LSU is working with the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe in Terrebonne Parish to protect its ancestral lands through a $780,000 design project funded by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Gulf Research Program.
The tribe established its farming, fishing and hunting community in Pointe-au-Chien before the arrival of the first Europeans. Pointe-au-Chien juts into the Gulf of Mexico on the edge of Terrebonne Bay, situated on a delicate piece of land that is one of the world’s most threatened. Due to environmental challenges like storm surge, Terrebonne Basin has been designated as North America’s fastest-eroding basin.
The coastal protection project will be led by Matthew Bethel, associate executive director of research at Louisiana Sea Grant, and will utilize “nature-based solutions.” Those solutions can take many forms, including freshwater introductions, marsh creation, native vegetation plantings and rain gardens.
The most popular solution that emerged during the project’s initial planning phase, though, was the construction of a network of “living shorelines” from organic materials like man-made oyster reefs. These shorelines would serve to strengthen vulnerable marshes and reduce storm surge.
The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana is a partner on the project.
