Reducing Land Loss Exacerbated by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Louisiana and the Barataria Basin are in the midst of a land loss crisis. The Basin has lost more than 276,000 acres of land since the 1930s. Wetlands in the Basin were the most heavily impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which accelerated a severe land loss trend threatening Louisiana’s estuaries. The oil spill and response activities also significantly increased the rate of wetland loss in the area.
This project has multiple benefits for this area. It will restore a significant amount—tens of thousands of acres—of wetland habitat, and the resources that depend on them, over the next several decades. At peak capacity, the proposed preferred alternative would transport up to 75,000 cubic feet per second of freshwater and its sediment and nutrients. It would harness nature, through engineering, to re-establish the natural process that originally built Louisiana’s coastal wetlands.
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature- ... ovdelivery