United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service		 Louisiana Go to Accessibility Information
Skip to Page Content

Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA)

Staff Contact:

Britt Paul, Assistant State Conservationist/Water Resources and Rural Development
Phone:(318) 473-7756
Fax: (318) 473-7747
 CWPPRA Logo

In November 1990, Congress passed Public Law 101-646, the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protect and Restoration Act (CWPPRA). The Act directed that a task force consisting of five federal agencies and the state of Louisiana develop a "comprehensive approach to restore and prevent the loss of coastal wetlands."

CWPPRA has been the State of Louisiana's primary tool for responding to coastal wetland losses. CWPPRA emphasizes intergovernmental cooperation. As of February 2008, there are 145 active CWPPRA projects, 74 have been constructed, 17 are under construction, and 20 have been de-authorized. The remaining projects are in various stages of planning and design.

The CWPPRA program is managed by the CWPPRA Task Force. The Task Force is composed of the State of Louisiana and five federal agencies: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), NOAA-National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities represents the state of Louisiana and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR) serves as the local cost share partner for projects.

NRCS is the federal sponsor for 57 CWPPRA projects benefiting 36,596 acres of Louisiana's valuable coastal wetlands. Construction has been completed on 31 of the NRCS sponsored CWPPRA projects. Restoration projects with NRCS as the federal sponsor include:

Natural Resources Facts:

Louisiana's coastal wetlands are a national treasure. The wetlands:

  • Support and protect a multi-billion dollar oil and gas industry.

  • Provide nursery grounds for fish and shellfish for much of the nation's seafood.

  • Protect over 400 million tons of waterborne commerce annually.

  • Provide winter habitat for about one-half of the Mississippi Flyway waterfowl population.

  • Serve as a buffer from hurricanes and storms.

 

Number Project Name      
BA-27c Barataria Basin Landbridge Shoreline Protection, Phase 3   CS-21 Highway 384 Hydrologic Restoration
BA-27d Barataria Basin Landbridge Shoreline Protection, Phase 4   CS-31 Holly Beach Sand Management
BA-27 Barataria Basin Landbridge Shoreline Protection, Phases 1 and 2   ME-11 Humble Canal Hydrologic Restoration
BA-26 Barataria Bay Waterway East Side Shoreline Protection   BA-20 Jonathan Davis Wetland Restoration
BA-23 Barataria Bay Waterway West Side Shoreline Protection   TV-17 Lake Portage Land Bridge
TV-20 Bayou Sale Shoreline Protection   ME-17 Little Pecan Bayou Hydrologic Restoration
CS-29 Black Bayou Culverts Hydrologic Restoration   BA-03c Naomi Outfall Management
TV-09 Boston Canal/Vermilion Bay Bank Protection   TV-13a Oaks/Avery Canal Hydrologic Restoration, Increment 1
TE-28 Brady Canal Hydrologic Restoration   TE-34 Penchant Basin Natural Resources Plan, Increment 1
CS-09 Brown Lake Hydrologic Restoration   CS-24 Perry Ridge Shore Protection
BS-03a Caernarvon Diversion Outfall Management   CS-25 Plowed Terraces Demonstration
CS-04a Cameron-Creole Maintenance   TE-29 Raccoon Island Breakwaters Demonstration
TV-16 Cheniere Au Tigre Sediment Trapping Demonstration   TE-48 Raccoon Island Shoreline Protection/Marsh Creation
LA-03b Coastwide Nutria Control Program   LA-09 Sediment Containment System for Marsh Creation Demonstration
TV-04 Cote Blanche Hydrologic Restoration   TE-39 South Lake De Cade Freshwater Introduction
CS-20 East Mud Lake Marsh Management   BA-41 South Shore of The Pen Shoreline Protection and Marsh Creation
TE-17 Falgout Canal Planting Demonstration   CS-11b Sweet Lake/Willow Lake Hydrologic Restoration
LA-05 Floating Marsh Creation Demonstration   TE-36 Thin Mat Floating Marsh Enhancement Demonstration
ME-13 Freshwater Bayou Bank Stabilization   TE-18 Timbalier Island Planting Demonstration
ME-04 Freshwater Bayou Wetland Protection   CS-19 West Hackberry Vegetative Planting Demonstration
PO-06 Fritchie Marsh Restoration   BA-47 West Pointe a la Hache Marsh Creation
BA-02 GIWW (Gulf Intracoastal Waterway) to Clovelly Hydrologic Restoration   BA-04c West Pointe a la Hache Outfall Management
CS-30 GIWW - Perry Ridge West Bank Stabilization   BS-12 White Ditch Resurrection and Outfall Management
TE-43 GIWW Bank Restoration of Critical Areas in Terrebonne   LA-16 Non-Rock Alternatives to Shoreline Protection Demonstration
CS-49 Cameron-Creole Freshwater Introduction   TE-66 Central Terrebonne Freshwater Enhancement
         

 

CWPPRA Success Stories

Picture of Allan Bruce Ensminger 2009 Coastal Stewardship Award Winner

Mr. Allan Bruce Ensminger Wins 2009 Coastal Stewardship Award

A family’s journey to escape the wrath of the Great Depression and the onslaught of the Dust Bowl brought Allan Bruce Ensminger’s family from Colorado to Longville, Louisiana in 1936. During a time when lumber companies clear cut immense areas of land for timber production without the goal of re-planting forest, they would sell land cheaply to families affected by the events of the era. The Ensminger family was able to purchase 80 acres of land that had been clear cut of long-leaf pine so that they could farm. Allan Ensminger’s flight into coastal conservation started on that farm that his family purchased many years ago. However, he cite his uncle, a retired federal marshal and game warden, as his key mentor in conservation – leading to Allan’s perusal in obtaining a B.S in Forestry in 1953 from Louisiana State University (LSU) and a Masters of Science in Wildlife Management in 1954 from LSU.
 

 Read more...
Marietta Greene

Marietta Greene: A Legacy in Coastal Wetlands Conservation

Since the inception of CWPPRA, Marietta has worked closely with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources on planning and implementing six CWPPRA projects on Madison Land Company property. These projects will benefit 1,163 acres of valuable coastal Louisiana marsh.

 Read more...
Britt Paul, Assistant State Conservationist

Saving Our Nation's Coastal Wetlands

40 % of the nation’s coastal marches are in Louisiana, and 80% of the loss is occurring in Louisiana. CWPPRA helps the NRCS and our cooperative partnerships to sustain, protect, restore and enhance coastal wetlands. “Every 30 minutes a parcel of wetlands the size of a football field disappears,” said Britt Paul, Louisiana NRCS assistant state conservationist. “Our coastal wetlands are immensely significant to our nation – we are restoring and protecting one of the most ecological diverse habitats in our country.

Read more...

Image of weltand restoration efforts

Current Status of Coastal Wetland Plants Research and Restoration Efforts

The following proceedings are from the November 14, 2008 Symposium on Current Status of Coastal Wetland Plants Research and Restoration Efforts. Coastal wetland disappearance has been a major issue in Louisiana for more than a decade. Efforts are underway to develop superior and highly adaptive native coastal plants, seed-based technologies for large-scale restoration, and innovative engineering revegetation techniques. These plant-based products and revegetation technologies are being developed by several laboratories and could be tailored into current construction engineering to develop more successful coastal wetland loss remediation. The magnitude of Louisiana coastal marsh loss is unprecedented and occurs at the estimated rates of 65-91 km2 annually, representing 80% of the entire coastal wetland loss in the United States. For the complete proceedings please follow the link below.

 
...More Info

For more information on CWPPRA please visit http:www.lacoast.gov

Last Modified: 04/14/2009

< Back to Programs Page...