WRDA 2007 contingently authorized a Medium Diversion of the Mississippi River near Myrtle Grove through
a new control structure. The diversion would provide additional sediment and nutrients to nourish highly
degraded existing fresh to brackish wetlands in shallow open water areas. This reintroduction would
ensure the long-term sustainability of these marshes by increasing plant productivity, thereby preventing
future loss. The introduction of sediment to this area would also promote the infilling of shallow open
water areas both through deposition and marsh expansion. Dedicated dredging of sediment mined from the
Mississippi River would complement this feature. This feature is located in the vicinity of a historic
crevasse. The proposed feature would provide up to 13,400 acres of new emergent marsh and prevent the
loss of another 6,300 acres of marsh. As one of the five near-term critical restoration features
identified in the LCA Study, the Myrtle Grove project addresses the most critical ecological needs
of the central Barataria Basin, which is an area where delaying action would result in a “loss of opportunity”
to achieve restoration and/or much greater restoration costs. The benefits provided by this project includes:
sustainable reintroduction of riverine resources; rebuilding of wetlands in areas at high risk for future loss,
the preservation and maintenance of critical coastal geomorphic structures; preservation of critical areas within
the coastal ecosystem while preserving the opportunity to begin to identify and evaluate potential long-term solutions.