Rockwell refuge stabilization

For nearly 100 years, the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, which hugs 26 miles of Gulf of Mexico shoreline in Cameron and Vermillion parishes of southwest Louisiana, has been a haven for nature lovers and coastal researchers, but now is eroding away. State and local officials are teaming up to extend a 4-mile breakwater by three additional miles in Cameron Parish to better protect the wildlife sanctuary from the Gulf's destructive wave action. The shoreline retreats some 46 feet a year along the refuge that is eroding an extensive, productive marsh. Construction of the Rockefeller Refuge Shoreline Stabilization Project involves placing large limestone rocks atop giant "pillows" of light, crushed rock to create a stable platform. The $18M project will come from the federal RESTORE Act, which distributes restitution fines aid by BP and its drilling partners stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. Most of the money ($11.7M) will be put up by the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. The Cameron Parish Police Jury will kick in $6.3M. Established in 1920, the refuge, which totals 71,000 acres, is a sanctuary for wildlife and fish, and an outdoor laboratory where many wetland studies are conducted. The new section of breakwater will protect more than 250 acres of coastal marsh. (Source: NOLA.com 08/10/19)