Barataria-Terrebonne Estuarine System - NEP

This estuary forms part of the Mississippi delta. The principal environmental problems facing the estuary are hydrologic modification, habitat loss and modification, reduction in sediment availability, eutrophication, changes in living resources, toxic substances and pathogen contamination.

Overcoming these losses has involved a number of approaches as follows:

Offensive

• Short-term: Beneficial use of maintenance dredged sediments (small scale);
• Dedicated dredging to create new emergent marsh (small scale).
• Long-term: Diversion of river sediments into open water areas (large scale);
• Use of pipelines to convey sediments from river source to areas of need (small or large scale).

Defensive

• Short-term: More effective use of fresh water and sediments from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers, including siphons (small or large scale);
• Backfilling pipeline canals and unused location canals (small scale);
• Plugging pipeline canals and unused location canals (small scale);
• Remove dredged material levees and replace with natural levee elevation banks (small scale);
• Controlling herbivory (small or large scale);
• Preventing shoreline erosion of marshes (small scale).
• Long-term: Diverting freshwater from the Mississippi River (large scale).

In order to effectively manage the estuary, scientific understanding of system processes and the interaction between system components must be increased. This report has documented the need for detailed study of two critical elements: the importance of tidal scour as a mechanism of marsh loss, and the role of barrier islands in maintaining the integrity of the estuarine system. [Web Site http://www.btnep.org/]

Contact: Sandra Helmuth, Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program Office, Nicholls State University Campus, P.O. Box 2663, Thibodaux, LA 70310, 1-800-259-0869. email:sandra@btnep.org