Environmental Assessment: Marsh Restoration through Canal Backfilling
National Park Service, Hulslander WJ, Muth D. 2001. Environmental Assessment: Marsh Restoration through Canal Backfilling
Past oil and gas activities within the Barataria Preserve of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve have created several dead-end, "keyhole" canals that bisect the landscape. The canals and their adjacent spoil banks alter natural hydrological functions, disrupt sheet flow of fresh water and nutrients, amplify tidal volumes, and serve as conduits for saltwater intrusion and the introduction of exotic species. Furthermore, the canals allow wave energy to penetrate the interior marsh, increasing erosion of the soft substrates and contributing to marsh break up and conversion to open water. The presence of these keyhole canals exaggerate chronic stresses on coastal wetlands, which can result in declining plant viability and long term changes in species composition. The Preserve is an 18,500-acre estuarine wetland complex located approximately 15 miles south of New Orleans in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana (Figure 1). Consistent with the park's legislative mandate and the General Management Plan, the Preserve is managed as a natural area containing significant natural and cultural resources. The canals impede natural functions and undermine the ability of the park to protect vegetative cover and to preserve the integrity of ecological and biological systems. The National Park Service proposes to restore native freshwater marshes within two oil and gas canals using two different prototype treatments. The purpose of and need for this action is to alleviate the impacts of the dead-end canals on park wetlands and meet the policy requirements of Executive Order 11990 and Director's Order 77-1 for the protection of wetlands. This environmental assessment has been prepared by the National Park Service to examine the impacts of the proposed action to significant resources.
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- National Park Service; Hulslander, William; Muth, David
- Date of Issue
- 2001-02
- Units
- JELA
- Keywords
- American Indian Religious Freedom Act and Executive Order 13007, Barataria Preserve, Canal Backfilling, Clean Water Act of 1972, Coastal Zone Management Act, Endangered Species Act of 1973, Environmental Assessment, Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands, Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, JELA, marsh restoration, National Environmental policy Act of 1969, National Historic Preservation Act of 1966