Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards has announced an $18 million partnership between the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority(CPRA) and the Cameron Parish Police Jury to add three additional miles of unique rock breakwaters to the shoreline that protects the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in Cameron Parish.
“Thousands of people come to Rockefeller Refuge every year to explore and appreciate this beautiful piece of Louisiana’s coast in Cameron Parish, and we are happy to announce a new partnership and new funding to further preserve and protect this shoreline,” Edwards said.
“Our federal, state and local partners took a big problem – coastal erosion and difficult soil conditions – and came up with an innovative solution through good science and engineering. Looking to the future, our coastal program is going to face big challenges and we will find new ways to be successful in order to meet those challenges just as we have done here. Louisiana innovated, and Louisiana found a way forward.”
Instead of using the traditional method to build the breakwaters, the structure will utilize large bags of lightweight aggregate to support the heavy rocks on the surface.
“We tested several methods of shoreline protection in areas like Rockefeller,” added CPRA Board Chairman Chip Kline . “Through careful analysis and experimentation, we’ve created this new method. The announcement today is not only about our past success, but it’s also about building upon that success.”
The first four miles of rock breakwaters are the result of a federal and state partnership between CPRA and the National Marine Fisheries Service funded through the federal Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act CWPPRA.
Of the budgeted $28.2 million for construction, CPRA funded $4.1 million in addition to the $1 million from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF).