Tree Removal Status
17th Street Canal status - Jefferson Parish (west) side of canal
In December 2008, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requested right-of-entry from the East Jefferson Levee District to perform surveys to identify tree and fence encroachments that pose a threat to the 17th Street Canal levee/floodwall. The surveys will be conducted in the levee reach along the west side of the canal and extending generally from New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board Pumping Station No. 6 to Rosebud Street. The surveys will include the marking of the levee toe with a white survey stake, the marking of a point 6 feet beyond the levee toe at each property with a blue stake and/or the placement of an orange stake denoting right-of-way. Upon completion of the surveys, obstruction/item inventories specific to each property will be prepared and notification letters mailed to all property owners. The Corps will endeavor to maintain open communication with property owners while also moving expeditiously to improve the reliability of the Hurricane & Storm Damage Risk Reduction System. The current schedule provides for removal of the obstructions prior to the 2009 hurricane season.
IHNC Canal - west side of canal
In December 2008, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requested right-of-entry from the Orleans Levee District to perform surveys to identify tree and fence encroachments that pose a threat to the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC) levee/floodwall. The surveys will be conducted in the levee reach along the west side of the canal and extending generally from US Highway 90 to Dwyer Road. The survey will include the marking of the levee toe with a white survey stake and the marking of a point 6 feet beyond the levee toe at each property with a blue stake. Upon completion of the surveys, obstruction/item inventories specific to each property will be prepared and notification letters mailed to all property owners. The Corps will endeavor to maintain open communication with property owners while also moving expeditiously to improve the reliability of the Hurricane & Storm Damage Risk Reduction System. The current schedule provides for removal of the obstructions prior to the 2009 hurricane season.
New Orleans East Levee Item LPV-109 - South Point to CSX Railroad
Inventory of tree encroachments in this reach of the Lake Pontchartrain & Vicinity project is underway to determine the extent of tree removal that will be completed in advance of the 2009 hurricane season.
Tree Removal Program
The primary mission of the Corps’ tree removal program is to reduce the risk to public safety caused by the existence of trees and other woody vegetation on or near levees and floodwalls. Click here to view a graphic illustrating the risks that trees can pose to levees.The first priority is to remove trees that endanger New Orleans hurricane levee systems. In addition, the team is performing inventories of tree problem areas on other federal levee systems, including the Mississippi River and Atchafalaya Basin levees and the other hurricane protection projects. Finally, the Corps is also working to develop guidance for vegetation and encroachment management on levees and floodwalls.
Work Completed
Working under rights-of-entry granted by the East Jefferson Levee District and Orleans Levee District, we have removed several hundred trees (including their root systems) along various segments of the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity project. Tree removal has been completed on the Jefferson Lakefront levee, the Jefferson/St. Charles return levee, the New Orleans lakefront levee, the London Avenue and Orleans Avenue outfall canals, and the east (Orleans Parish) side of the 17th Street Canal. The status of tree removal for the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity project is illustrated on this map. Detailed GIS-based inventories of trees and other encroachments have been completed for the West Bank & Vicinity project, New Orleans to Venice project, Larose to Golden Meadow project, and the Mississippi River Levee project. In support of the development of vegetation management guidance, the team has also completed a tree root study. A copy of the report is available at this link.
Future Work
Due to the urgency to remove trees from high risk areas of the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity project, the tree removal program initially focused on this effort. The longer term scope of vegetation management on Federal and non-Federal levees falls under the scope of the Inspection of Completed Works (ICW) program in Operations Division of the Corps of Engineers. Interim Corps guidance requires maintenance of vegetation free corridors extending 15 feet from levees or to the extent of available easements or public rights.
Questions and Answers
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