Coastal Projects
Coastal Projects
Bayou St. John Urban Marsh
The Bayou St. John Urban Marsh is flourishing with vegetation and animals. It is a living classroom and a laboratory for restoration, and puts regional problems in perspective: 1/2 acre marsh is the area lost every 1/2 hour in south Louisiana.
Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion and Delta
The Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion is building land. The resulting delta continues to expand and we are conducting swamp restoration on the new land. The project restores habitat and increases storm surge protection to nearby communities.
Derelict Crab Trap Removal Program
Derelict crab traps are crab traps that have become lost in the coastal environment. No longer maintained, they “ghost fish,” killing thousands of crabs and fish while reducing the blue crab harvest, likely by millions of dollars each year.
Mardi Gras Pass
Mardi Gras Pass is free flowing from the Mississippi River, located in the Bohemia Spillway. It began to develop during the 2011 river flood and breach to the Mississippi River in 2012 around Carnival, at which time it was dubbed Mardi Gras Pass.
MRGO – Mississippi River Gulf Outlet
The restoration of the MRGO ecosystem is critical for sustainable communities. The progress made on the MRGO closure and restoration would not be possible without decades of passion and dedication of local governments, scientists, and community advocates.
Bohemia Spillway
The Bohemia Spillway, created in 1926 by removing the river levees, allows the natural levee to overtop during flood events. It offers a glimpse at the historical connection between the river and the wetlands before the river levees were built.
Central Wetlands
The Central Wetlands are a mosaic of habitats of varying health, including areas of solid, healthy brackish marsh, breaking marsh, marginal swamp, ghost swamp and open water. Therefore restoration solutions do not apply universally across the area.
Hypoxia – East Side of Mississippi River
PC has detected the seasonal development of bottom hypoxia from 2010 to 2018 in Chandeleur and Breton Sounds. In some years the hypoxic area is quite small and at other times it is large. The cause is still undetermined but could be natural.
Maurepas Swamp Restoration
Maurepas is a critical defense in reducing risk for nearby communities. Historically, the land bridge was covered with swamp forest. Past restoration has failed due to high salinity but changing conditions make the area ripe for restoration activities.
Northshore Restoration
Restoration, and protection is needed for ecosystems on the Northshore. As expanding populations cause pressure and other activities stress natural ecosystems, conservation and restoration becomes a necessary part of community planning.
Multiple Lines of Defense Strategy (MLODS)
Recognizing the role of our coast in hurricane defense, Pontchartrain Conservancy (PC) developed the Multiple Lines of Defense Strategy designed to help save our coast. This strategy shows how 5 types of natural coastal features compliment 6 types of man-made features to protect the Greater New Orleans area from hurricanes.
Pontchartrain Coastal Lines of Defense Program (PCLOD)
Applying the MLODS strategy, PC looked to its Comprehensive Habitat Management Plan to choose 10 priority habitat restoration projects that would also provide flood protection for the Greater New Orleans area. These projects became known as the Pontchartrain Coastal Lines of Defense Program.
2017 Pontchartrain Estuary Atlas
The thirty-six maps included in the 2017 Pontchartrain Estuary Map Atlas represent PC’s current understanding of the estuary for 2017. The Atlas is intended to summarize the year of general conditions and indicate possible trends.