City of New Orleans Receives Grant from National Coastal Resilience Fund for Bayou Bienvenue Wetlands Triangle in Lower Ninth Ward
NEW ORLEANS — The City of New Orleans today announced that it has received an estimated $888,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s National Coastal Resilience Fund (NCRF) for the City’s Bayou Bienvenue Central Wetlands Restoration Preliminary Design project.
“New Orleans is a coastal city that has remained on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Restoring our city’s natural wetlands is part of my administration’s holistic approach to stormwater management and using nature-based solutions to our advantage," said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. "We are excited for this major award from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and are thankful to our federal, state and local partners for their unwavering support on this project that will strengthen our resiliency and protect our people for years to come.”
The City’s grant is part of a larger $136 million grant that will support coastal resilience projects in 29 states and U.S. territories. The 88 grants announced today will generate $94 million in matching contributions for a total conservation impact of $230 million.
The NCRF grants will contribute to the restoration or enhancement of natural features such as coastal marshes and wetlands, dune and beach systems, oyster and coral reefs, mangroves, forests, coastal rivers and barrier islands. These natural buffers can help reduce the impacts of storms, rising sea levels and other extreme events on nearby communities and habitats.
The Bayou Bienvenue wetlands extend from the Lower 9th Ward in the City of New Orleans out to the Lake Borgne Surge Barrier. The wetlands were heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and have been identified as a priority restoration project in Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan. Predictive models developed for the Master Plan show that the area will continue to see habitat degradation and wetland loss without action.
The surrounding Lower 9th Ward community was almost completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and saw its population decrease from over 14,000 to just over 4,000 today. Over 90 percent of the population in the neighborhood is African American, and approximately one third of residents live below the poverty line.
Rehabilitation of the wetlands will include a combination of wetland creation, vegetative planting and hydrologic restoration. The proposed work will use a structured decision-making process to develop a restoration plan that considers project costs, sediment availability and land ownership issues. This plan will then be used to develop preliminary designs for restoration of the area.
Partnering with the City of New Orleans on the project are The Water Institute of the Gulf, Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development, National Wildlife Federation and the Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority (CPRA).
The City of New Orleans and other coastal Louisiana communities face significant expected wetland loss without action to restore and rehabilitate these habitats.
“Restoring our communities to their full vibrance and restoring our natural environment go hand-in-hand,” said Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. “That’s why I am so proud to have supported the City of New Orleans’ application for funding from the National Coastal Resilience Fund to restore Bayou Bienvenue in the city’s Lower Ninth Ward. This community is still recovering from the destruction that Hurricane Katrina brought in 2005, and projects like this will hugely help improve ecological health, water management and outdoor recreation opportunities within this important community.”
“Seventeen years after Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans region continues working to address the devastating coastal impacts,” said Louisiana Senator Dr. Bill Cassidy. “This funding will help restore the wetlands at Bayou Bienvenue and preserve the Lower 9th Ward community for generations to come.”
"The announcement of this grant funding for the Bayou Bienvenue Central Wetlands Restoration project is a major step forward in revitalizing a vital ecosystem in the heart of the Lower 9th Ward and addressing the risks vulnerable urban communities face in Louisiana," said CPRA Chairman Chip Kline. "Restoring this area was identified as a priority restoration project in our 2017 Coastal Master Plan. We would like to thank the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for providing funding for this project, which will allow us to address the damage to these wetlands, preventing irreversible habitat degradation and land loss."
This is the City’s second award from the National Coastal Resilience Fund in the last three years. The City was awarded $500,000 in 2020 for restoration of the New Orleans East Landbridge. Awards this year will benefit coastal communities nationwide. A complete list of the 2022 grants made through the National Coastal Resilience Fund is available here.
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