The goal of the port fourchon terracing project is to construct earthen terraces in fragmented brackish marsh near port fourchon and south of leeville, LA to protect coastal communities and…

The Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service awarded a $500,000 Cooperative Agreement under the Partners for Fish and Wildlife program (CFDA 15.631) to Ducks Unlimited, Inc.'s Southern Regional Office division. The goal of the Port Fourchon Terracing Project is to construct 1,000 linear feet of earthen terraces in fragmented brackish marsh near Port Fourchon and south of Leeville, Louisiana to protect coastal communities and infrastructure. Key project elements include:

• Constructing earthen terraces, planting black mangrove and smooth cordgrass, and installing a living shoreline using NatRX's Cajun Coral product along approximately 4,070 linear feet of vulnerable terrace shorelines. These features will protect and enhance existing marsh habitat and provide a first line of defense for critical infrastructure including Port Fourchon, Highway 1, and the Loop Booster Station.
• The terraces, plantings, and living shoreline will create wetlands, reduce erosion, lessen turbidity, and promote growth of desired plant species to benefit fish and wildlife. This project will also help mitigate damage caused by nutria.

The project period is July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2028. Ducks Unlimited, Inc. is an experienced wetland conservation non-profit organization that has received numerous federal grants and contracts to deliver habitat restoration and infrastructure services.

The goal of the port fourchon terracing project is to construct earthen terraces in fragmented brackish marsh near port fourchon and south of leeville, LA to protect coastal communities and infrastructure. The project features will include construction of earthen terraces, black mangrove and smooth cordgrass plantings, and a living shoreline. Together these features will protect and enhance existing marsh habitat and provide a first line of defense for port fourchon, highway 1, and the loop booster station. Earthen terraces and associated project features have proven to be an effective tool used in coastal wetland restoration by creating emergent marsh in open water areas that provides edge habitat, increased submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) growth, and reduces shoreline erosion from wave fetch. This project will also help mitigate for damage to the landscape caused by nutria.earthen terraces will be constructed to create wetlands, reduce erosion, lessen turbidity, and promote the growth of desired plant species for fish and wildlife. The terraces will be constructed using marsh buggy excavators and will utilize on-site soils for construction. The dimensions of the terraces will be 65 wide at the base and 20 wide at the crown. The elevation will be 3 NAVD88 and the lengths will be approximately 1,000. There will be gaps within the terrace to allow for ingress egress of tidal waters and marine organisms. The distance between terrace rows will be 350.after the terraces are constructed, plants will be installed along the intertidal shorelines of the terraces. These plantings will help stabilize the shorelines, provide a head start on vegetation colonization, and provide fish and wildlife habitat. Smooth cordgrass (spartina alterniflora) plugs and black mangrove (avicennia germinans) seedlings will be alternately planted along the land water interface of the terraces (spacing of 3). One row of plants will be installed along the entire perimeter of every terrace.after the terraces are constructed and planted, natrxs cajun coral living shoreline product will be installed in shallow open water along the shorelines of terraces that are the most vulnerable to wave energy. Approximately 4,070 linear feet of terrace shorelines will be installed with cajun coral in strategic areas to provide project longevity by protecting the terraces from erosion, providing habitat for marine organisms, and creating a viable oyster reef. This product will be installed approximately one foot lower than the vegetative plantings (more intertidal than terraces). The project will deploy 1,356 shoreline modules units which each weighing approximately 650 pounds. The cajun coral structures are created using 3D printers and are constructed of a bioengineered cementitious material which isideal for the growth of oysters and other sessile organisms such as barnacles. The robust 650-pound modules will serve as wave breaks along the more vulnerable shorelines of the constructed terraces.