Bayou Time 5/29: Restore or Retreat's North Lake Boudreaux Marsh Restoration Project

Added: 2026-06-01

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[00:00:16]Yeah. We're out here today on North Lake Budro doing a marsh creation on an area that is having a tremendous amount of wetlands loss. We've got volunteers.

[00:00:26]We've got the core of engineers. We've got our local, state, and federal partners all out here today with community leaders coming to help restore these heavily degraded wetlands. Total number today is 5,000 made available to us with funding from the Soil and Water Conservation District here as well as Restore America's estuaries. I want to uh let the public know that it is so amazing to have Colonel Scotty Otan from the New Orleans District, Parish President Jason Bezel, and all of the other members of our coastal community.

[00:01:02]We've got Michael Hair from the CPA, we've got Joey Bro from the Louisiana Department of Agon forestry. The opportunity, Colonel, and I say this endearingly, to have you and Jason join me in the field today says a lot for for the opportunity to collaborate with you, to work with you on on truly Louisiana's most precious asset. And I I I I've said it numerous times, for me, it's personal to have you here. And I thank you.

[00:01:30]>> Thank you. Yeah. You know, >> it's uh it really is it's an honor to be here, Polly, and have the US Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District, uh represented alongside our outstanding state partners with CPA, uh Terbone Levy Conservation District, and then the parish and and the NOS's. I think that partnership and alignment is really the strength of this state. And so, it's exciting for for us to be a part of that and see the great things we're doing.

[00:01:56]And then you know our our landscape is our culture. Our people are the land. We can't separate the two. And so uh I'm excited to be here as part of a initiative through restore retreat. We don't retreat. We're the army. We don't retreat. Uh so we're here to restore.

[00:02:13]And and it's also a key component of hurricane preparedness, right? And the importance of our marshes and our wetlands and what they do uh to protect our vital coastlines uh from those uh terrible storms that come. So, anything we do to continue to restore, protect, and and promote the people of South Louisiana is exciting for us. And I want to thank President Bernol, for for being here as well, uh, and and CP, uh, as they come alongside. So, thank you, President.

[00:02:38]>> Thank you, Colonel. Thank you, Polly.

[00:02:40]Uh, look, this is just truly amazing, right? We we we talk a lot about Pedro and that people consider that playing.

[00:02:45]And when I say we play hard, we work even harder. And this is us out here working hard, working together, uh, coming together to make sure that our communities are protected. And again, whether we're working on levies, whether we putting trees in the ground, whatever we're doing to make sure that our residents are protected, it takes all of us. And again, to get our hands dirty, to be part of the process, to understand what it truly takes to rebuild and and to restore and to protect all at the same time is just so important. And so I'm just honored to be here today and and to put my money where my mouth is and say I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that Teran Parish moves forward. And I'm going to do that alongside people that are helping us work this this you know work what's going on and and and battle together and fight together and do everything we we do uh that makes Ton Parish what it is to make the Bay region what it is the working coast right we're out here working on the coast on the working coast and then working with everybody else including the state of Louisiana and speaking of that I'll give it to Mr. Michael here, CPA.

[00:03:40]>> Sure. Yeah, I'll just say it's really great to be out here. It's easy for all of us to think about our own individual missions on any given day. And we can accomplish a lot alone, but we really accomplish so much more working together. And I think between the parish, the state, the feds, and our local community uh organizations coming together really shows us what team coastal can do. We leverage each other's strengths and I think we do more for the community by working together. So, really excited to be here today. Uh just a great way to end a week. Really important. We do things at scale and it's easy to look at a spreadsheet or look at your computer screen and forget what this actually means for the environment, for the community. So each tree, each plant, each grass we put in means something to this place. And to be able to have an opportunity to get your hands dirty and work with your your fellow neighbors. Uh there's nothing better than that.

[00:04:26]>> You know, I think about the fact that we're working in an area where we taxed ourselves. Right now we're planning ourselves. And that's what I really love about our community is that we pull our bootstraps up. get to work and we get stuff done and and you know we try not to wait for anybody but it's great to see people come along and partner with us and help us push it forward because many hands make light work.

[00:04:46]>> Yeah, thank you. I think that's that's incredible. I mean it's what what PI and this team are and all the volunteers and the agencies are doing this this doesn't this is not a passive activity. It it doesn't just naturally happen. And it takes a lot of hard work. Uh and it takes effort and dedication and it takes focus uh and drive. Um but it's worth it. It's worth it to get out here. It's worth the people uh of this region, the businesses in this region, what this region provides to the to the nation is worth every single bit. And so when you stick that that cypus tree in the ground or when you stick that uh that marsh plant in the ground, you know you're investing in the future of of South Louisiana. And so every little bit matters. And so it's both today, tomorrow, 100 years, 200 years from now, we continue to invest. So, thank you for the opportunity.

[00:05:34]>> Yeah, Colonel, you know, we we we're getting ready to start hurricane season next week, right? We all know that. And we often hear about structural risk reduction. Okay. We know that we have to have the levies and and and the land bridges and other things like that. But to today, the vegetation that the volunteers are putting in the ground, we also know that with the Gulf directly right here to the south, every acre of wetlands that we restore helps to diminish that wave energy and actually protect the structural, you know, risk reductions that we have. So, it's part of that multiple lines of defense strategy that we use. Michael, I know, you know, we talk about barrier island restoration and and the importance of those islands and what they do. We also talk about the interior marsh and how it actually reduces the risk to the inland communities and it's the perfect day with us a couple of days from hurricane season kicking off to be out here planting and and being out here with an incredible group of volunteers. Um and gentlemen, I'm going to say it again.

[00:06:32]What a privilege it has been to have all of you out here. But now, guess what we've got to do?

[00:06:37]>> We've got about 5,000 plants that need us.

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