Contact: Gordon Helm or Scott Smullen          FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                               1/22/98

A $7.5 million contract to return Atchafalaya River sediment into two former wetlands areas in the Atchafalaya Bay near Big Island to immediately create 1,200 acres of wetlands and another 3,000 acres over the next 20 years has been awarded to a Mandeville, Louisiana company, the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and the National Marine Fisheries Service jointly announced today.

Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Secretary Jack Caldwell said that the construction contract was awarded to River Road Construction Inc. for the Big Island and Atchafalaya Sediment Delivery Restoration Projects in St. Mary's Parish. Caldwell praised the hard work by all parties that led to awarding the two projects.

"In this International Year of the Ocean, we are delighted to be participating with the state of Louisiana in restoring and creating these very important coastal wetlands that ultimately benefit ocean fish stocks such as shrimp and red drum," said Terry Garcia, assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and deputy administrator for Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "More than 90,000 Louisiana jobs are dependent upon the state's wetlands and on commercial and recreational fishing."

Katherine Vaughan, assistant secretary for the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR), praised the cooperation of the staff of the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in working with the DNR to bring the project to fruition.

"It feels great to be participating in a project that will have such a positive, long-term impact on our state's wetlands," said Mr. Jens Lorenz, president of River Road Construction Inc. The company anticipates being on site to start construction later this month.

"We're looking forward to the creation of new wetlands and the enhancement of a large segment of a delta area that continues to grow in importance to both recreational and commercial users of Louisiana fish and wildlife resources," said Johnnie Tarver, assistant secretary, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Natural expansion of the Atchafalaya River delta (Atchafalaya Bay, about 18 miles southwest of Morgan City, La.) has been hampered by the depositing of material dredged from the federal navigation channel.

The Big Island project, sponsored by the fisheries service and being implemented by the Louisiana DNR, is located in the Atchafalaya Delta Wildlife Management Area which is managed by the Louisiana DWLF. This Management Area (within Atchafalaya Bay) is in the western half of the lower Atchafalaya River delta and encompasses the shallow bay area to the north and west of Big Island, a two-square mile island constructed entirely of dredged material. Due mainly to this island, the delta west of the navigation channel has never developed into a natural system of marsh islands and distributary channels in spite of the large amount of sediment (up to 30 percent of the river flow from the Mississippi River and all of the Red River flow ) entering the river and the bay each year.

The Big Island project will restore freshwater and sediment delivery processes to the northwestern portion of the delta. The completed project will create nearly 900 acres of delta wetlands and allow natural delta growth which, over 20 years, is expected to create an additional 1,300 acres of wetland habitat. River Road Construction will create a series of distributary channels having a combined length of about 24,000 feet, extending from the Atchafalaya River into the shallow waters west of Big Island. Dredged material will be placed in a pattern to mimic natural delta lobes that will trap sediments from the river, causing expansion of the delta and eventual wetland growth.

Concurrently, a similar plan, the Atchafalaya Sediment Delivery project, will be implemented on the eastern side of the federal navigation channel to restore freshwater and sediment delivery processes to the northeastern portion of the delta. River Road Construction will create nearly 300 acres of delta wetlands and allow natural delta growth which, over 20 years, is expected to create an additional 1,700 acres of wetland habitat. Two sediment-clogged distributary channels, Natal Channel and Radcliffe Pass, which extend from East Pass to the shallow waters east of the existing delta will be cleared over their length (combined length approximately 11,000 feet) using hydraulic dredging. The resulting dredged material also will be placed in a pattern to mimic natural delta lobes that will trap riverine sediments, causing expansion of the delta and eventual wetland growth.

The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act (Breaux Act) provides funding for coastal wetlands protection, restoration, and enhancement in Louisiana. The state has more than 40 percent of all wetlands in the continental United States, yet is experiencing more than 80 percent of the country's wetland loss.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is a primary sponsor of the International Year of the Ocean, and is charged with scientific research and data collection about global oceans, atmosphere, space and sun. NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service is the federal agency responsible for conserving, restoring, and creating fish habitat and ecosystems vital to the nation's living marine resources as part of its mission to research and gather data to ensure sustainable fisheries through effective management.