Spanish Pass Ridge Planting

Spanish Pass is a natural historic tributary of the Mississippi River, extending westward into the lower parts of Barataria Bay. The natural channel banks and adjacent marsh had degraded due to natural and manmade causes, including the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which occurred about 50 miles from the project site.

Our team was contracted to restore the ridge habitat, which was planted with woody stemmed species of trees and shrubs native to Louisiana to mimic natural ridges. The native vegetation will colonize the new marsh platforms and produce a healthy habitat over time. This project is one of many large-scale restoration projects that will work together to benefit thousands of acres of wetlands throughout the Barataria Basin.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said of the project, “We’re standing on what was once open water and is now nearly 2,000 acres of restored marsh and ridge. Through record breaking projects and largest-ever levels of investment, we’ve set ourselves apart from our peers and brought Louisiana to the forefront of the fight against coastal land loss.”