Bayou St. John Urban Marsh
The Bayou St. John Urban Marsh was established in 2013 just inside the Lakeshore Drive bridge. The removal of a nearby dam by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries offered the opportunity to improve the health of the waterway through the creation of this marsh. Seven native marsh grasses were planted to begin a pocket of native habitat in the bayou and improve the water quality before it empties into Lake Pontchartrain.
Learn More
By creating this native habitat, the Bayou St. John Urban Marsh:
- Creates habitat for fish, crab and waterfowl
- Improves fishing, bird watching and recreational value
- Provides a living classroom for experiencing nature in an urban area
- Enhances the historic waterway and the Lafitte Corridor
- Demonstrates nature-based solutions that can help restore the Louisiana coast
- Improves water quality of the bayou
- Protects bulkhead and levee from erosion
Conclusions
The creation of the BSJ Urban Marsh has been a success; the marsh is resilient and functioning as intended. We met the goal of re-establishing fringing marsh habitat along the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain, even if at a small scale. Located in a highly urbanized environment, this marsh is a place people can enjoy and learn about wetlands. People are fishing and birding near the marsh, plants are colonizing the marsh and animals find precious refuge, habitat and food there. The BSJ Urban Marsh is one in a small chain of created, restored or remnant marshes fringing the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain that includes the Lincoln Beach marshes, Bucktown Mitigation Marsh, Lake Villa Pond, the Kenner Boat Launch marsh and LaBranche Wetlands. Conserving, restoring and creating these types of habitats establishes lost habitat and contributes to storm protection. BSJ Urban Marsh can be a model for how to create wetlands in high energy environments.