Louisiana

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Louisianas Coastal Wetlands Functions and
Values, Loss, and Restoration
Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and
Restoration Act Wild Birds Unlimited - May 8, 2003
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CWPPRA Task Force
U.S. Department of Commerce NOAA, National
Marine Fisheries Service
U.S. Department of Interior - U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture - Natural
Resources Conservation Service
U.S. Department of the Army - U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Louisiana Governors Office
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Mississippi River Drainage Area
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Recent Deltas
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Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and
Restoration Act

• Justification for action

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Important Coastal Wetland Functions and Values

• Storm Buffer (against hurricanes and storms)
• Flood Control (holds excess floodwaters during
  high rainfall)
• Groundwater recharge (replenishes aquifers used
  for drinking and irrigation)
• Water purification (filters pollutants and takes
  up nutrients)
• Fish and wildlife habitat

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Economic Values of Coastal Wetlands

• 1 Billion seafood industry
• 15 Million alligator industry
• 220 Million hunting industry
• Fur resources
• Timber resources
• Farming and Ranching income
• Navigation

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State Oil and Gas Severance Taxes, Leases and
Royalties

• gt550 Million

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LA Coastal Wetland Statistics

• 878,000 acres of fresh marsh
• 1.63 million acres of non-fresh marsh
• 1.15 million acres of forested and scrub/shrub
  wetlands
• Total of 3.67 million acres of coastal wetlands
  in LA
• In the Lower 48, LA has
• 30 of total coastal marshes
• 45 of intertidal coastal marshes
• 14 of all coastal wetlands (marshes,
  mangroves, and forested)
• 1990s 90 of the coastal marsh loss

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Wetland Losses

• Acres lost during the 20th century 1.2 million
• Average loss over the last 50 years 35 square
  miles per year

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Wetland Losses

• Predicted coastal wetland
  loss in 50 years with no action
  430,000 acres

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Coastal Louisiana Trends 1956-2050
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Coastal Louisiana Trends 1956-2050
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Atchafalaya Delta 1956-2050
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Barataria-Terrebonne 1956-2050
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Mississippi Delta 1956-2050
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Process Alterations

• River levees

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Process Alterations

• River levees
• Large water control structures

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Process Alterations

• River levees
• Large water control structures
• Construction of Gulf Intracoastal Waterway

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Process Alterations

• River levees
• Large water control structures
• Construction of Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
• Ship canal construction

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Process Alterations

• River levees
• Large water control structures
• Construction of Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
• Ship canal construction
• Access canal construction

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Natural Causes of Wetland Loss

• Hurricanes
• Subsidence
• Wave erosion
• Sea level rise

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The Future Without Action
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The FutureWith Action
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Recommended Restoration Actions

• Freshwater/sediment diversions

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Recommended Restoration Actions

• Freshwater / sediment diversions
• Barrier island / shoreline protection

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Recommended Restoration Actions

• Freshwater / sediment diversions
• Barrier island / shoreline protection
• Vegetative planting

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Recommended Restoration Actions

• Freshwater / sediment diversions
• Barrier island / shoreline protection
• Vegetative planting
• Hydrologic restoration

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Recommended Restoration Actions

• River diversions
• Barrier island/shoreline protection
• Vegetative plantings
• Hydrologic restoration
• Beneficial use of dredge material

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How does all of this relate to birds?
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Loss and degradation of wetland habitats due to
subsidence, sea-level rise, shoreline erosion,
freshwater and sediment deprivation, saltwater
intrusion, oil and gas canals, and navigation
channels and associated maintenance dredging are
the most important problems facing the areas
wetland wildlife. - North American Bird
Conservation Initiative Bird Conservation
Region Descriptions
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Bird Species of Management Concern to the USFWS
that are Dependant Upon LAs Coastal
Wetlands Resident Species Little Blue Heron,
Reddish Egret, Gull-billed Tern, Black Skimmer,
Redheaded Woodpecker, Seaside Sparrow Migratory
Species Peregrine Falcon, Yellow Rail, Black
Rail, Snowy Plover, Wilsons Plover,
Swallowtailed Kite, American Oystercatcher,
Whimbrel, Long-billed Curlew, Hudsonian Godwit,
Red Knot, Stilt Sandpiper, Least Tern, Burrowing
Owl, Short-eared Owl, Chuckwills Widow,
Olive-sided Flycatcher, Bells Vireo,
Black-whiskered Vireo, Wood Thrush, Golden-winged
Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Cerulean Warbler,
Worm-eating Warbler, Swainsons Warbler, Nelsons
Sharp-tailed Sparrow, Painted Bunting
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• Common Birds in LAs Coastal Wetlands
• Summer
• Wading birds, grackles, blackbirds dominant
• Late Fall/Spring
• Teal, pintails, and migratory birds use as a
  stop-over during migration
• Late Fall-Winter
• Other ducks, such as canvasbacks and redheads

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Mississippi Flyway
63 of wintering waterfowl population of the
Mississippi Flyway wintered in coastal LA in 2000
(UFWS)
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Waterfowl

• Coastal Louisiana
• is one of the most important wintering
  waterfowl areas in North America
• provides wintering habitat for more than 3
  million ducks and 400,000 geese
• provides habitat for approximately 20 of all
  ducks and geese that winter
• in the U.S., including
• 63 of U.S. Population of mottled ducks
• 70 of U.S. Population of gadwall
• 72 of U.S. Population of blue-winged teal
• 42 of U.S. Population of green-winged teal
• Waterfowl hunting expenditures in the state
  yielded 53.5 million
• in 1996.

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Neotropical Migrants and Waterbirds

• 73 species of Neotropical migrants and
  waterbirds nest in the Barataria-
  Terrebonne Basin
• 130 species of migratory birds winter in the
  Barataria-Terrebonne Basin
• 60 resident species winter in the
  Barataria-Terrebonne Basin
• During peak spring migration, there are 25,000
  to 85,000 individual birds per mile of
  coastline (BTNEP)

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Colonial Nesting Waterbirds

• 27 species of colonial nesting waterbirds
  (wading birds and seabirds) nest in
  coastal LA
• at least 25 of total U.S. breeding population
  of 8 of 11 wading bird species breed in coastal
  LA
• at least 25 of total U.S. breeding population
  of Olivaceous Cormarant, Anhingas, Little Blue
  Heron, Tricolored Heron, Black-Crowned Night
  Heron, White Ibis, dark ibises (White-faced and
  Glossy), Sandwich Terns, Forsters Terns, and
  Black Skimmers breed in coastal LA

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Colonial Nesting Waterbirds

• largest known colonies of colonial nesting
  waterbirds recorded in the U.S. are in coastal LA
  (one of the largest gull and tern nesting areas
  recorded 40,000 to 60,000 nesting pairs per year)
• 2000 survey of known nesting locations in
  coastal LA identified 196 active colonies with
  approximately 433,700 nesting pairs

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Shorebirds

• up to 36 species of shorebirds us LA wetlands
  during north/south migrations and/or for
  wintering 46 shorebird species occur in North
  America
• 5 species of shorebirds breed in Gulf coast
  habitats such as barrier island beaches, salt
  marshes, and dredge spoil habitats

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Coastal Louisiana Bird Habitats

• Barrier Islands/Beaches
• Marshes
• Maritime Forests
• Swamps
• Bottomland Hardwood Forests

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Raccoon Island Breakwaters Demonstration (TE-29)

Coastal barriers probably harbor a greater
variety of bird species than any other ecosystem
in the continental United States. - Restless
Ribbons of Sand Atlantic and Gulf Coastal
Barriers
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Barataria Bay Waterway Wetland Restoration (BA-19)
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Bayou Chevee Shoreline Protection (PO-22)
The creation of marsh means the creation of more
habitat. This Least Tern nest was built on the
newly-placed dredged material.
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