This project is on JELA property adjacent to Wisner’s. It aims to restore 12.75 miles of canals to their original marsh elevation by gapping the banks, removing invasive species, and pushing spoil banks into the canals. Construction began in December 2022 and ran through 2023. Baseline monitoring of water quality and environmental conditions pre-project will be used to assess the environmental and ecological outcomes. The project was reconfigured slightly after Hurricane Ida and is funded by a RESTORE Act grant from the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council. There were 2 previous projects similar to this done in 2001 and 2010 in JELA.
In 2024, United States Geological Survey (USGS) researchers partnered with JELA and Northeastern University to develop a coupled hydrodynamic and water quality modeling system; calibrate and validate the models; assess and predict outcomes of a canal backfilling restoration project on key water quality attributes; and run the modeling system under a suite of scenarios reflecting changing environmental conditions. The goal is to better understand the processes and mechanisms controlling water quality and nutrient transport in canals and adjacent wetlands under various situations of within-Preserve canal backfilling. The information could be used to assist ecosystem-based decision-making and adaptive management beyond the boundaries of JELA’s Barataria Preserve.