Swamp restoration grants for NOLA

DALLAS – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Gulf of Mexico Program awarded $285,744 in grants to the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana in efforts to help restore about 25 acres of a swamp-forest habitat in the New Orleans area of the Lower 9th Ward and along Lake Maurepas. “We must continue to be proactive in our efforts to protect and restore the diversity of Louisiana’s Gulf Coast,” said EPA Region 6 Administrator Anne Idsal. “Grants like these ensure that not only Louisiana retains the value of this important resource, but all five Gulf of Mexico States and the nation.” The grant will provide opportunities for some 300 volunteers to add 5,000 or more native swamp forest trees and restore or enhance about 25 acres of cypress-tupelo swamp habitat. The plantings along Maurepas will focus on the land bridge between the lake and the larger Lake Pontchartrain. “This is a welcome investment, which follows recent news from the Department of the Interior that GOMESA revenue-sharing provisions will return $82M to Louisiana,” said state Rep. Clay Higgins. “These resources will go a long way in implementing the Coastal Master Plan and funding critical infrastructure projects across Louisiana’s coast.” The Gulf of Mexico Program began in 1988 to protect, restore and maintain the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem in economically sustainable ways. (Source: EPA 05/23/18)