Coast 2050: Toward a Sustainable Coastal Louisiana, The Appendices Appendix F & Region 4 Supplemental Information This document is one of three that outline a jointly developed, Federal/State/Local, plan to address Louisiana’s massive coastal land loss problem and provide for a sustainable coastal ecosystem by the year 2050. These three documents are: ! Coast 2050: Toward a Sustainable Coastal Louisiana, ! Coast 2050: Toward a Sustainable Coastal Louisiana, An Executive Summary, ! Coast 2050: Toward a Sustainable Coastal Louisiana, The Appendices. Suggested citation: Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force and the Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Authority. 1999. Coast 2050: Toward a Sustainable Coastal Louisiana, The Appendices. Appendix F—Region 4 Supplemental Information. Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. Baton Rouge, La. Cover: “Pelican Sunset” © photograph by C.C. Lockwood, P.O. Box 14876, Baton Rouge, La. 70898. For additional information on coastal restoration in Louisiana: www.lacoast.gov or www.savelawetlands.org. Coast 2050: Toward a Sustainable Coastal Louisiana, The Appendices Appendix F—Region 4 Supplemental Information report of the Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force and the Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Authority Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Baton Rouge, La 1999 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In addition to those named in the various attributions throughout this Appendix, a number of people played key roles in bringing this document together in its current form. This included editing, table development, writing explanatory and transitional text, and general formatting. These people were: Honora Buras, Ken Duffy, Bill Good, Cathy Grouchy, Bren Haase, Bryan Piazza, Phil Pittman, Jon Porthouse, Diane Smith, and Cynthia Taylor. CONTENTS SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................... 1 SECTION 2: REGION 4 COAST 2050 REGIONAL PLANNING TEAM (RPT) MEMBERS (DURING PLAN DEVELOPMENT) .................... 3 Parish Representatives .................................................... 3 Agency Representatives ................................................... 3 Academic Representatives ................................................. 3 Other Representatives .................................................... 3 SECTION 3: MAPPING UNIT SUMMARIES ............................. 5 Mermentau Basin ........................................................ 5 Calcasieu-Sabine Basin .................................................. 47 SECTION 4: PRIOR AND PREDICTED LAND LOSS, PREVIOUS STRATEGIES AND COAST 2050 STRATEGIES ........................ 103 Wetland Table ........................................................ 103 Previously Proposed Strategies Table ...................................... 106 Region 4 Coast 2050 Strategies Table ...................................... 107 SECTION 5: INFRASTRUCTURE ...................................... 147 Roads ............................................................... 147 Railroads ............................................................ 147 Pipelines ............................................................. 147 Oil and/or Natural Gas Wells ............................................. 147 Drainage Pump Stations ................................................. 148 Water Intakes ......................................................... 148 Navigation Channels ................................................... 148 Port Installations ...................................................... 149 Region 4 Mapping Unit Infrastructure Summaries (In Alphabetical Order) ......... 150 SECTION 6: WETLAND DEVELOPMENT/PERMITTED ACTIVITIES 197 SECTION 7: FISH AND WILDLIFE .................................... 199 Methodology for Historic Trends in Fisheries Production ...................... 199 Methodology for Wildlife Functions, Status, Trends, and Projections ............. 200 FIGURES AND TABLES Figures 1-1 Regions used in the Coast 2050 plan ......................................... 1 1-2 Region 4 mapping units ................................................... 2 Tables 4-1 Region 4 wetland loss .................................................. 108 4-2 Region 4 previously proposed strategies .................................... 128 4-3 Region 4 regional ecosystem strategies ..................................... 137 4-4 Region 4 mapping unit strategies .......................................... 138 4-5 Region 4 programmatic recommendations .................................. 145 Region 4 mapping unit infrastructure summaries (in alphabetical order) ........... 150 7-1 Region 4 fish and invertebrate population status and 2050 change ................ 203 7-2 Region 4 wildlife functions, status, trends, and projections ..................... 207 SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION Region 4 extends from the western bank of trends and habitat shifts, fish and wildlife the Freshwater Bayou Canal westward to resources, infrastructure, and previously Sabine Lake, and from the marsh areas just proposed strategies were assessed by the north of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway RPT, and this information is presented here. south to the Gulf of Mexico. It includes all Based upon these analyses and in or parts of Vermilion, Cameron, and conjunction with regional habitat objectives, Calcasieu parishes. The region encompasses strategies were developed for each mapping the coastal areas of the Mermentau and unit by the RPT, in association with the Calcasieu/Sabine hydrologic basins. Planning Management Team (PMT) and others participating in the 2050 process. This appendix contains information and The PMT took the lead in developing the data, collected by the Region 4 Regional regional ecosystem strategies but were Planning Team (RPT), that was used in the greatly assisted by the RPT and others. The formulation of the Coast 2050 Plan. In order final regional ecosystem and mapping unit to organize the information during this strategies, as well as programmatic planning effort, the RPT used “mapping recommendations, are also included in this units” which are depicted and summarized appendix. here (Figure 1-2). Within each mapping unit, wetland loss Mapping unit map Region 1 Pontchartrain Region 4 Calcasieu/Sabine & Region 2 Mermentau Region 3 Breton, Barataria & Terrebonne, Mississippi River Atchafalaya & Teche/Vermilion Figure 1-1. Regions used in the Coast 2050 plan. SECTION 2 REGION 4 COAST 2050 REGIONAL PLANNING TEAM (RPT) MEMBERS (DURING PLAN DEVELOPMENT) Parish Representatives Dr. Glenn Thomas - Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Charles Broussard, W.P. “Judge” Edwards, Tom Hess, Guthrie Perry- LDWF, Sherrill Sagrera - Vermilion Parish Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Coastal Advisory Committee Dr. Paul Coreil, Kevin Savoie, Mark Shirley Rodney Guilbeaux - Cameron Parish - Louisiana State University Gravity Drainage Dist. No. 7 Cooperative Extension Service Tina Horn, Brent Nunez - Cameron Parish police jury Academic Representatives Agency Representatives Dr. Andy Nyman - University of Southwestern Louisiana Darryl Clark - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Region 4 Team Other Representatives Leader Kevin Roy - USFWS Scott Durham - Sweet Lake Land and Oil Glenn Harris, Paul Yakupzack- USFWS, Company Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Ted Joanen - consultant Refuge Randy Moertle - Coastal Environments, Inc. Wayne Syron - USFWS, Lacassine National Tommy Price - Concerned Citizens for the Wildlife Refuge Mermentau Basin Herb Bell, Ben Mense, Will Niedecker - David Richard - Stream Property USFWS, Sabine National Wildlife Management Corp., Cameron Parish Refuge Roger Vincent, Jr. - Miami Corp. Chris Accardo, Edmund Russo - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Joe Conti, Bart Devillier, Clay Midkiff- Natural Resources Conservation Service John Foret, Dr. Terry McTigue - National Marine Fisheries Service Dr. Ed Britton - Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR), Coastal Management Division Cheryl Baker Brodnax, Michelle Hollis, Gregg Snedden - LDNR, Coastal Restoration Division SECTION 3 MAPPING UNIT SUMMARIES Mermentau Basin 1990 as a result of wake erosion along the unit’s waterways and impoundment Locust Island due to the construction of numerous crawfish farms. This area is geologically Location - The Locust Island mapping stable and is experiencing very low unit is bordered on the south by subsidence. Freshwater Bayou Canal and Schooner Bayou, on the east by the Vermilion Future Land Loss Projections - In River, on the north by the Kaplan Canal, 1990, the Locust Island unit had 12,710 and on the west by North Prong and acres of marsh. An additional loss of Seventh Ward canals. This unit is 1,870 acres of marsh (33% fresh and entirely located within Vermilion Parish intermediate, and 34% brackish) is and contains 24,024 acres. projected to occur by 2050. This is 14.7% of the remaining 1990 marsh. Habitat Description and Landscape Future land loss will mostly occur as a Change - The current habitats located result of continued wake erosion at a within the Locust Island unit include projected rate of 6 ft/year along the Gulf approximately 9% (2,160 acres) fresh Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) and marsh, 31% (7,530 acres) intermediate Freshwater Bayou Canal. marsh, 13% (3,020 acres) brackish marsh, nominal swamp (20 acres), and Fish and Wildlife Resources - Most 9% water. The remainder of the unit estuarine fishery populations for this unit consists of agricultural development. are currently unknown, except