Coastal Erosion Prevention Checklist

Did you know that coastal erosion does more than just affect drill sites and people living near the coast?

It also affects people all over the United States.

The coast is a valuable resource for Louisiana because it provides nutrients for the animals that live there, which in turn supply other parts of the ecosystem, giving us various resources.

For example, Louisiana is known as the sportsman’s paradise, which can be heavily affected if the ecosystem is broken by coastal erosion. There are multiple animals that rely on the wetlands, which is why coastal erosion prevention is important.

Here is a checklist of a few coastal erosion prevention tactics used to keep it at a minimum here in the South:

Reducing human damage

We can do this by enacting regulations to better control how oil and gas companies can affect the coast whenever they are drilling for laying pipelines.

Diverting water from the Mississippi River

Redistributing this water helps fuel the ecosystem in these marshlands, which allows for higher amount of growth.

Planting new marshland grasses and other plants

Coastal Restoration organizations can use crop dusting planes to spread seeds and grow large amounts of freshwater plants. Coastal grasses can also be planted by hand using airboats and amphibious personnel carriers.

Levees

Levees can be used to prevent flooding, but some experts believe that levees should be removed to allow for the natural movement of water.

The EPA has recommended other options for different parts of the U.S.:

• Jetties are used to keep sand from flowing down shipping channels. When a busy shipping channel pushes sand up the channel, it can affect the nearby beaches and wetlands.
• There are also breakwaters, which are barriers that are built to prevent waves from creating erosion. There is a downside to this method, as the beaches behind the breakwaters usually get larger due to the current changes.

Stan’s Marsh & Airboat Transport Service does its part in helping keep coastal erosion to a minimum in Louisiana, and around the U.S. We have been performing land reclamation since we started working on the gulf coast. If you’d like to learn more, give us a call.