Gulf of Mexico Island and Beach Restoration

Full Title: Restoration of Gulf of Mexico Islands and Beaches for Wildlife: Reducing the Uncertainty

Stakeholder engagement informed the development of a conceptual model to help environmental managers forecast how Gulf habitats and wildlife may respond to various island and beach restoration management actions.

Lead Investigator: James Nelson, University of Louisiana Lafayette, nelson@louisiana.edu

Natural Resource Manager: Randy Wilson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Project Team:  Paul Leberg (University of Louisiana Lafayette), Katie Freer (Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority), Patty Kelly (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), Jacqueline Wittmann (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), Evan Adams (Biodiversity Research Institute), and Theodore Zenzal (U.S. Geological Survey) 

Federal Program Officer/Point of Contact: Frank Parker (frank.parker@noaa.gov)

Award Amount: $102,694

Award Period: September 2021 – June 2023

Why it matters: Beaches and island systems in the Gulf provide essential habitats for fauna to nest, forage, and roost. They also provide ecosystem services such as wave buffering during storm surges, which mitigates erosion. These ecosystems were heavily damaged following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, and many restoration projects were implemented to support impacted natural resources following the spill. These restoration projects can be quite complex as they attempt to balance critical wildlife habitat needs with human use of the island systems. It is unclear how wildlife will respond to beach and island restoration. Therefore, the primary goal of this project was to identify key uncertainties related to beach and island restoration and ecological responses of birds and sea turtles to those restoration actions. 

What the team did: The team held three workshops and several interviews with natural resource managers, biologists, ecologists, and engineers to define key uncertainties related to beach or island restoration for conservation of birds and sea turtles. They used a structured decision-making approach to ultimately reach a consensus on prioritized questions to guide future research. The team also conducted a review of existing scientific literature to determine how different environmental conditions (e.g., elevation, slope, vegetation cover) and management actions influence beach and island natural resources. 

Summary of outcome: The project team and stakeholders collaboratively identified key management decisions, the influences of these decisions on bird and sea turtle populations, and the ecological responses that can be used to monitor these decisions. Through a series of workshops, participants came to a consensus on key uncertainties pertaining to the impact of beach and island restoration on birds and sea turtles. They prioritized research questions surrounding the influence of beach geomorphology (i.e., beach slope, elevation) and sediment characteristics (i.e., grain size) on bird and sea turtle rehabilitation. The team developed a research and monitoring plan to help natural resource managers consider various design criteria and management actions that benefit birds and sea turtles at the beginning of a restoration project.