WaterMarks Interview With Helen Hoffpauir

Helen Hoffpauir is the Land Section manager for the Coastal Restoration Division in the Office of Coastal Restoration and Management, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. In this WaterMarks interview she discusses the issue of land rights related to the construction and maintenance of CWPPRA projects.

WATERMARKS: What role does your office play in CWPPRA projects?

HOFFPAUIR: We’re part of a coastal restoration project team, just like engineers and biologists are. Our responsibility is to acquire land rights to property for coastal restoration projects. We can’t go on any property, and certainly we can’t build on it, without the owner’s permission. It doesn’t matter if the owner is a private citizen, a corporation, or a state or federal agency. For everything we do, even if we only use the site as a reference point, we have to get permission to set foot on the property.

WATERMARKS: How do you do that?

HOFFPAUIR: Unlike some agencies that buy property in fee, we depend entirely on donated easements. Granting us permission to traverse or build on their land is strictly voluntary on the part of the property owners.

Acquiring land rights is a comprehensive process. We start with a title search of all the properties the project will directly impact, as well as those on which project features are located. Then we do the legwork to find out who owns the land. Often our research turns up multiple owners, lots of heirs. We proceed to contact them all and discuss the project, enlist their support and negotiate easements.

We must also acquire land rights from government agencies, so every piece of land involved in a project has an agreement associated with it. Generally we succeed, but it can take a lot of time.

WATERMARKS: At what point do you get involved in a project?

HOFFPAUIR: The earlier we get involved, the better it is. We actually start with candidate projects in the CWPPRA planning process, before they’ve been selected for the Project Priority List and authorized for engineering and design under Phase One funding. Evaluating land rights early gives us a good idea about how much time to budget and what resources we’ll need. It’s not the size or the cost of a project that matters to us — it’s the number of landowners, the number of pipelines, rights-of-way, and hunting and other leases that we have to deal with.

Sometimes we’ve worked with the landowners before and can give the project’s planners an idea of what to expect. Sometimes we do a little screening of landowners we know, calling to ask, “What’s your impression of this candidate project?” Often big corporations are so familiar with the CWPPRA process, so savvy, they know about projects before we do.

WATERMARKS: What motivates landowners to cooperate with you?

HOFFPAUIR: There are many conscientious landowners in the coastal zone. Many feel desperate about losing land, seemingly overnight, that their families have held for generations. They see CWPPRA projects as their last, best hope to stop the erosion and subsidence that is destroying their land. They’re stakeholders in the wetlands; they want these projects to succeed.

When landowners harbor suspicions of our intents and purposes, we work to assure them we’re not trying to stop them from doing what they’ve always done. It’s estimated that 80 percent of the Louisiana coastal zone is privately owned. People depend on their property for income, for their livelihoods. They want to know a restoration project won’t limit their ability to operate.

Of course we come across hurdles, but there are many ways to overcome them and come up with something that everyone can agree on.

WATERMARKS: What happens when you can’t come to an agreement?

HOFFPAUIR: Quite infrequently failure to acquire land rights causes a project to be withdrawn. But usually, when we can’t get an easement, we’re able to alter the project’s design and avoid the property in question.

We’ve had people refuse to sign because of the longevity of the easement, usually 20 to 25 years. Recently we finished a big project for shoreline protection and marsh creation on Lake Boudreaux. Our project crossed 56 tracts laid out in typical Louisiana fashion, long and skinny to give each farmer frontage on the bayou and access to waterborne transport of their produce. Among the 300 owners we approached were two owners of one tract who refused to donate an easement. They worried it would encumber any future sale of the property. Fortunately, because of the location of their tract and the project’s configuration, we could adjust its design and continue.

We try to educate landowners about the projects, to enlist them as partners. Many times landowners help us get the agreement of other landowners, volunteering to find heirs among their families and to circulate documents. Much of the land in the coastal zone has passed down from generation to generation. Five hundred people or more may have undivided ownership of a piece of property. It can take a great deal of time and extensive research to locate them and persuade them to donate land rights.

WATERMARKS: You’ve been doing this work for well over a decade. What changes have you observed among Louisiana’s citizens, politicians and business leaders?

HOFFPAUIR: There has always been a core group very concerned about the coastal crisis. Especially in the southern parts of Louisiana, most people are well aware of the problems of land loss and the challenges of coastal restoration. I’ve met a large number of people who’ve been really positive, who’ve been willing to step up to the plate and become involved. My experience has given me tremendous respect for them.

Since the hurricanes of 2005, there’s been a great increase in the sense of urgency to address the problems, a huge escalation in the desire to build projects. Recognition of CWPPRA leading on the issue of coastal protection and restoration has grown steadily over the years, but it took off like a rocket after the hurricanes. It’s pretty obvious that the idea that marshes help to protect us from storms has come to the forefront, that it’s on everybody’s mind.

This is a pivotal point in coastal restoration. New projects will be undertaken through CPRA, LCA, WRDA, CIAP, as well as through CWPPRA.* The mission of my office is to acquire land rights; our vision is to be a contributing member of the coastal restoration system while upholding the rights of private landowners. We have to do that by law — landowners have rights, and agencies must respect them. But laws are also created for agencies to do restoration. We try to bridge the gap between landowner rights and agency responsibilities. Usually, with patience, persistence and perseverance, we come to a win-win solution that allows us to continue to build projects for the protection and restoration of our fragile coast.

*Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), Louisiana Coastal Area – Louisiana Ecosystem Restoration (LCA), Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP), Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA)