceremony were taken on a ten-mile stretch of beach along Hwy. 82 to view the project features.

Senator Breaux praised state and federal agencies for improving the design and construction of their many coastal restoration projects. “With 72 projects under our belt, we’ve made great improvements, but we surely have more hard work ahead,” Sen. Breaux said.

Other speakers at the ceremony included Breaux Act Task Force Chairman Col. Peter Rowan, Commander New Orleans District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; State Conservationist Donald Gohmert of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s NRCS; Director of the Office of Habitat Conservation Rolland Schmitten of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service; and Regional Director Sam Hamilton of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Caldwell spoke on behalf of Governor Mike Foster, Jr. and the department.

Cameron Parish officials Earnestine Horn and Myles Hebert, along with Vermilion Parish spokesman Judge Edwards helped coordinate the event, offering remarks from the local perspective, and hosting a lunch afterward for the crowd.

Here is a brief summary of the four other Breaux Act projects featured:

More Background:

Louisiana has lost an average of 34 square miles of land per year for the last 50 years, which accounts for 90 percent of the coastal marsh loss in the lower 48 states during the 1990s. During the 20th century, coastal Louisiana lost 1.2 million acres (1,900 sq. mi.) of land, and if nothing is done, it is expected to lose another 430,000 acres (670 sq. mi.) in the next 50 years. The acreage lost and projected to be lost over this 100 plus year period is greater than the size of Delaware and Washington, DC-Baltimore, MD metropolitan area combined.

The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA), enacted in 1990 and also known as the Breaux Act, provides approximately $50 million a year for coastal protection and restoration in Louisiana. The Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force oversees the implementation of CWPPRA in Louisiana. The Task Force is composed of the State of Louisiana and five federal agencies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, NOAA-National Marine Fisheries Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

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