Marsh Creation Planning

Full Title: Planning for a future of marsh creation: Evaluating the decision to continue to create high elevation confined marshes

The project team collaboratively scoped and designed research to inform decisions about the design of marsh creation projects.

Lead Investigator: Tracy Quirk, Louisiana State University, tquirk@lsu.edu

Natural Resource Manager: Daniel Breaux, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Project Team: Andy Nyman (Louisiana State University), Barret Fortier (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ), and Kevin Roy (USFWS and Louisiana Wetland Planning, Protection, and Restoration)

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

Award Amount: $78,260 

Award Period: September 2021 – August 2023

Why it matters: Millions of dollars have been allocated to mitigate the rapid loss of coastal wetlands in Louisiana. Most marsh creation projects in Louisiana are focused on high elevation and involve pumping dredged sediment into a containment berm. However, it is unclear how containment berms affect hydrologic connectivity, sediment and organism transport and longer-term marsh elevation dynamics. Therefore, natural resource managers need more information about the development and long-term functioning of created marshes to make decisions about how high to build created marshes and how to design and use containment dykes.

What the team did: The project team compiled existing data on restoration monitoring. They also held a workshop where engineers, project managers, and researchers involved in marsh creation discussed alternative methodologies for marsh creation.

Summary of outcome: The project team co-produced a research and development plan and an application plan using inputs from team members and other attendees of the workshop. The results of this planning process and, ultimately, the research and its application will inform future marsh creation projects in the northern Gulf.