NEWSROOM
Replanting effort at big branch to mark 10-years of collaborative coastal restoration
September 15, 2010
NOAA Administrator and partners to highlight the importance of coastal restoration in the face of growing threats, including the recent BP oil spill
WHAT: Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will join more than 100 community volunteers to help replant coastal marsh and commemorate the 10-year restoration partnership of NOAA’s Community-Based Restoration Program, Restore America’s Estuaries and the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana.
WHERE: USFWSBig Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge in Lacombe, LA
WHEN: Wednesday,September 29, 2010
Media to meet at boat launch - 9:00 am (airboat transportation provided) Volunteers to arrive by 8:00 am.
*** Please email nsnider@crcl.org for detailed directions ***
WHO: Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator
Jeff Benoit, President, Restore America’s Estuaries
Steven Peyronnin, Executive Director, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana
Kenneth Litzenberger, Project Leader, Southeast Louisiana Refuges, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
BACKGROUND: This project is being completed through a collaborative effort of NOAA’s Community-Based Restoration Program, Restore America’s Estuaries, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and US Fish and Wildlife Service with additional support from For the Bayou, The Lang Foundation and The Coastal Society.
The 10-year commemoration of the Restoration Partnership between NOAA’s Community-Based Restoration Program, Restore America’s Estuaries and the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana will take place during the Big Branch Marsh Restoration Planting Project, a two-week restoration event in coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that will plant 70,000 plugs of smooth cordgrass and marshhay cordgrass at Big Branch National Wildlife Refuge, in Lacombe, Louisiana. More than 700 volunteers will participate during the two-week period.
In the last decade, the partnership has restored or enhanced more than 1,700 acres and planted over 330,000 marsh grasses in coastal Louisiana with the help of nearly 2,000 local and national volunteers.
Although not directly related to the recent BP oil spill, t his project will assist in the overall recovery of the region by increasing the marsh habitat for terrestrial and marine organisms, stabilizing soils, increasing species diversity and providing a seed source for natural regeneration.
Since the 1930’s, a long line of man-made and natural threats to the Louisiana coastline and led to the loss of 2,300 square miles of land. With the recent threats from the oil spill, and increases in sea level rise and invasive species, wetland restoration is one way to help mitigate the impacts to this important Louisiana ecosystem, its culture and economy. This restoration partnership has and will continue to restore and enhance our coastal habitats, while engaging and educating the public in coastal stewardship.
CONTACT: The day of the event contact is Natalie Snider at (225) 303-3567.
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